Series Tour: Pitch & Sickle – The Diabolus Chronicles by D K Girl

SERIES TOUR

Pitch & Sickle – The Diabolus Chronicles by D K Girl

An MM Gaslamp Fantasy Series

BOOK 1

Book Title: The Bandalore – Pitch & Sickle Book One

Cover Artist: Deranged Doctor Designs

Release Date: February 25, 2021

Genre: Historical Fantasy MM

Tropes: Slow, slow burn, opposites attract

Themes: Loneliness and friendship

Heat Rating: 2 flames

Length: 285 pages

It is not a standalone book. This is the first book in the Gaslamp Fantasy series, The Diabolus Chronicles.

It has an unresolved storyline rather than an outright cliffhanger.

Goodreads

Buy Links – Available in Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US | Amazon UK

Silas Mercer died once. He’d rather not do it again.

Blurb

1885 London, England

Silas Mercer died once. He’d rather not do it again.

On his return to the world of the living, Silas finds himself in the hands of the mysterious Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.

The Order has London society clamouring for their services, with tarot readings, seances and exorcisms among their arcane specialities.

Now they seem intent on making Silas their newest recruit.

But they want far more from him than cheap parlour tricks.

When the Order partners him with the scandalous rake, Tobias Astaroth, Silas’s new life is turned on its head in more ways than one.

Tobias is quick-tempered, dangerously charming, and far more than the man he seems.

For Silas, surviving what the Order has planned for him will be a challenge.

But finding a way to survive Tobias Astaroth could prove impossible.

A slow-burn MM Gaslamp Fantasy series.

Contains: Sexual content, violence and rather a lot of cursing.

This is the first book in the thrilling Gaslamp Fantasy series, The Diabolus Chronicles

Continue reading “Series Tour: Pitch & Sickle – The Diabolus Chronicles by D K Girl”

Shari’s Top 5: Halloween Treats

Top 5

Welcome to Shari’s Top 5! This is a feature I have created to showcase my personal top 5 of various books, shows, toys, music, films, food, etc, whatever I fancy focusing on for each post really!

For this month I am focusing on Halloween / Spooky themed Top 5’s. I hope you enjoy this theme and do let me know what your Top 5’s are too!


Top 5 - Halloween Treats5. Swizzels Double Lollies I have loved these lollies from an early age. Every time I have one, they bring back so many childhood memories.

4. Chocolate Buttons – These are one of my go-to treats when watching scary movies. They come in many different flavours now, but my favourites are the classic milk chocolate ones.

3. Peanut M&Ms – Another movie go-to, they combine two of my favourite treats – peanuts and chocolate!

2. Snickers – Again another favourite combo, snickers are my go-to bar when I need a treat!

1. Reeses – I was so happy the day they started selling Reeses in the UK! The peanut butter and chocolate combo is so good!

Book Review: The Greensward (Pitch & Sickle #4) by Danielle K. Girl

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The Lady’s Horsemen are riding out once more. Carrying death’s scythe to where tormented souls linger.
But what awaits them in a world where divine magick has returned?

Pitch is recovered from the injuries he received in the Forest of Dean, and Silas won’t soon forget the part he played in setting his guardian back on his feet.
The ankou and the daemon have been reunited in a most unexpected and intimate way, but barely have they caught their breath when a new threat arises.

A tortured spirit is frightening both the living and the dead along the roads of Devon.
But is this soul a monster that must be stopped, or another pawn in the necromancer’s mysterious game?
With Azazel’s magick re-emerging after hundreds of years, maleficium plagues the world once more. But who is wielding the forbidden arcane magick of the angels?

Do they work alone?
And why are they so intent on harassing the Lady’s Horsemen?

Silas has never felt stronger, or more determined to live up to the Order’s high expectations. He’s faced the walking dead, outwitted the enchanted Hall, and gained an ally in the skriker.
But he’s not sure he’s equipped to handle his growing attraction to a troubled daemon.
And Silas fears that getting any closer to Pitch and his tragic secrets may prove as dangerous as the monsters they are riding to face.

Purchase Link: Amazon.com

Goodreads: The Greensward (Pitch & Sickle #4) by Danielle K. Girl


Review

Rating: 5 stars

*I received this novel for free in exchange for an honest review*

Having recovered from their injuries, Pitch and Silas are back on the road this time in search of a ghost so tortured that even the dead are afraid. But with unspoken feelings between them, can Pitch and Sickle still work together to overcome everything that they must face?

The Greensward is my favourite book in the series so far. Pitch and Silas are finally becoming a little closer, although they still have their own internal battles to overcome. A lot more of Pitch’s past is revealed and it is unexpected and devastating to learn of what he went through. Knowing more about what torments him gives a greater insight into his character and why he acts as he does. I am looking forward to seeing how Silas’ further understanding of his companion develops their relationship further.

In this novel, the foe that they must face is not what they seem, and Silas learns that even other Ankou cannot always be trusted. Whilst he has gained greatly in confidence of himself and his abilities, it is obvious that his mission is best served by having Pitch at his side and help from his increasing number of allies.

We learn more about the Blight and the world that Silas is living in, and I cannot wait for Book 5 to be released!

Book Review: The Skriker (Pitch & Sickle #3) by Danielle K. Girl

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Silas Mercer has faced wily boggarts, mad faerie queens and enraged forest spirits. But can he withstand a daemon who is losing his mind?

Pitch and Sickle are left bruised, battered and reeling after their confrontation with the Verderer.
They have learned a startling truth behind the arrowhead that wounded Silas, a truth that must be taken to the Lady Satine and the Order without delay.

But his encounters in the Forest of Dean have effected Pitch in alarming ways. The daemon’s body may have healed but his erratic behaviour and wildly unpredictable temper grow ever more concerning.
Silas owes his life to Pitch. Their experience in the forest has brought them a closeness he could not have imagined possible.

But what can he do for a daemon who is losing his way?

And how long will Silas survive, if he must ride alone?

Purchase Link: Amazon.com

Goodreads: The Skriker (Pitch & Sickle #3) by Danielle K. Girl


Review

Rating: 5 stars

*I received this novel for free in exchange for an honest review*

After their battle against the Verderer, Silas and Pitch are doing their best to heal. Silas’ wounds are physical, and he is also deeply troubled by what he learned during the confrontation. Pitch’s injuries have healed, but he is growing increasingly angry, erratic, and self-destructive. In the end, Silas has had enough, and they part ways. Once alone, he encounters Charlie; a human who is on the run from his own past. Together they find comfort in each other, however Silas is concerned that his life will bring danger to his new friend. But Charlie is not so easily phased by the supernatural and has a secret of his own.

Book 3 introduces some more supporting characters who I am sure will have roles to play as the series progresses. I really enjoyed learning about them and seeing their relationships with Silas develop. Silas himself is very concerned for Pitch as his feelings for the daemon grow stronger. Yet he is unable to bear seeing Pitch self-destruct and this forces them to part. Once reunited, his tenderness and love for Pitch is tested when Pitch continues to try to push him away. Pitch’s character is tormented, but I do see some hope for him with Silas’ support and belief that he can be better. In book 3 we learn more about Pitch’s past and develop a deeper understanding as to why he acts as he does.

The world building is just as detailed and vivid as the previous books, and the characters complex. Each one is being driven by their own motivations and desire to stop the Blight from destroying their world.

This series just gets better and better and I cannot wait to read book 4.

Shari’s Life: Home Improvements, Shopping and writing update

Shari's Life

I’ve been continuing the home improvement theme lately and have been sorting out my flat and getting some new things in to make the place more my own. I’ve ordered a new wardrobe and a shelving unit from Ikea, and they are arriving Tuesday. The new wardrobe is a lot bigger, so I am looking forward to being able to finally put a lot of clothes away rather than have them in the temporary fabric storage that image3I’ve had for a couple of years now! On Wednesday, the handymen are coming to build my furniture, get rid of the old stuff and put up all my shelving too! It cannot happen soon enough, and I am looking forward to having a huge tidy-up and sort out once everything is ready! They are also going to open a cupboard that has been painted shut since I bought my flat. I have no idea what, if anything, is inside! To me it looks kind of spooky so that’s just in time for the beginning of the spooky season! 

There have also been builders here all week finally fixing my bay window in my lounge! That has been a bit of a saga with the managing agents refusing to do anything about the rain coming in and the freezing cold in winter for 3 years now. Finally, after some complaints to the Ombudsman and the threat of legal action they have now agreed to get it sorted. The builders haven’t finished yet but already I can feel the temperature difference! 

image0Yesterday I went to what me and Sarah call ‘the big 3′ which is Tesco, Sainsbury’s and B&M. We call them that as they are all within five-ten minutes’ walk of each other and when we do our Squishmallow hunts we check all three.  I went up to B&M first. They are starting to get squish in now after months of not having any, but they mainly had big ones today and until my shelves are up, I don’t have any more room for big ones! I did check their home section too and got these cute mats, a wall hanging and candle holder! I love B&M for little treasures like this as they are well-made and very affordable!

I went onto Sainsbury’s next, and they had the new Zaylee squad! I was able to grab 2 of her for me and Sarah. They had finally put their Halloween stuff out too! We are always so late in the UK for Halloween, but there have been Christmas aisles popping up in stores since June? I don’t get that at all really, but at least Halloween hasn’t been forgotten I guess! I got this very cute top and leggings set in there!

image2Tesco was my last stop. There wasn’t much there in squish-terms as they have had a clubcard offer on them all week and they are £6 with a clubcard rather than £9 so they were mostly all gone. They had a Halloween display too, but Sainsbury’s has the edge at the moment! They also had some amazing clubcard offers on kids toys in the Christmas section! There was this massive car carrier and all these little cars for £30 with clubcard and without was £50! I will be going back there when I start Christmas shopping to grab some bargains! 

 

I also thought I would give you all an update on my writing progress as it has been a while. I am continuing with Demon’s Past, and I now have 26 chapters so I am over halfway! I had no idea how long this book would be, but I am loving every minute of it and cannot wait to share some snippets with you!

I am also writing my fantasy novel alongside it as I like to have a couple of projects on the go at once. I first drafted this for NaNoWriMo in 2007 (I think!) and it has undergone so many changes since then, but all for the better (I hope!).

 

 

Shari’s Top 5: Spooky Creatures

Top 5

Welcome to Shari’s Top 5! This is a feature I have created to showcase my personal top 5 of various books, shows, toys, music, films, food, etc, whatever I fancy focusing on for each post really!

For this month I am focusing on Halloween / Spooky themed Top 5’s. I hope you enjoy this theme and do let me know what your Top 5’s are too!


Top 5 - Spooky Creatures5. Black Cats – I’m not particularly superstitious when it comes to Black Cats as I have one, but it can be pretty spooky to run into one at night or in a graveyard. I love all cats, but black (and white) ones have a special place in my heart. Sadly, these are often the ones left in shelters for a long time due to the superstition around them 😦 so next time you are thinking of getting a cat do please consider a black one as they are beautiful and make very loving companions! 

4. Moths – You just turn out the light and you can hear a fluttering in the dark. Chances are it’s a massive moth flapping around your room. The sound can be pretty spooky and moths for me always bring to mind sitting in lamplight telling spooky tales.

3. Ghosts – Who doesn’t love a good ghost story, especially during the Halloween month. Ghosts fascinate me rather than scare me (and I have seen a few!). 

2. Shadow people – Again, this is something that I have seen myself. The unexplained never fails to fascinate me and shadow people are definitely that! I’m used to them appearing, so I’m not scared of them, I really just want to know more about them!

1. Vampires – Vampires have been my firm favourite since I was a child. Dark, mysterious (and often sexy!) they are embedded into practically every culture in the world. I read and write so much vampire fiction and have many mythology books on them too. 

 

New Release Blitz: The Oracle’s Sprite by Mell Eight

Title: The Oracle’s Sprite

Series: Oracle, Book Four

Author: Mell Eight

Publisher: NineStar Press

Release Date: 09/27/2022

Heat Level: 2 – Fade to Black Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 26100

Genre: Paranormal Fantasy, LGBTQIA+, MM romance, explicit, anthropomorphic, mythical creatures/dragons, magic users, hurt-comfort, soldiers

Add to Goodreads

Description

Keir became the leader of the opposition army when he was barely eighteen years old. He led the fight against the usurper king from land while Prince Edan and Regent Egan led from the sea. Keir also had hundreds of men at his command and one invisible dragon, nicknamed Sprite, who likes to help out from time to time.

Sprite is friendly and fun-loving, happy to play tricks on Keir’s sister and keep Keir company. When a letter arrives from the Oracle asking for Keir’s presence, he expects Sprite to calmly travel with him. Instead, the strong gale that erupts sends Keir flying overboard and into an adventure he and Sprite might not walk away from alive.

Continue reading “New Release Blitz: The Oracle’s Sprite by Mell Eight”

Book Review: The Verderer (Pitch & Sickle #2) by Danielle K. Girl

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Silas Mercer is a dead man walking.

And the mysterious Order of the Golden Dawn have big plans for their newest ankou and his deathly bandalore.

Life as a servant of death has its challenges.

But the biggest one of all is Silas’s daemonic guardian, Pitch.

He may look like heaven, but he’s making Silas’s life all kinds of hell.

The daemon is arrogant, egotistical and his appetite for violence and tea cakes is fast outgrowing the small village where they have been recuperating since their run-in with Black Annis.

Now, the increasingly unstable Blight is causing new havoc, and fresh monstrosities are emerging.

Pitch and Sickle are back in the saddle, and on their way to the haunted Forest of Dean.

But can Silas rely on his guardian’s protection?

Or will Pitch prove to be the most dangerous encounter of all?

Purchase Link: Amazon.com

Goodreads: The Verderer (Pitch & Sickle #2) by Danielle K. Girl


Review

Rating: 5 stars

*I received this novel for free in exchange for an honest review*

After their trials against Black Annis, Pitch and Silas barely have enough time to recover before they are on the road again. This time to find the blight stricken Verderer. Yet within the Forest of Dean, they face a foe far worse than they imagined. Together they must overcome the teratism but forging a true partnership may be the toughest challenge of all.

I thoroughly enjoyed the second book in the series and had so much trouble putting it down. We start off where book 1 left us. Joining our heroes on the road are Lady Satine’s horses Lalassu and Sanu, who are not quite what they seem.

In The Verderer, we start to learn more hints about Pitch’s past and why he has been sent to the human realm. It is clear that he is in great pain, but he tries to hide this behind his destructive and often cruel behaviour. Silas is learning more how to deal with the erratic daemon and there are moments between them that pave the way for the relationship that is slowly developing. Silas is still of the mind that Pitch is toying with his feelings, that are causing him great conflict. Yet the two of them do seem more comfortable with each other than they were in book 1.

The pacing suits the novel. Time is taken for every aspect, and this sets up the final battle in which The Verderer is revealed. The action scenes are incredibly well-written and again I was turning each page in anticipation of what will happen next.

I am really enjoying the series and cannot wait to read book 3.

 

New Release Blitz: Blood Harvest by Meghan Schubert

Title: Blood Harvest

Series: The Harvest

Author: Meghan Schubert

Publisher: NineStar Press

Release Date: 09/27/2022

Heat Level: 3 – Some Sex

Pairing: Female/Female

Length: 79200

Genre: Paranormal, LGBTQIA+, paranormal, urban fantasy, lesbian, vampire, shifter, angel, succubus, roommates, blood, death, conspiracy

Add to Goodreads

Description

If you were losing your humanity, how hard would you fight to hold on to it? What would you be willing to do, to give up, to make sure you remained the human you were, rather than the demon you seemed to be turning into? Hope McKinley, former advertising student turned newly undead, finds herself wrestling with these questions and so much more.

Blood Harvest delves into the depths of the human psyche and grapples with the struggle between light and dark in all of us as seen through the eyes of one forced out of the human race and fighting to return.

Continue reading “New Release Blitz: Blood Harvest by Meghan Schubert”

Release Blitz: The Impossible Childhood of My Desires by Rick R. Reed

RELEASE BLITZ

Book Title: The Impossible Childhood of My Desires

Author: Rick R. Reed

Publisher: JMS Books

Cover Artist: Written Ink Designs

Release Date: September 24, 2022

Genre: Contemporary M/M Romance

Themes: Transgender Awakening and Acceptance, long-term relationship facing a challenge

Heat Rating: 2 flames

Length: 60 000 words

It is a standalone story and does not end on a cliffhanger.

Goodreads

Buy Links

JMS Books | Amazon US | Amazon UK

“Well, isn’t queer adulthood, if one is lucky, having the impossible childhood of your desires?”

― Joss Lake, Future Feeling

Blurb

Carl Young’s biggest secret: he’s always felt like Cara Young. Through the years, he acknowledged his authentic female self in ways he kept hidden in the shadows. The makeup, the dresses, the shoes — all of them represented his most longed-for desires and his deepest shame.

When Carl’s husband Roberto comes home early from work to discover Cara in her wig, makeup, dress, and high heels, he’s shocked. Who is this person he married decades ago? He flees, leaving their home in Chicago for the obliviousness of the sunny skies of Southern California.

Cara begins making tentative steps into a world she imagined would always remain secret. She ventures out, dressing the only way she feels whole. Publicly claiming her identity, she’s terrified, but also filled with joy when she discovers there are others like her, people who will welcome her with open arms and support.

But for both Roberto and Cara, their long-term and love-filled marriage is now a challenge with which they both must reckon. Does her transition mean following separate paths? Or forging a new one … together?

Continue reading “Release Blitz: The Impossible Childhood of My Desires by Rick R. Reed”