Book Blast: Death & Maia by A.C. Jolly
BOOK BLAST
Book Title: Death & Maia
Author and Publisher: A. C. Jolly
Cover Artist: Alyssa Winans
Release Date: April 24, 2025
Tense/POV: first person, present tense, single POV.
Genres: FF Dark Fantasy, Historical, Paranormal
Tropes: Fated mates
Heat Rating: 4 flames
Length: Approx 35 000 words/184 pages
It is a standalone book and does not end on a cliffhanger.
Buy Links – Available in Kindle Unlimited and Paperback
Amazon US | Amazon UK | BookShop.org
Can love truly conquer death when mortality stands in the way?
Blurb
A lush, sapphic romantasy.
In the shadowed streets of plague-ridden Athens, Maia lies on the brink of death. When the grim reaper appears to claim her, Maia makes a bold request: a kiss.
Ancient and enigmatic, Lady Death has guided countless souls into the unknowable afterlife. But Maia is different. Her resilience and humour—and that kiss—awaken a desire that Death has never known. What begins as a moment of terrified curiosity deepens into a passion as tender as it is consuming.
Pride Month Book Promotions!
Book Blast: The Man in Black by L.R. Liverpool
BOOK BLAST
Book Title: The Man in Black
Author: L.R. Liverpool
Publisher: Black Cab Productions / Texas Poetrope
Cover Artist: Gabriel Sanche
Release Date: November 22, 2022
Tense/POV: First person, past tense, single POV
Genres: MM Historical Romance/Thriller
Tropes: Enemies to lovers, forbidden love, dangerous environment, solving mysteries
Themes: Old West, outlaws, mysterious pursuer, hurt/comfort, murders, emotional traumas, scary dreams
Heat Rating: 4 flames
Length: 897 pages in Kindle format
It is a standalone story and does not end on a cliffhanger.
Buy Links
Smashwords | Google | Apple | Kobo
Who will be safe when a dream figure becomes real?
Blurb
Naive dreamer Fenimore James goes west to become a famous outlaw, but his fantasies of glamorous robberies quickly evaporate when he joins the Red Evans gang, finding himself caught in a strange and bloody game, where gang members are suddenly being murdered one-by-one at the hand of a mysterious pursuer, who leaves cryptic signs scarifying their bodies. As his nights become plagued by a bizarre dream figure––the Man In Black, he also begins to question his sexuality, falling for a fellow male gang member, whom he feared just recently.
Continue reading “Book Blast: The Man in Black by L.R. Liverpool”
Book Review: The Vampyre by Tom Holland
When I started this, I wasn’t sure what to expect but it did not disappoint! I love how the history of Lord Byron was adapted to fit this vampire story. Combining Byron’s colourful history, traditional vampire lore and the author’s own take on vampires it creates a dark and bloodthirsty read that I had trouble putting down!
New Release: The 39 Steps: A Contemporary Reimagining by L M Somerton
NEW RELEASE
Book Title: The 39 Steps: A Contemporary Reimagining
Author: L M Somerton
Publisher: Totally Entwined
Cover Artist: Claire Siemaszkiewicz
Release Date: May 20, 2025
Tense/POV: third person, present tense
Genres: Contemporary MM Romance, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Tropes: Peril, self-sacrifice, accidental hero
Themes: Saving the world
Heat Rating: 4 flames
Length: 50 955 words
It is a standalone story and does not end on a cliffhanger.
Buy Links
First for Romance | Pride Publishing
Uncover the conspiracy, outrun the enemy, and trust no one—survival is the ultimate test.
Blurb
Oberon Wycherley never thought his dull London life could take a deadly turn—until a frantic neighbour, American journalist Art Carew, claims to have uncovered an international conspiracy. A Greek industrialist is marked for assassination by a shadowy cabal called the Black Stone and that’s only the beginning.
When Carew is found dead in his flat, Oberon finds himself the prime suspect—and the only one who can stop the plot. Fleeing to the rugged Scottish Highlands, Oberon must decipher Carew’s cryptic notebook while dodging assassins and evading the police. Along the way, he forms an unlikely partnership with the enigmatic Syd Whatten, a man whose charm is matched only by his secrets.
As the Black Stone’s sinister plan accelerates, Oberon and Syd race against time to unmask the conspirators. From explosive escapes to a high-stakes standoff on a storm-battered coastline, every step brings them closer to the truth—and deeper into danger.
Will they foil the plot in time? Or will Oberon become another casualty of a deadly game?
A gripping blend of espionage, danger, and unexpected alliances, The 39 Steps will leave you breathless to the last page.
Continue reading “New Release: The 39 Steps: A Contemporary Reimagining by L M Somerton”
Book Review: The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon
Right from the start I knew I would be hooked! When sworn enemies, Talasyn and Alaric are forced to come together for the greater good, neither of them are ecstatic about the new arrangement. Yet hate and love are closer than either of them realise and a different kind of relationship begins to grow between them.
I think what I loved most about this book, is that it is a realistic portrayal of a war, the outcomes and also how two people from opposite sides are being used by their respective kingdoms. Both are trapped and also fighting each other, whilst failing to see how much they actually have in common. There are so many factors at play, I cannot predict what direction the series will go in and I love this! I cannot wait to read book 2!
Series Tour: Apocrypha of the Knight Shamans series by R. Roderick Rowe
SERIES TOUR
Apocrypha of the Knight Shamans series by R. Roderick Rowe
“In Jamari’s time, the Knight Shamans were the glue that held the Elk Creek Tribe together.
In the beginning, the Knight Shaman was mystic, prophet, and wise man. Someone who could heal with a touch.
Before the beginning, there was a boy working to become a man and becoming legend in the process.”
The stories can stand alone, but will be better followed if read in order.
Overall Heat Rating for the series: 2 flames
BOOK DETAILS
BOOK 1
Book Title: The First Knight Shaman
Part One of the Apocrypha of the Knight Shamans Series
Publisher: RWCollins Publishing
Length: 103 pages
Release Date: November 2024
Tense/POV: third person, present tense /alternating POV
Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Dystopian, Post-apocalyptic
Tropes: Found Family, Post-Apocalypse survival
Themes: Coming out, forgiveness, fate, coming of age angst
It does not end on a cliffhanger.
Buy Links – Available in Kindle Unlimited
When his people are attacked by other villages, Rodney Knight uses his ability to interact with dead people’s spirits to help his community survive in a post-apocalyptic world.
Blurb
Rodney suffers through his earliest years in angst and rebellion when his father constantly rejects him. He enters young adulthood still bitter over how his father has treated him. Even so, his tribe needs the intervention of their only shaman in the Other Worlds for their very survival. As he acts out his anger, he accepts his duties and learns how to master them from a trusted mentor. Then he discovers that family isn’t limited to the blood ties, but can be so much more.
The San Francisco Book Review gave a nice summary:
“After the Great Quake of 2040, the forested lands and the lives of those in the Pacific Northwest are shaken. With both civil and social unrest still prevailing from the ideas of the 47th president, much of southwestern Oregon has been divided into tribal communities. Rodney Knight, the son of the founder of the Elk Creek Tribe, comes to age and into his own powers during this tumultuous time. At seven, he recognized his first spirits. First, a childhood friend was slain in an attack, and next, a beloved mentor lost during a battle. At seventeen, while on patrol with his unit, Rodney once again encounters a spirit that warns him of an ambush. Knowing that war is inevitable, the Elk Creek Tribe recognizes Rodney as their first Shaman. With advice from his Spirit Guide, Rodney helps lead his community through troubled times and towards the ideals that the founder had envisioned.”
Continue reading “Series Tour: Apocrypha of the Knight Shamans series by R. Roderick Rowe”
New Release Blitz: Specimen by C. Quince
Title: Specimen
Series: PRISM Agents, Book One
Author: C. Quince
Publisher: NineStar Press
Release Date: 03/11/2025
Heat Level: 3 – Some Sex
Pairing: Male/Male
Length: 105100
Genre: Science Fiction, MM romance, sci-fi, interracial/intercultural, former military, spies, secret agents, aliens, vampires, covert missions, cosy mystery, paranormal, paranormal sleuthing, sci-fi fantasy, action, British humour
Add to Goodreads
Description
David Cortez, a decorated US Marine, is now on the run from his own government after escaping a top-secret CIA lab when an experimental medical procedure turned sour.
While lying low in Mexico, an assassin sent from British Intelligence tracks him down. However, Sonny from MI6, a British-Iranian with a cockney accent, offers David a choice: join his team, or be killed.
David chooses to work with Sonny, not only because he wants his life back, but because he feels a kinship with the man.
They’re also both in the unique position of being the only living test subjects with alien DNA in their blood. Could that explain the strong attraction between them?
Blog Tour: Stolen Dream by Oliver Takely
BLOG TOUR
Book Title: Stolen Dream
Author: Oliver Takely
Publisher: MM Romance Press
Cover Artist: Emily’s World of Design
Release Date: March 5, 2025
Tense/POV: Third person, dual POV
Genres: Contemporary MM Romance
Tropes: Forbidden love, first times, demisexual rep, found family
Themes: Second chance romance
Heat Rating: 4 flames
Length: 60 000 words
It is book three of the Soho Knights Series. Books four and five are scheduled in 2025.
The book ends on a cliffhanger for the series, but not for the couple.
Buy Links – Available in Kindle Unlimited
In a world that tried to change them, love becomes their greatest rebellion.
Blurb
At just eighteen, Paolo and Max meet at a conversion therapy camp. Abandoned by their families. left to endure literal hell on earth, their love is forbidden. Their secret romance grows and as they make plans to escape, they are brutally torn apart.
They both spend the next twelve years building lives in different worlds. Paolo in the vibrant heart of Soho, London, surrounded by his found family, and Max thriving as a successful criminal lawyer in the bustling streets of New York. Both of them believing they’ve lost the love of their life forever.
Max finds himself in London after defending a mobster, which leads to an offer he literally can’t refuse. Needing thinking time before his fate is sealed, he unexpectedly crosses paths with Paolo again. The spark between them reignites, yet their reunion is fraught with challenges, and even the magical backdrop of the holidays may not be enough for them to get their second chance at love. With Paolo’s sister at risk of suffering the same fate they endured, the stakes are even higher.
Stolen Dream is a tale of resilience, forbidden love, and the fight for a future that embraces who they truly are. Will they save Paolo’s sister in time, and can they find a way to be together, against all odds? Join them on this emotional journey of hope and redemption, where stolen dreams may just lead to a love worth fighting for.
Shari Sakurai 