Blog Tour: Butterfly in Frost - Sylvia Day (with both UK & US Giveaways!)

Today I'm excited to be taking part in both the UK and the US blog tours for Butterfly in Frost by Sylvia Day. I'm a massive fan of her Crossfire series so of course I was ridiculously excited about Butterfly in Frost, especially since it's been a few years since Sylvia's last release. I've already read the book and really enjoyed it so watch out for my review later today, but in the meantime let me tell you all about the book. I have a great excerpt and a couple of giveaways that you can take part in.

About the Book:

Title: Butterfly in Frost

Author: Sylvia Day

Release Date: August 27, 2019

Publisher: Montlake Romance

Once, I would never have imagined myself here. But I’m settled now. In a place I love, in a home I renovated, spending time with new friends I adore, and working a job that fulfills me. I am reconciling the past and laying the groundwork for the future.

Then Garrett Frost moves in next door.

He’s obstinate and too bold, a raging force of nature that disrupts the careful order of my life. I recognize the ghosts that haunt him, the torment driving him. Garrett would be risky in any form, but wounded, he’s far more dangerous. I fear I’m too fragile for the storm raging inside him, too delicate to withstand the pain that buffets him. But he’s too determined…and too tempting.

And sometimes hope soars above even the iciest desolation.

Buy Link:

https://amzn.to/2KKUcZH

Excerpt: Butterfly in Frost by Sylvia Day:

Roxy bounces on her feet with excitement. “Les and Marge sold their house.”

I blink. “I didn’t know they were selling.”

She laughs and heads toward the front door. “That’s the thing. They weren’t.”

“Wait, what?” I hurry after her as she steps outside.

I look to the right at my home, a lovingly restored butterfly-roofed midcentury, then on to the traditional house just beyond it that belongs—belonged—to Les and Marge. Including Roxy’s, all three of our homes have unique lots set between the homes that line the street and the Sound, affording us unhindered views of the water as well as exceptional privacy—all within a twenty-minute drive of the airport.

Roxy shortens the length of her stride to allow me to catch up, then glances over at me. “The day after you flew to New York, a Range Rover pulled into their driveway, and the guy inside offered them cash to close—and move out—in fourteen days.”

My step falters, and Minnie gets momentarily tangled in her leash. The dog shoots me what I would describe as an irritated look, then keeps trotting forward. “That’s crazy.”

“Isn’t it? Les wouldn’t say how much the offer was, but I’m thinking it was huge.”

We march up the inclined driveway, my head tilted back to take in the houses scaling the hillside. Designed with big windows to maximize the view, the homes have a look of wide-eyed wonder. Our little stretch of the Sound used to be a secret, but with the housing boom taking over Seattle and Tacoma, we’ve been discovered. Many residences are undergoing major renovation to suit the tastes of new owners.

Reaching the road, we turn left. To the right is a dead end.

“Well, if they’re happy,” I say, “I’m happy for them.”

“They’re overwhelmed. It was a lot to happen all at once, but I think they’re happy with their decision.” Roxanne stops when Bella does, and we wait as the two dogs mark one of their usual spots on the gravel edging the asphalt. There are no curbs on the streets in our neighborhood and no sidewalks. Just beautiful lawns and a profusion of flowering shrubs.

“We all tried prying information out of them,” she goes on, “but they weren’t sharing anything about the sale.” She gives me a sidelong glance. “But they did share a bit about the buyer.”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Because Mike and I both think the buyer is someone famous. A film director maybe. Or an artist. Can you imagine? First Emily, a bestselling author. Then you, a reality-TV surgeon. Now this guy! Maybe we’re sitting on the new Malibu—beachside living without wildfires or state income tax!”

The mention of Roxy’s husband, Mike, coaxes an inner smile. A New York transplant like me, he adds a welcome touch of the life I left behind to the reality I’ve since created for myself—a reality that’s just been rocked by the loss of neighbors I like.

“What are the clues you’re working with?” I ask, deciding to play along. If I’ve learned anything the past year, it’s to accept the things I cannot change. A tough task for a control freak like me.

“Les pointed out to this guy that he hadn’t even seen the inside of the house. The guy said he didn’t need to. He knew already that ‘the light is perfect.’ I mean, who would say that? Gotta be someone who’s in visual arts, right?”

“Maybe,” I agree tentatively, disquieted by the unexpected conversation. The road rises sharply before us, the incline steep enough to put a little burn in my thighs. “Doesn’t mean he’s famous, though.”

“That’s the thing.” Her words carry a note of breathlessness. “Les wouldn’t give numbers, but he did say it was crazy the guy didn’t just buy that huge compound at the end of the street. That house is listed for three and a half million!”

My mind staggers at the thought. Les and Marge have—had—a beautiful home, but it’s not worth anywhere near that much.

“I think I saw the buyer once through that big arched window in the living room,” Roxy goes on. “The blonde with him was a looker. Supermodel skinny with legs for days.”

I’m panting when we reach the top; Roxy, who hits a gym most days of the week, is not.

A quarter mile farther, there’s a street to the right leading to Dash Point. Beyond that and straight ahead, the road slopes back down and around until it’s at water level. Redondo Beach is there, as is Salty’s, a restaurant on stilts in the water with expansive views of Poverty Bay and beyond. I’m about to wax poetic about Salty’s seafood chowder when a runner dashes around the corner at a full sprint. His sudden appearance rattles me. A closer look makes me freeze midstride. My breath locks in my lungs.

There are too many things to register at once, so my mind attempts to absorb the whole man. Dressed only in black shorts and shoes, he is a visual feast of deeply tanned skin, intricate sleeves of tattooed art, and sweat-slicked, flexing musculature.

And his face. Sculpted. Square-jawed. Brutally, breathlessly handsome.

Roxy, now a few feet in front of me, gives a low whistle. “Hot damn.”

Giveaway 1 - UK only:

I have one paperback copy of Butterfly in Frost to giveaway to a UK winner. The prize will be sent to the winner by my contact at Midas PR and you can enter using the rafflecopter form below (click here to enter directly via the Rafflecopter website):

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway 2 - US only:

There is also a US giveaway to win a $100 Amazon gift card and a signed copy of Butterfly in Frost. The winner will be contacted directly by the publisher to arrange delivery of the prizes. You can enter the US delivery using the following rafflecopter form (click here to enter directly via the rafflecopter website):

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Author Biography

Sylvia Day is the #1 New York Times, #1 USA Today, #1 Sunday Times, #1 Der Spiegel, and #1 international bestselling author of over twenty award-winning novels sold in more than forty countries. She is a #1 bestselling author in twenty-eight countries, with tens of millions of copies of her books in print. Visit the author at www.sylviaday.com.

Social Media Links:

Website: https://www.sylviaday.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorSylviaDay
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SylDay
Instagram: http://instagram.com/sylvia_day
Goodreads: goodreads.com/author/list/19823.Sylvia_Day

Make sure you check out the rest of the stops on the UK Butterfly in Frost blog tour (see banner below) and do pop back later to read my review!

Blog Tour: How to Love a Duke in Ten Days - Kerrigan Byrne

Today I'm taking part in the blog tour for Kerrigan Byrne's latest book, How to Love a Duke in Ten Days, which actually publishes today. You can read the excerpt below as well as a Q&A with Kerrigan but first let me give you a little more information about the book:

These men are dark, bold, and brave. And there is only one woman who can bring them to their knees...

Famed and brilliant, Lady Alexandra Lane has always known how to look out for to herself. But nobody would ever expect that she has darkness in her past—one that she pays a blackmailer to keep buried. Now, with her family nearing bankruptcy, Alexandra strikes upon a solution: Get married to one of the empire’s most wealthy eligible bachelors. Even if he does have the reputation of a devil.

LOVE TAKES NO PRISONERS

Piers Gedrick Atherton, the Duke of Redmayne, is seeking revenge and the first step is securing a bride. Winning a lady’s hand is not so easy, however, for a man known as the Terror of Torcliff. Then, Alexandra enters his life like a bolt of lightning. When she proposes marriage, Piers knows that, like him, trouble haunts her footsteps. But her gentleness, sharp wit, independent nature, and incredible beauty awakens every fierce desire within him. He will do whatever it takes to keep her safe in his arms.

Excerpt:

Chapter One

Maynemouth, Devonshire, 1890 Ten years later

Alexander,

Accept the invitation to Castle Redmayne. I’m in danger. I need you.

—Frank

Alexandra Lane had spent the entire train ride from London to Devonshire meticulously pondering those fourteen words for two separate reasons.

The first, she had been unable to stop fretting for Francesca, who tended to give more than the appropriate amount of context. The terse, vague note Alexandra now held was more of a warning than the message contained therein.

The second, she could no longer afford a first-class, private railcar, and had, for the last several tense hours, been forced to share her vestibule face-to-face with a rough- featured, stocky man with shoulders made for labor.

Alone.

He’d attempted polite conversation at first, which she’d rebuffed with equal civility by feigning interest in her correspondence. By now, however, they were both painfully aware she needn’t take four stops to read two letters.

It was terribly rude, she knew. Her carpetbag remained clutched in her fist the entire time, except when her hand would wander into its depths to palm the tiny pistol she always carried. The sounds of the other passengers in adjoining vestibules didn’t make her feel safer, per se.

But she knew they would hear her scream, and that provided some relief.

For a woman who’d spent a great deal of the last ten years in the company of men, she’d thought these painful moments would have relented by now.

Alas, she’d become a mistress of manipulating a situation so, even if she had to endure the company of men without a female companion, there would be more than one man. In the circles she tended to frequent, people behaved when in company.

It had worked thus far.

Alexandra braced herself against the slowing of the train, breathing a silent prayer of relief that they’d finally arrived. She’d been terrified that if she’d glanced up once, she’d be forced into conversation with her unwanted companion.

Rain wept against the coach window, and the shadows of the tears painted macabre little serpents on the conflicting documents in her hands. One, a wedding invitation. The other, Francesca’s alarming note.
A month past, she’d have wagered her entire inheritance against Francesca Cavendish’s being the first of the Red Rogues to capitulate to the bonds of matrimony.

A month past, she’d assumed she’d had an inheritance to wager.

Their little society had seemed destined to live up to the promise they’d once made as young, disenchanted girls to never marry.

Until the invitation to an engagement masquerade— given by the Duke of Redmayne—had arrived the same day of her friend’s cryptic and startling note.

The invitation had been equally as ambiguous, stating that the future duchess of Redmayne would be unveiled, as it were, at the ball. Included in Alexandra’s particular envelope was a request for her to attend as a bridesmaid.

The subsequent plea for help from Francesca—Frank— had arrived in a tiny envelope with the Red Rogue seal they’d commissioned some years prior.

Alexandra hadn’t even known Francesca had returned from her romps about the Continent. Last she’d heard, the countess had been in Morocco, doing reconnaissance of some sort. Nothing in her letters had mentioned a suitor. Not a serious one, in any case. Certainly not a duke.

Francesca had a talent for mischief and a tendency to interpret danger as mere adventure.

So, what could possibly frighten her fearless friend?

Marriage, obviously, Alexandra thought with a smirk.

A risky venture, to be sure.



From How to Love a Duke in Ten Days. Copyright © 2019 by Kerrigan Byrne and reprinted with permission from St. Martin’s Paperbacks.

Q&A with Kerrigan Byrne

Q: What inspired you to write How to Love a Duke in Ten Days?

A: I’ve always been one of those women who have enjoyed fierce female friendships. I think that soulmates, even for heterosexual women, can be just as necessary with other women as with men, and a real hero must not just love and respect you, but also your tribe. I wanted to write a series where historical heroines could truly have it all, education, dreams, businesses, wealth, genius, revenge, hot sex, AND true love. Where the sacrifices were made on their behalf instead by them, and where their heroes learn to lift them up in all ways, heal their pains, calm their fears, become their best friends, and protect them with what I hope is a great balance between alpha hotness and progressive sensitivity.

Q: Is there one thing you would like readers to take away from this story?

A: That’s tough because I packed a lot in there! I would say the one thing from this book, specifically, is that happiness is attainable against the odds, even when overcoming the worst that people can do to one another. Even though I’m a grown up and a cynic, I still like to write books that remind me that true love conquers all, because that love can come from so many people.

Q: Can you describe your typical day writing this book?

A: This book was especially difficult for me to write, so I spent a great deal of time in my bathrobe. I would get up, my fantastic husband would make me coffee, I’d call my critique partner and we’d do a bit of brainstorming, and I’d write and rewrite for hours, stress, cry, throw things, walk the dog, eat, snack, eat some more, facebook way too much, and then finish under word count, binge a tv show or a book until I stared at the ceiling into the wee hours. Oh, and there was drinking in there at regular intervals.

Glamorous, I know!

Q: Describe the hero and heroine of How to Love a Duke in Ten Days in three words each.

A: The Duke of Redmayne: Wary. Wounded. Wicked.
Lady Alexandra Lane: Brave. Brilliant. Beautiful.

Q: What is the one thing that the heroine, Alexandra, can’t live without?

A: She cannot live without her two dearest friends in the entire world, Miss Cecelia Teague, and Lady Francesca Cavendish. They literally buried a body for her, and would defend her to the death.

Q: What was your hardest scene to write in How to Love a Duke in Ten Days? Your favorite?

A: As with many (most) of my novels, the prologues are the hardest to write, and read, I suspect. Usually I take the characters to the very edge of their breaking point, often times pushing them over so they have what seems like insurmountable conflicts to overcome both internally and externally. So, for this book, Alexandra’s assault was the most difficult thing to get through, and boy did I enjoy being able to help Piers put her back together, because he was just the perfect hero for her. Tender, empathetic, a good sense of humor, and a large dose of protective alphaness.

Q: Why do you write historical romance?

A: I’ve always romanticized the past. I can’t help it. I love the pace and the aesthetic, the gowns and the suits and the manners and the manors. I love to do historical research and it’s so fun to see how much we are influenced by the past and how, even though so much has changed through the centuries, people really haven’t. Also, it’s fun to play with language, mystery, and sex in a time when a scandal was still possible. *wink.

Q: Is there another particular author that inspires you or that you enjoy reading?

A: There is a LIST! I would say in historical romance, though, it’s always always Lisa Kleypas. She has a grasp on the characterization of historical folks that I can never hope to attain. I’m just in awe of her every word.

Q: Where do you go or what resources do you use to make sure your novels are historically correct?

A: I love to find books about a time period at B&N or my local bookshops. I go to Harper’s Bazaar for fashion, and a slew of Victorian references for the time period. I do read blogs and sometimes consult with historians and experts.

Q: Did you learn anything surprising while researching for this novel?

A: Many things! I learned how truly difficult it was to attain an education as a woman as little as a hundred years ago. It’s really incredible how far we’ve come in a century.

Q: What do you do when faced with writer’s block, if you ever are?

A: Oh man. I often am. I usually try to shake it loose with a brainstorming conversation with a few friends I have who always seem to be able to unstick me. I rely heavily on the creativity of others as well as my own.

Q: How did you feel the first time you realized one of your books was a big success?

A: I didn’t believe it. It seems surreal every time I truly realize that a story I wrote entertained another human. Let alone more than one. I’m like… they paid to read it? WHAT?

Q: What’s next for the Devil You Know series?

A: I’m especially excited for the next book ALL SCOT AND BOTHERED because it’s about Alexandra’s best friend the curvy vicar’s daughter, Cecelia Teague. She inherits London’s most infamous and successful brothel, and one imposing, surly Scottish enemy along with it. She and Lord Ramsay, the Lord Chief Justice with an axe to grind against her establishment, can’t be in a room together without the sparks flying. I can’t think about this book without smiling.

Q: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

A: I hope you enjoy this trio of roguish redheads as much as I enjoyed writing them!

About the Author:

Kerrigan Byrne

Whether she’s writing about Celtic Druids, Victorian bad boys, or brash Irish FBI Agents, USA Today bestseller Kerrigan Byrne uses her borderline-obsessive passion for history, her extensive Celtic ancestry, and her love of Shakespeare in every book. She lives at the base of the Rocky Mountains with her handsome husband and three lovely teenage girls, but dreams of settling on the Pacific Coast. Her Victorian Rebels novels include The Highwayman and The Highlander.

Visit Kerrigan Byrne's website for more information

Release Day Launch: Rage - Cora Carmack

From New York Times bestselling author Cora Carmack, the second in the captivating new YA fantasy/romance Stormheart series, perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore and Victoria Aveyard.

Princess or adventurer.

Duty or freedom.

Her Kingdom or the storm hunter she loves.

If Aurora knows anything, it's that choices have consequences. To set things right, she joins a growing revolution on the streets of Pavan.

In disguise as the rebel Roar, she puts her knowledge of the palace to use to aid the rebellion. But the Rage season is at its peak and not a day passes without the skies raining down destruction. Yet these storms are different…they churn with darkness, and attack with a will that’s desperate and violent.

This feels like more than rage.

It feels like war.

RAGE is available NOW!

Amazon: http://tiny.cc/rageamazon

Barnes and Noble: http://tiny.cc/ragebn

Books-A-Million: http://tiny.cc/ragebam

Apple Books: http://tiny.cc/rageapple

Book Depository: http://tiny.cc/ragebd

Excerpt:

Two nights later it was time to make their move. They had left the Rock hidden deep in the woods, hoping that would be enough to keep it safe. Aurora had cried as they released their horses to the wilds. Honey had tried to follow her to the remnant camp, but listened when Aurora ordered her to stay. For so long, that horse had been her only company, her only solace. She hated leaving her behind. But it was impossible to take her with them.

The night died a thousand deaths as they waited for the perfect moment. Again and again, the dark sky lit up like the world itself was splitting at the seams. Perhaps it was.

Aurora wore a thick cloak, but when the night was dark be- tween bolts of skyfire, she could still see the faint glow of her own heart beneath the fabric. It flickered faster, reminding her with every frenzied heartbeat that she was about to go home. She was about to get all the answers she had been desiring and dreading. She was not the same girl she had been last time she stood this close to her home. She’d left powerless with nothing more than hope in her hands, and she’d come back with a storm wrapped around her heart.

The skyfire storm approached from the southwest, and while it was not directly upon the city yet, she could already hear the voices of the remnants carrying on the wind, begging at the city gate for admittance. She ached to go back to them, to do something, but as soon as she turned her head in their direction, Kiran was there. His voice was a low whisper as he said, “There’s no time. We must go now, while there’s a distraction.”

She understood that, understood that Kiran and the rest of the hunters were doing this all for her, and she hadn’t even gathered the courage to tell them why. But she had not realized that once she came home with magic, she could still feel as utterly powerless as before.

She opened her mouth to argue, but it was Duke who stopped her this time. “We can’t fight the storm either, Roar. This is Stormling territory. We would put everyone in greater danger if we tried to interfere.”

For the thousandth time, she wanted to throw back the hood that covered her hair and declare to the world that she was Stormling, that she was home. That she wanted to make things better.

But just as she had been shaped into something new by the wildlands, Pavan too had changed.

Aurora had done what she could to help in her time among the remnants. Kiran kept scolding her for giving food and supplies away for free rather than trying to barter, arguing it made them stand out too much. But after that display by Casimir, she knew these people had nothing to trade, and even if they did she would not take it from them. Each hour had heaped more guilt upon her shoulders, until she wondered how she could still walk upright. Once they were inside the city, she would tell Kiran the truth. She would tell them all the truth. Even if it meant they all left her behind.

Tonight, she had led them all through what remained of Pavan’s famed wheat fields. They were largely scorched or otherwise destroyed by storms, and in the few untouched areas, they clearly had not been tended to in weeks. The land was overgrown with weeds and other plants.

She could no longer hear the remnants over the rumbling storm by the time they stopped at their destination, a point on the city wall far out of sight from the gate where the soldiers’ attention was now focused. She had been sad to observe in recent days that when a storm hit, the men on duty seemed more concerned with keeping remnants out than being on alert should the storm slip through the city’s Stormling defenses, which meant the only other worry they had were the soldiers stationed in each of the high towers facing the cardinal directions. So they had chosen a spot equidistant from the two nearest towers, and thus their best chance at scaling the wall unseen.

It was a gamble. But no one expected them to have an earth witch on their side.

Jinx knelt in the dirt, and reached into the breast pocket of her leather jacket, pulling out a single seed.

She pushed that insignificant seed into the soil, planting each finger around it like the roots of a tree.

It took only a few breaths before a tiny green leaf broke through to open air, unfurling as though taking its first breath. The leaves grew and multiplied, followed by reaching vines that moved quickly over the earth until they found the stone wall that surrounded the city of Pavan. Faster, the vines began to uncurl, reaching higher and higher, winding about each other to reach the top. Roar recognized the plant as Rezna’s rest, the same plant she’d relied on for weeks in the wild to knock her out when she lost her emotions to a storm. The plant seemed to whisper as it climbed, gasping and growing in a way that reminded her too much of the people who were even now grasping the front gates in fear, begging for mercy, hoping just for a reprieve from the onslaught of this dangerous world.

When the vines had grown thick and sturdy, Jinx sat back, her normally tawny face dotted with sweat, and her skin several shades paler than usual. “That should work,” she said in a whisper. Ransom was there a moment later to pull her to her feet. Jinx brushed him off with a cavalier smile and turned to look at the others.

“Who wants to try first? It’s completely safe. Probably.” “Probably?” Bait asked, his eyebrows raised in exaggeration. Roar stepped forward, her voice quiet but firm as she said, “I will.” She saw Kiran about to object out of the corner of her eye, and she held up a hand. “I’m doing this.” After all, they were all only here because of her, because she asked, and because they now counted her part of their team. Her stomach clenched, and she re- fused to let herself think about how they might feel differently soon.

Before anyone else could object, she marched up to the thick vine and grabbed hold. She lifted her foot, finding a sturdy notch in the vines, and then pulled herself up a little with her arms. She wanted to take it slow, to step cautiously, but she knew there was too much at risk to be anything but quick and efficient. When she reached the top, she was relieved to find that Jinx had grown the vine not only up the wall, but down the other side. For one brief second, she allowed herself to look out over the city of Pavan. There were hardly any lights to be seen, and the streets were de- serted. She knew all the people were likely hiding in shelters, but it didn’t stop the unease she felt at seeing her city so lifeless. If she dared to lower her shields, she could probably feel the souls of the people below, maybe even pick up a bit of their emotions, but it was too dangerous to risk her walls being breached.

She felt the rustle of the vine as someone else began their as- cent, and quickly threw her legs over to continue her climb down. When she was a few feet off the ground, she jumped, the sound of her landing swallowed by a boom of thunder that seemed to shake the skies.

Kiran was there by the time she found steady footing, having dropped from the top without bothering to climb down at all. “And you call me reckless,” she whispered. “You could have broken your leg.”

He didn’t answer, simply closed the distance between them, curled his hand around the nape of her neck, and pulled her for- ward into the softest kiss he had ever given her. It lasted only a moment, but they stayed close, heads bent together, lips a whisper away. And slowly, the frenetic beat of her heart eased, the tension in her fingers loosened, and she felt all her fear slide somewhere farther back in her mind, pushed away by the intensity that always rose up between them.

She could do this. They could do this.

This man had taken down hurricanes and lived through firestorms, and he loved her. She would tell him the truth, and he would understand. He had to, because she wasn’t sure how she could get through the next few days without him. If she searched for her mother, only to find out the worst . . . she did not know what she would do then.

Kiran whispered, “I can feel you tensing up again.”

A thump signaled another hunter’s arrival on this side of the wall. Roar gave Kiran the best smile she could manage and promised, “Later.”

She had been promising later for days, but this time she meant it. She pulled him down for another hard kiss, and when they pulled apart, he looked more worried, not less.

“I promise I will tell you everything—”

He cut her off. “But first, we have to find your mother. I understand, princess.”

She winced, and hoped he did not see it in the dark. “I also need to find out about what has happened since I left.”

“We all do. We need to know what kind of trouble we are in here.”

Trouble she had dragged them into. Goddess, she was selfish. If she had any honor, she would tell them right here, right now and let them leave before they got involved any further. But the greedy part of her was not going to make it any easier for Kiran to leave her. If she could just prepare him, and say the right words at the right time, maybe she did not have to lose everything she had gained in the last few months.

Kiran laid his palm over her heart, and she felt the zing of skyfire rise up to meet his touch. She didn’t think he could feel it, but it always made her feel as if her heart were too full, as if it might burst under his attention.

“What are you two up to over there?” Bait asked. Roar hadn’t even heard him descend. He continued, “Am I going to see some- thing inappropriate the next time the sky lights up? Because some of us have virgin eyes. Not from lack of effort, mind you.”

Kiran rolled his eyes, and blew out a steady breath before pulling away. “Nothing to see. Your purity will remain intact.”

“Too bad.” It was dark, but somehow Roar could feel Kiran’s glare fix on the novice hunter, and by the way the redheaded teen threw up his hands, he could feel it too. “What? I’m only saying you could both stand to loosen up. You act like we’re breaking into a hostile city in the middle of a violent storm during the dead of night and could be caught and jailed at any moment.”

No one replied for a long moment. By skyfire’s streaking light, they saw Jinx step down gracefully from the vine and head toward them.

“What? No laughs for that one?” Bait frowned. “I thought it was clever.”

“Now’s not the time to be clever,” Jinx said.
 “It’s always a good time to be clever.”
“No, it isn’t,” Duke said from halfway up the vine.
The old man took longer than all the rest, and Roar watched
him as best she could in the fractured darkness. She would tell him second, after Kiran. She was fairly certain he already suspected her secret, but she would need him on her side if she were going to convince the crew to stay and help her put things right here. If that could even be done—the unknowns were unraveling constantly in her mind, threatening to pull her into a panic.

Of course, Duke was not the only one among their group who suspected Roar had been untruthful about aspects of her past. Sly, who had somehow appeared on this side of the wall without Roar ever glimpsing her on the vine, stood leaning against the wall. With her arms crossed over her chest, and her eyes as sharp as ever, Sly scanned the abandoned city around them. Roar was relieved not to have those keen eyes on her for a change.

Ransom was the last to come down the vine, his large body moving with surprising agility. Roar supposed she shouldn’t be shocked—he was a hunter, after all.

Once everyone had cleared the wall, Jinx crossed back to the vine. With a brush of her fingers and a few whispered words of peace, the vine grew dry and brittle, and broke apart in the wind. After a few gusts from the storm, there was no evidence of their break-in to be found.

Giveaway:

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About the Author

Cora Carmack is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of New Adult Romance and YA fantasy. Her books have been translated into more than a dozen languages around the world. Cora lives in Austin, TX, and on any given day you might find her typing away at her computer, flying to various cities around the world, or just watching Netflix with her kitty Katniss and her dog Sherlock. But she can always be found on Twitter and Instagram (@coracarmack), Facebook (www.facebook.com/coracarmackbooks), and her website (www.coracarmack.com).

Review: Sapphire Flames - Ilona Andrews

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Ilona Andrew comes an enthralling new trilogy set in the Hidden Legacy world, where magic means power, and family bloodlines are the new currency of society…

In a world where magic is the key to power and wealth, Catalina Baylor is a Prime, the highest rank of magic user, and the Head of her House. Catalina has always been afraid to use her unique powers, but when her friend’s mother and sister are murdered, Catalina risks her reputation and safety to unravel the mystery.

But behind the scenes powerful forces are at work, and one of them is Alessandro Sagredo, the Italian Prime who was once Catalina’s teenage crush. Dangerous and unpredictable, Alessandro’s true motives are unclear, but he’s drawn to Catalina like a moth to a flame.

To help her friend, Catalina must test the limits of her extraordinary powers, but doing so may cost her both her House–and her heart.

Hidden Legacy Series:
Burn for Me
White Hot
Wildfire
Diamond Fire (Novella)
Sapphire Flames

Visit Ilona Andrews' website for more information

Review:
If you go into this book looking for more Nevada and Rogan you're going to be disappointed because this is very much the start of Catalina's trilogy and the focus is on her and the rest of the Baylor family. And that's not me trying to be negative or put anyone off reading because I absolutely loved Sapphire Flames and think fans will too, I really love how much Catalina has changed and grown in the three years that have passed since events in Diamond Fire. She's a force to be reckoned with and so is Alessandro, they're definitely going to be a power couple and I'm sure I'll come to love them both as much as I do Nevada and Rogan.

Anyone who knows me should know I'm obsessed with Nevada and particularly Rogan, I'm totally addicted to their books (I've read them all well over 10 times each now!) and yes, I would have been happy to read many, many more books from Nevada's point of view. Having said that I'm still glad that they've been given their HEA and I'm happy that we'll get to see glimpses of it in Catalina's story. I think Ilona Andrews deliberately kept them pretty absent from this book to allow readers to get used to the change in narrators and I think that was the right thing to do. There is a reason for their absence and we do still get small hints of what is going on with them now but this is Catalina's time to shine and she does it brilliantly.

I've already mentioned that it's been almost three years since Nevada's wedding and the formation of House Baylor. Catalina is now head of the house and they're just about to run out of the 3 year grace period where no other houses were allowed to attack them. Their enemies are circling and Catalina has been doing her best to form allies and build their reputation as a house that shouldn't be messed with. It's not easy though and in a lot of ways they're still a little known entity that other more established houses don't really take too seriously. Catalina has spent years training with her magic thanks to help from Rogan's mother and she's grown a lot in confidence in that time too. She's still quite shy and would rather avoid confrontation but at the same time she is very protective of her family and will do whatever it takes to keep them safe, even if it pushes her completely out of her comfort zone.

I don't want to give away too much of the plot of this story but there is plenty of action, hints of more than one future romance and all the humour you'd expect from this series. The Baylor family is as crazy as ever but they're also just as close knit. Nevada was so much older than her sisters and cousins that she had a very different relationship with them than Catalina does so I really enjoyed seeing how Catalina works alongside Arabella, Bern and Leon. All four of them are more grown up now and they're all coming into their own both magically and in a sense of finding their purpose. We may not see much of Nevada and Rogan but other familiar faces are still in full play from Cornelius and Matilda through to Augustine, Bug and Linus Duncan.

Alessandro obviously has a lot of secrets but I'm enjoying the banter between him and Catalina. I love how dorky she can be sometimes and that he finds it so endearing and I really enjoyed learning more about his magic. He has some impressive skills and I think we're only beginning to touch the surface of what both he and Catalina are capable of. Theirs is the kind of slow burn romance that Ilona and Gordon excel at and I can't wait to watch it grow into something explosive. It won't be easy to knock Nevada and Rogan off of my top couple spot but I have a feeling that Catalina and Alessandro may be able to do it!

The only thing even slightly disappointing about this book is that I can't have the rest of the trilogy immediately but even that isn't something I can really complain about as I'll have so much fun rereading the previous books while I wait for the next ones to release. My Hidden Legacy obsession hasn't dialled back even slightly with the change of narrators, in fact if anything it's grown even stronger.

Source: Received from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review

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Review: The Bear's Chosen Mate - Vivian Arend

Get mated—or else!

When the meddling, match-making family patriarch lays down the law, Giles Borealis’ three polar bear shifter grandsons agree to follow his edict. Only James, Alex and Cooper each have a vastly different plan in mind to deal with their impending mating fevers. Will any of them be able to fight fate?

Spoiler: not likely!

First up: James, the youngest of the brothers….

He’s going to accept his fate—but only with the woman he chooses!

James Borealis figures if he has to get mated, it should be with someone he already knows and cares about—his best friend Kaylee. But when the mating fever hits, she’s still stuck in friendshipland while he’s ready to move all the way to true love and forever.

Kaylee has heard about polar bear mating fever, but while James has held the starring role in her fantasies for a long time, she’s not about to leap into a permanent relationship that’s all wrong for him. He’s the PR powerhouse for Borealis Gems while she’s a quiet bobcat shifter with massive family baggage. He loves the spotlight; she wants to hide in quiet corners.

But mating fever knows best, and when the storm settles, there’s no use in arguing with a polar bear’s choice.

Borealis Bears Series:
The Bear's Chosen Mate
The Bear's Fated Mate
The Bear's Forever Mate

Visit Vivian Arend's website for more information

Review:
I'm a huge fan of Vivian Arend's paranormal romances so I was really excited to find out she was starting a new trilogy about polar bear shifting brothers finding their mates. The Bear's Chosen Mate introduces us to the family and we see the patriarch encourage his grandsons to start seriously considering their futures and the possibility of starting families of their own.

James is the youngest brother but he has known who he would chose as his mate for years already so he's the one most open to the idea of settling down. Kaylee has been his best friend forever, she's a wildcat shifter not a polar bear but that doesn't bother James in the slightest. All he really cares about is that she's the perfect woman for him and if he's going to mate with anyone it has to be her. Kaylee has also been in love with James for years but she worries that they're too different and that she can't give him everything he needs in a partner. James is outgoing, the life and soul of the party and the face of the family's business while Kaylee is shy and quiet and hates nothing more than being in the spotlight.

I thought this was a great start to the series, I enjoyed meeting all of the brothers but the focus was definitely on James and Kaylee which is exactly as it should be in a romance. They were a really cute couple with great chemistry and I thought the mating fever was an interesting way of pushing them together. I thought Grandfather Giles was a bit mean with the way he tried to force the brother's into settling down but you could tell his heart was in the right place and I think he was making empty threats anyway. I did like that James and Kaylee both made him sweat a bit though, he deserved the little bit of revenge they took. I'm looking forward to getting to know the other brothers, Alex and Cooper, better. I have a feeling about who they'll both end up with but will have to wait and see if I'm correct, luckily I won't have to wait long as the rest of the series is publishing relatively soon.

Source: Received from the author in exchange for an honest review

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Review: The Queen's Advantage - Jessie Mihalik

When Queen Samara Rani fulfills the promise she made to Emperor Valentin Kos to visit his court and meet with his advisors, she knows they won’t welcome her with open arms, especially when she’s been tasked with discovering the traitors within their ranks—traitors she tricked out of five million credits.

As soon as Samara begins her investigation it becomes clear that Valentin’s advisors want her gone and they aren’t picky about how. After their tactics turn violent, Samara and Valentin race to unravel the web of treachery and lies before the next attack ends in tragedy.

When the conflict escalates in ferocity and rumors start blaming Samara, she is forced to continue her hunt alone. Uncovering traitors is difficult when courtiers learn to lie before they learn to walk, and one misstep could cost her life. However, Rogue Queens aren’t easy to kill and Samara has more than a few tricks of her own.

Rogue Queen:
The Queen's Gambit
The Queen's Ambition

Visit Jessie Mihalik's website for more information

Review:
I first read The Queen’s Advantage when it was available on Jessie Mihalik’s blog as a free online serial and I enjoyed it enough that I purchased the final, edited version when it went on sale. The story was officially edited and expanded upon before official publication and I enjoyed the story as much, if not more, the second time around.

Queen Samara Rami promised to help Emperor Valentin Kos figure out the traitors in his court who are trying to have him killed. To fulfil that promise she's travelled to his home planet and plans to spend at least two weeks living at the palace pushing buttons trying to get the traitors to betray themselves. It quickly becomes clear that someone doesn't want her there and that they're willing to use her, and the rest of her people, as scapegoats for the continuing attacks on Valentin.

I think this story had a little less action than the first book, there were still some great fight scenes but there was also a lot of political intrigue as Samara tried to figure out who was targeting Valentin. It was interesting to meet some of the people closest to him but I have to admit I missed Samara's loyal people who had remained behind to hold the Rogue Coalition together while she was gone. I'm still really enjoying the developing romance between Samara and Valentin, it's still very slow build (come on just give into temptation already!) but I think that works for them as a couple since they both have good reason to be wary of outsiders.

I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next when Jessie Mihalik starts posting book 3 on her blog.

Source: Originally read as an online serial on Jessie Mihalik's blog but I then purchased a copy once it had been edited and published

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Cover Reveal: Edge of Darkness - Lara Adrian

It's no secret I'm a HUGE fan of Lara Adrian's Midnight Breed series so I'm thrilled to be taking part in the cover reveal for the next book in the series Edge of Darkness. The book releases on the 30th of September 2019 in ebook and print and you can order from all major retailers now or visit www.LaraAdrian.com for more information.

Story Synopsis

New York Times bestselling author Lara Adrian is back with Edge of Darkness, the latest sizzling, spellbinding novel in the Hunter Legacy series of vampire romances set in the darkly seductive Midnight Breed paranormal story world.

As a survivor of the horrific Hunter program, Breed vampire and former assassin Knox is a solitary man, closed off to the pain of love—and loss. A loner by choice, Knox deals in death and dark justice, expecting nothing in return. Until one snowy night he drifts into a remote town in northern Maine, where a determined beauty enlists his lethal assistance, tempting not only his hunger, but his wounded heart as well.

Lenora Calhoun has lived in tiny Parrish Falls all her life. Owner of the local diner that’s been in her family for generations, Leni’s as stalwart and stubborn as the tall pines that surround her. That unshakable resolve doesn’t sit well with everyone, least of all the most powerful family in the logging town. Leni’s been the target of their animosity for years, but with their escalating threats now putting an innocent child’s safety at risk, she takes a desperate chance on a dangerous stranger—a man who is something more than human. Knox’s deadly skills and turbulent gaze should be warning enough for Leni to guard her heart, yet she cannot deny the yearning he stirs in her blood. For the merciless Breed male is the only man she can trust in a town full of secrets, and where taking a stand could rip away everything she holds dear.

While this novel is Book 3 in the Hunter Legacy series, each story in this Midnight Breed spin-off series can be read as a complete standalone with HEA and no cliffhangers.

Pre-order Links

EBOOK LINKS:
Kindle US: https://amzn.to/2GQIGdf
Nook: http://bit.ly/2Ktsak4
Apple: https://apple.co/2KQRd0O
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2KoOVXR

*** EDGE OF DARKNESS will be going into Kindle Unlimited a day or so after release and will be exclusive at Amazon for at least 90 days. If you're a Nook, Apple, or Kobo reader, please be sure to pre-order! ***

PRINT LINKS:
Available on release day

AUDIOBOOK LINKS:
Release day TBA

Add it to your Goodreads shelf: http://bit.ly/2Ndj7qx