Showing posts with label Release Day Blitz. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Release Day Blitz. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 10, 2025

Release Day Blitz! Shopping for a Highlander’s Elopement by Julia Kent ~ Excerpt & #Giveaway! @jkentauthor #ShoppingForAHighlandersElopement @XpressoTours

 

Shopping for a Highlander’s Elopement by Julia Kent
(Shopping for a Highlander, #3)
Publication date: June 10th 2025
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance

I didn’t expect to fall for a Scottish footballer so annoyingly sunny you need shades to be around him.

I didn’t expect to say yes to his heart-felt, if loopy, proposal while he lay injured on the pitch, blathering on about banana pudding and sparkly unicorns.

What I definitely didn’t expect?

For our engagement to explode into a paparazzi circus, our mothers to turn into wedding bulldozers, and for our wedding protector’s perfectly reasonable elopement plan to spiral into a road trip escape.

So here we are.

In Love You, Maine, a town that celebrates Valentine’s Day every single day. We’re here to get married. Quietly. No drama. In disguise.

Although good luck hiding a 6’4” ginger Scottish striker wearing a knee brace and a perpetual extrovert smile.

Instead of being subtle and blending in? Our quiet escape is vibrating heart-shaped beds, mirrors on the ceilings, secret identities, interfering mothers, and one suspiciously enthusiastic moose that humps dumpsters.

This was supposed to be a simple wedding. Just me and Hamish. No fuss.

But nothing about us has ever been simple with us.

Still, this is what love is, right? It’s chaos. It’s compromise. It’s crying in a wedding planner’s office, then kissing in a hot spring.

It’s choosing each other again and again, even when everything goes sideways.

No matter what comes next… this is our comeback story, in more ways than one.

And no – that’s not a euphemism. 🙂

Shopping for a Highlander’s Elopement is a romantic comedy that blends the worlds of four bestselling series by New York Times bestselling romantic comedy author Julia Kent:

– Shopping for a Billionaire

– Shopping for a Highlander

– Whatever It Takes

– Love You, Maine

If you love sports romance, surprise proposals, grand gestures, chaotic weddings, Scottish footballers, golden retriever/black cat energy, and characters who love too hard, mess up spectacularly, and always find their way back to each other with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments (and lovingly-used scrunchies) along the way, then this is your book.

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

iBooks | Kobo | Google Play

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

EXCERPT

Love isn’t a football game.

It’s a feeling.

A feeling that uses instinct as a tool.

I’m smarter than this. When everything felt off, I should have known that it was off for a reason.

“Jody,” I say softly, “I canna do this.”

“Of course you can. You just have the jitters. Amy’s a wonderful woman and–”

“I dinna mean the proposin’ part. That’s fine. I can do that. I mean doin’ it on the pitch.”

His turn to go green.

“You want to cancel the proposal?”

“Aye. Nae. No’ the proposin’. The doin’ it in public part. I love Amy wi’ all ma body and soul.” I frown. “She’d hate to hear me say it that way. Soul and body.” I wink at Jody. “But it’s really the other way around. Ma body knows more than ma mind.”

“I don’t need to hear every thought that pops into your head, Hamish.”

“I only tell ye the important ones.”

“Like not wanting the big spectacle we arranged for you?”

“I’m tellin’ ye now, aren’t I?”

“We have extra cameramen here for this. Your parents and siblings are in the crowd. Declan and Andrew McCormick are here. We doubled the security.”

“Is this about money? I can pay for all that.”

“It’s not–well, yes, some of it is about the money. But it’s more about publicity and planning. A lot of people put forth a huge effort to make today special for you and Amy.”

“And forty thousand of ma closest fans.”

He closes his eyes and sighs through his nose. “A better time to realize this would have been weeks ago. Not a huge US exhibition game.”

“Ma instincts told me then that this was right. Now ma gut says something else. It all feels off.”

“Your gut.”

I pat my flat stomach. “It’s gotten me this far in life. Good gut.”

He’s right. I know how much work all the coaches, teammates, stadium staff and administrators, sponsors–hell, even the car park attendants–have put into helping me today. I don’t have cold feet, and I love Amy to the moon and back, but something feels wrong.

As Amy says, hinky.

I can’t explain it. If I had words for it, I’d use them. It’s a feeling, and those don’t always line up nice and neat in words that make sense.

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

About the author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Julia Kent writes romantic comedy with an edge. Since 2013, she has sold more than 2 million books, with 4 New York Times bestsellers and more than 21 appearances on the USA Today bestseller list. Her books have been translated into French, German, and Italian, with more titles releasing in the future.

From billionaires to BBWs to new adult rock stars, Julia finds a sensual, goofy joy in every contemporary romance she writes. Unlike Shannon from Shopping for a Billionaire, she did not meet her husband after dropping her phone in a men's room toilet (and he isn't a billionaire she met in a romantic comedy).

She lives in New England with her husband and three children where she is the only person in the household with the gene required to change empty toilet paper rolls.

She loves to hear from her readers by email at julia@jkentauthor.com, on Twitter @jkentauthor, on Facebook at @jkentauthor, and on Instagram @jkentauthor. Visit her at http://jkentauthor.com

Connect with Julia

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Instagram

Twitter | Amazon | Bookbub | Newsletter

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

Be sure to check the sidebar for all of my current giveaways!

Tuesday, May 2, 2023

Release Day Blitz & #Giveaway! Magician and Fool by Susan Wands #MagicianAndFool @MagicianFool @GoSparkPoint

Congrats Susan
on the release today of
Magician and Fool!

Magician and Fool by Susan Wands
Historical Fiction, Fantasy, 272 pages
Published May 2, 2023 by SparkPress

Pamela Colman Smith, newly arrived from New York to her birthplace of London, is received as an oddball in Victorian society. Her second sight helps her in her new illustrating tarot cards for the Golden Dawn, a newly formed occult group. But when Pamela refuses to share her creations with Aleister Crowley, a controversial magician, he issues a give up the cards’ power, or he’ll harm her muses.

In the midst of this battle, two of Pamela’s idols, the actors Henry Irving and William Terriss, take her under their wing. Henry, who tutors her as the leader of the Lyceum Theatre, becomes the muse for her Magician card. William Terriss, teaching her by examples of instinct and courage, becomes the muse for her Fool card. As Pamela begins to create the tarot deck, she is almost overwhelmed by the race to possess the magical power of her cards. In order to defeat Aleister, Henry and William will have to transform into living incarnations of the Magician and the Fool—and Pamela will have to learn how to conjure her own magic.


Praise for Magician and Fool

 “Rich and atmospheric; Wands dazzles with the wealth of research she’s woven into the fabric of the novel, using her own creative magic to bring some of our most bewitching historical figures back to life.” —Kira Jane Buxton, author of Hollow Kingdom and Feral Creatures

“A heady historical brew brimming with mysterious manuscripts, secret societies, and the story of a young girl whose creation of a powerful deck of tarot cards might change magic forever. Atmospheric and original.” —Thea Sutton, author of The Women of Blackmouth Street

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

About the author


Susan Wands is a writer, tarot reader, and actor. A graduate from the University of Washington, she has acted professionally across the United States and on Broadway. Her adaptation of Pride and Prejudice was produced at the Cornish Institute in Seattle and she has written plays, screenplays, and skits and produce several indie films. She was a company member in Rumble in the Red Room, an off-Broadway troupe, for four years. As a co-chair with the NYC Chapter of the Historical Novel Society, she helps produce monthly online book launches and author panels. Wands’s writings have appeared in Art in Fiction, Kindred Spirits magazine, and The Irving Society journal First Knight. She lives in NYC with her husband, actor Robert Petkoff, and two cats, Flora and Flynn.

Her first book in a series, Magician and Fool, Book One, Arcana Oracle Series will be published by Sparkpress May, 2, 2023. The second book in the series will come out in 2024 by SparkPress and the third book is in final edits.

Connect with Susan


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

A huge Thank You! goes out to SparkPoint Studio for providing a copy of Magician and Fool for a giveaway!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

Be sure to check the sidebar for my current giveaways!

Tuesday, April 25, 2023

Release Day Blitz! Deep Tide by Laura Griffin ~ Excerpt #DeepTide @Laura_Griff @BerkleyPub @penguinrandom

Happy Release Day!


Congrats Laura
on the release today of
Deep Tide!

Deep Tide by Laura Griffin
Romantic Suspense, 352 pages
Published April 25, 2023 by Berkley Romance

An undercover FBI agent and an independent coffee shop owner must team up when a local barista is found dead and danger circles their coastal Texas town in this new romantic thriller from New York Times bestselling author Laura Griffin.

With two brothers on the police force, Leyla Breda is well aware of the rising crime in her small beach town, but she never expected it to show up on her doorstep. When Leyla finds one of her employees murdered in the alley behind her coffee shop, she's deeply shaken, and as a new law enforcement officer in town begins to circle her place of business, her instincts only sharpen.

Sean Moran is on an undercover The seaside community of Lost Beach may look like a picturesque postcard, but his team suspects it's a point of intersection for several crime syndicates that the FBI has been investigating for years. Even so, when the brash and beautiful Leyla Breda starts bossing him around, he's immediately intrigued. He knows her brothers want him to back off, but every time he sees her, he feels more of a spark.

Leyla's connections in the local community and Sean's skills allow them to go deeper into the case together than they would be able to go alone. But when a single crime spirals into something much darker, Sean's carefully planned mission takes a deadly turn.


Excerpt

Sean Moran slipped away from the party. The bride and groom had left under a shower of rice, but people were still milling around beneath swags of white lights, drinking the couple’s booze and enjoying the breeze off the water. Sean would have liked another drink, but he needed to get back to his condo. As he crossed the wooden bridge spanning the sand dunes, he spied a woman on the beach with a champagne flute in hand.

Leyla Breda.

Her formfitting dress looked silver in the moonlight, and it shimmered against her body as she strolled toward the surf. Nearing a piece of driftwood, she dropped her shoes to the sand and sat down. She nestled the flute at her feet, then lifted her arms and twisted her dark hair into a knot at the top of her head.

Sean stopped at the end of the bridge. He had about a hundred things left to do tonight, including contacting his boss.

Instead, he walked over to Leyla.

"How's the champagne?"

She jumped and turned around. Recognition flickered across her face, and her shoulders relaxed.

"It's good." She held up her glass. "You didn't have any?"

"Nope. Can I get you a refill?"

She smiled. "What, are you a waiter now, too?"

He stepped closer. "I'm Sean Moran, by the way." He held out his hand. "We never actually met."

"Leyla Breda." Her handshake was brisk and businesslike, but the warm look in her eyes gave him hope.

"Joel's little sister," he said.

"That's me."

He turned toward the water so he wouldn't be tempted to stare down the front of her dress.

"I didn't get a chance to thank you earlier," she said. "Things got really hectic."

"Looked like you had your hands full."

"So, are you here for Joel or Miranda?"

He looked at her. "Joel."

She tipped her head to the side as she gazed up at him. "And you know him from . . . ?"

"Work."

She frowned. "Here?"

"No. We go way back. We were in the same academy class in Houston, spent some time at HPD together."

"Oh. That was a while ago."

"Yeah."

"So . . . the vice squad, then?"

"Yeah. Mind if I sit down?"

"Not at all."

Sean lowered himself onto the other end of the sandy log. He didn't like the direction the conversation had taken so he steered it back to her.

"So, how long have you been a caterer?" he asked.

"Hmm . . . let's see. I guess it's been about three weeks now." She turned and smiled at him, and he felt a hot jolt of attraction. "Why? Can you tell?"

"Not at all."

"Right."

"Well, the timing seemed a little bumpy."

"Just a little." She rolled her eyes. "We had several staffers no-show. It happens a lot in this business. People are flaky. Despite all my planning, you could say we were a bit rushed."

Rushed was right. No woman had ever clapped at him before. He'd discovered it was a turn-on.

Excerpted from Deep Tide by Laura Griffin Copyright © 2023 by Laura Griffin. Excerpted by permission of Berkley. All rights reserved.

About the author


Laura Griffin is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than twenty-five books and novellas. She is a two-time RITA Award winner as well as the recipient of the Daphne du Maurier Award.

Connect with Laura


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

Be sure to check the sidebar for my current giveaways!

Tuesday, October 25, 2022

Release Day Book Blitz! Vanishing Hour by Laura Griffin ~ Excerpt #VanishingHour @Laura_Griff @BerkleyPub @penguinrandom


Vanishing Hour by Laura Griffin
Mystery Romance, 334 pages 
Published October 25, 2022 by Berkley Books

When a cold case in Texas leads to a sinister string of disappearances, a newcomer to the small town helps the deputy sheriff piece together the clues in this new romantic thriller from New York Times bestselling author Laura Griffin.

Corporate lawyer Ava Burch has had enough of the big city and the daily grind. She grew up with her father, who raised search-and-rescue dogs, in rural Texas and has moved to the small town of Cuervo to spend time in the dry, rugged wilderness near Big Bend National Park. When she and her dog, Huck, discover an abandoned campsite on a volunteer search-and-rescue mission, she’s perplexed, but she carefully photographs it all the same.
 
All Deputy Sheriff Grant Wycoff can see when he looks at Ava is a city slicker—with her designer jeans and expensive car—who has no business on a serious team made up of seasoned outdoorsmen and retired cops. But when she tells him of her discovery on the trail, he sees there’s more to her than meets the eye.
 
Ava’s discovery reminds Grant of the unsolved case of a young woman who went missing two years ago. As they look into the campsite further, another woman disappears under odd circumstances. With time running out, Ava and Grant must work against the brutal heat from both the Texas sun and their own electric chemistry to solve the case.


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

Excerpt

Missing children are an emergency. Always. Their little bodies are less able to regulate temperature, so they're especially vulnerable to exposure. And in a place as vast and rugged as Silver Canyon State Park, additional hazards abounded: rattlesnakes, coyotes, hundred-foot cliffs. Even the anemic little creek that Ava had been following was terrifying. A child Noah's size could drown in a bathtub.

Ava glanced up at the relentless sun that sucked moisture out of everything beneath it. She looked ahead at Huck, who trotted back and forth in front of her in his zigzag pattern. He was working the wind, as he'd been trained, tirelessly sniffing the air with his powerful nose, which could pick up anything with human scent on it, from a candy wrapper to a dropped article of clothing.

So far, nothing.

Ava checked her watch. Two long hours since she'd left the trailhead. Sweat stung her eyes, and she wiped her forehead with the back of her arm. She paused beside a boulder and dropped her pack on the dusty ground to retrieve one of her water bottles. Huck needed some, too, but right now he was intent on his work.

She took a lukewarm sip and scanned the scrub brush lining the canyon wall. Young children had a tendency to wander aimlessly until they found a place to curl up for a nap. Some would even hide from search teams, afraid of getting in trouble for being lost. So Ava had been incessantly scanning pockets of brush.

Huck halted in front of her, his nose lifted in the air. Ava froze and watched. But then his head dropped down and he resumed his zigzags. Ava tucked the water bottle away and pushed off the boulder to continue her trek.

She watched Huck, amazed by his energy. Even in this heat, he loved working, and when he had his vest on, he didn't have an off switch. As he bounded around in front of her, she thought of the other teams, especially the canine one. She was surprised they hadn't found something close to camp.

Of course, the parents had been there, which might have been a problem. Frantic parents threw off a lot of scent, which could have overpowered Noah's smell and possibly confused the dog. Also, the temperature rising in the canyon could have wafted the scent up, well above the dog's nose. Yet another challenge here was that young children didn't throw off as much scent as adults. And still bodies-ones that were either asleep or unconscious-threw off less scent, too.

So there were all kinds of factors in play, especially in a park this size.

Ava checked her watch again and sped up her pace, unable to shake the feeling of dread that had been settling in her stomach as the hours ticked by. Scanning the canyon wall, her gaze caught on something beige and triangular.

A tent? No.

A tarp. She climbed onto a boulder for a closer look. About halfway up the slope of the canyon was a sand-colored canvas tarp that had been stretched taut to create a patch of shade. It looked like a primitive fort-just the sort of thing that would attract a kid's attention, and her pulse quickened as she climbed closer. Nearing the tarp, she spied a small yellow tent tucked in the shade beneath it.

She glanced around for Huck, but he was sniffing along at the base of a rockslide.

Grabbing hold of a juniper tree, Ava levered herself onto the ledge. She ducked under the tarp and paused a moment for her eyes to adjust. The little tent was unzipped. Hope ballooned in her chest as she pulled back the flap and poked her head inside.

Her hope disappeared as she scanned the interior. No sleeping child curled up in the dimness. The air was utterly still, and everything was coated with a thin layer of dust, as though no one had been there in weeks, maybe months. A pile of gear in the corner included a cookstove, a hiking boot, and a blue bedroll with a carabiner clipped to it. Attached to the carabiner was a black key fob.

A chill snaked down her spine. Who would leave their car key out here? The fob seemed odd. Ditto for the hiking boot. Where was the other one? And where was its owner?

On impulse, Ava took out her phone and snapped a couple of pictures. As part of her SAR training, she'd learned to document crime scenes. She couldn't pinpoint why, exactly, but that was what this felt like. She ducked out and snapped a shot of the exterior. A faint bark pulled her attention back to the mission. She couldn't afford to get sidetracked, even though this place felt creepy. She put her phone away as she skimmed the surrounding area for the missing boot, or any sign of the boot's owner. She glanced up the canyon, looking for evidence of a fire pit or any other camping equipment.

A soft whimper had her turning around.

Huck sat beside a rock pile, his ears pricked forward and his gaze fixed on hers. Ava's heart skittered. This was his sit alert letting her know he'd found something.

"Show me," she commanded, and he sprang into action, bounding across the creek bed. She climbed down the rocks and jogged after him, frantically searching the clumps of trees. Huck darted around a giant prickly pear cactus and behind a line of mesquite trees. Amid the fluttering green leaves, she caught a flash of red.

"Please, please, please," she murmured.

Huck disappeared beneath the brush and barked. Ava spied a small white sneaker and a pudgy leg.

Huck danced in a circle, drunk on success and eager for his reward.

"Good boy, Huck! Good boy! Good boy!" She filled her voice with praise, even though her heart had lodged in her throat. The little body wasn't moving. Oh God.

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

About the author


Laura Griffin is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than twenty-five books and novellas. She is a two-time RITA Award winner, as well as the recipient of the Daphne du Maurier Award.

Connect with Laura

Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

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

Be sure to check the sidebar for all of my current giveaways!

Monday, December 10, 2018

Release Day Blitz! Grave Importance ~ a Perfectly Poisoned Anthology



Grave Importance

Published December 10, 2017 
by Perfectly Poisoned Anthologies
Historical Fiction

Synopsis:

It’s 1870 in a rural setting on the outskirts of London. Famed surgeon Dr. Benedict Morrow hosts an elite few surgical trainees at the renowned Morrow Academy of Anatomy and Science.

Though the days of Burke and Hare are long gone, and body snatching and grave robbing a seemingly thing of the past, the supply of high-quality fresh cadavers is still lacking.

Each student of Dr. Morrow must procure a fresh corpse for their very own study, or face expulsion from the prestigious academy.

These hand-chosen students are the best and brightest in the country. They are also devious, conniving, and determined to do whatever they must to stay in the academy and under the tutelage of Dr. Morrow. Even turn against each other is necessary.

In the cards will be manipulation, murder, betrayal, sex, blackmail, and of course, money always talks.



Adventures in Life...and Death
Natalie-Nicole Bates

Dr. Linnea Lyons has it all. She is beautiful, intelligent, witty, and charming. All the things a young woman needs to get her way in 1870.

Tasked with procuring a cadaver for her surgical studies, Linnea decides to use her womanly charms to get what she wants. A visit to the morgue when only the Deputy Coroner, Dr. Cyril Rhodes is on duty, she asks him to allow her to watch his embalming process.

Cyril is enthralled with the dark-haired beauty. After all, it is a rarity to meet a female doctor, let alone one studying the art of surgery.

Linnea senses the good doctor is a bit lonely and perhaps an easy mark to get what she wants.

But will her ambition ultimately be her downfall?

Social media links for Natalie-Nicole Bates


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


An Unlikely Union
Sheri Lynn

The first year Dr. Benedict Morrow at the renowned Morrow Academy of Anatomy and Science considers female students, Louisa Becker is honored to be chosen. An ocean away from everything she has ever known and thrust into a highly competitive, if not, demoralizing group of students is arduous. It intensifies once Dr. Morrow tasks them with procuring their own fresh corpse or face expulsion.

Residing in the home of a previous student of Dr. Morrow’s and his teaching assistant, she suspects Edgar Walker guards sinister secrets and she should fear him. Instead, she observes his skill and technique in class and respects him. Intrigued and attracted to the withdrawn, brooding man she watches him from a distance.

One evening following him into London, she witnesses him commit a grisly crime. Louisa and Edgar forge an unconventional relationship involving murder, seduction, lust, ambition, and mayhem.

Social Media Links for Sheri Lynn


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


Better the Devil You Know
Jennie L. Morris

An immigrant, Fredrick Wolf has to succeed at Morrow Academy of Anatomy and Science. Not only succeed, he has to prove to his peers that he belongs, that he isn’t a poor local Dr. Morrow accepted out of pity.

Fredrick is willing to do anything to procure a prime specimen for their special assignment. Calling upon his uncle, his partner in crime since their move to England, Fredrick plans to use his uncle’s position at the local gaol to select the perfect candidate.

But not all prisoners are the usual drunkards or petty thieves. Some possess dark secrets, especially the man known in Clayton Bridge as Eugene Wallaby. Biding his time, Eugene sees young Fredrick’s murderous plan as a means of escape, but only if Eugene can survive the night.

Social Media Links for Jennie L. Morris


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

The Tangled Web 
Leslie Hachtel

No one wants to be successful as a surgeon more than Scarlett Kensington and no one has as little conscience. She has met every challenge with skill and talent and by out-thinking her detractors. And when the great Dr. Morrow demands his students present a cadaver for class, whose body will it be?

Social Media Links for Leslie Hachtel


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

Bring Me to Life 
Lauren Tisdale

Enzo Mason is a hustler and a thief by nature. After stealing the most valuable thing he's ever stolen, he thinks he's finally on the path to making a good life for himself. His confidence is tested when Dr. Morrow reveals the newest challenge that will decide their fate in the surgical program - procure your own cadaver for study or be dismissed from the Academy. Will the help of a fellow classmate, who happens to be the most beautiful woman he's ever seen, be the one thing that helps him achieve his goals or will his luck run out?

Jacqueline Kennison is a stunning newcomer to the Morrow Academy of Anatomy and Science who has caught the eye of a fellow classmate, Enzo. Jacqueline is determined to see her master plan through, even if it means teaming up with Enzo. This choice leads to unforeseen dilemmas that she never expected. Will Enzo be the one to aid in her own self-destruction or will he surprise her by saving her from herself?

Social Media Links for Lauren Tisdale


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

Skeletons in the Closet 
Marie Sterling

Doctor Elizabeth Chandler is top of her class at the Royal College of Surgeons of England and has the world in her hand... until it comes crashing down around her. With the sudden death of her beloved father and her mother's convalescence due to a carriage accident, Elizabeth abandons everything to return to Clayton Bridge and help her family. Traditional medicine has failed to bring her mother back to consciousness, so when she hears of Doctor Benedict Morrow and some of the more unusual requirements of his Academy of Anatomy and Science, this seems like the answer to her prayers. Blackmail, deceit, and treachery are just a few of the lessons she will learn along with her surgical studies.

Social Media link for Marie Sterling


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

I Want Your Body
J.V. Stanley

Miranda O'Reily has been struggling with her grades. In a profession where men are the superior sex, she has a lot to prove to not just her peers or Doctor Benedict Morrow, but to herself. Coming from an impoverished home, she was lucky to have an unknown benefactor paying for her college. The mystery unravels as she tries to identify who this mysterious wealthy individual is all while struggling to meet the intensity of the curriculum.

Edward Thatcher, the last mortician she saw denied her a corpse because of her gender. Infuriated, she vowed to get a body by any means necessary, even if it meant murder.

Social Media Links for J.V. Stanley


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

Be sure to check the sidebar for all of my current giveaways!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...