I was initially drawn to The New Aeneid Cycle by the kick-ass cover of A Shadow in the Flames (don’t kid yourself, covers matter), and the concept of a futuristic link to Aeneas and Diomedes (my favorite Greek hero – tough as hell and not a cry baby like that other so-called tough guy, Achilles).
This week's list of new
releases is posted below.
Enjoy!
Loving Amber is the story of
one woman’s attempt to move
forward after the tragic loss of
her husband and brother. It’s
a heartfelt story of grief, family,
forgiveness, and giving
yourself permission to find
happiness and love again.
Everyone handles their grief differently. There is no right or wrong way in dealing with it; it’s an individual reaction to the pain, suffering, and loss that is felt in every fiber of one’s being. In Amber’s case, her grief has led her to blame the one man who survived the car accident that killed her husband and brother. She needs someone or something to blame, and Aiden is the most obvious choice.
See the blog tour post, read my full review & enter the giveaway...
New Releases!
- Loving Amber (Riverstone Estate #1) – By Roya Carmen - A second chance romance! Each book in this new series will be able to be read as a standalone. Read my review.
Torn by tragedy. Reunited by love.
Two years ago, I lost my husband and my brother to the same tragedy. To this day, I hold only one person responsible—Aiden Rogers, the beautiful boy I’ve known forever, the misfit I’ve both loved and hated, the one who always got to me. As far as I’m concerned, he’s the only one to blame.
Now he wants to be part of my life again—when I can finally see a future for my son and myself. I’ve found the perfect man in David, someone I can start over with, a man who will be the perfect father figure for Trevor. I have a plan. At last, I see the light, and I know I can make this work.
I will not let Aiden Rogers drag me back into the darkness.
- The Goal (Off-Campus #4) – By Elle Kennedy - This book can be read as a standalone.
She’s good at achieving her goals…
College senior Sabrina James has her whole future planned out: graduate from college, kick butt in law school, and land a high-paying job at a cutthroat firm. Her path to escaping her shameful past certainly doesn’t include a gorgeous hockey player who believes in love at first sight. One night of sizzling heat and surprising tenderness is all she’s willing to give John Tucker, but sometimes, one night is all it takes for your entire life to change.
But the game just got a whole lot more complicated
Tucker believes being a team player is as important as being the star. On the ice, he’s fine staying out of the spotlight, but when it comes to becoming a daddy at the age of twenty-two, he refuses to be a bench warmer. It doesn’t hurt that the soon-to-be mother of his child is beautiful, whip-smart, and keeps him on his toes. The problem is, Sabrina’s heart is locked up tight, and the fiery brunette is too stubborn to accept his help. If he wants a life with the woman of his dreams, he’ll have to convince her that some goals can only be made with an assist.
- River Road (River’s End #4) – By Leanne Davis
AJ Reed grew up in foster care until he ran away in his teens and started earning his way through the rodeo circuit, until injury made him quit. Left adrift with no real skills, he wandered through almost as many towns and jobs as he did women. He’s finally found a decent place to settle as the foreman on the Rydell River Ranch, until he is faced with the shocking surprise that shows up one afternoon in the form of a girl who the state claims is his daughter.
Kate Morgan comes to the Rydell River Resort to stay for the summer to grieve for the mother she lost and to meet the brother she only just recently learned she had. Her mother’s secret has left her spiraling in confusion as well as grief. Unsure what to do with this knowledge, she makes arrangements to be a guest at the resort that her half-brother is owner of. She has no idea what she is seeking by coming here, but it certainly isn’t the ranch employee who catches her eye nor his daughter who catches her heart.
AJ soon realizes that the woman he just might have feelings for is his boss’s sister, and she threatens the only real place he’s ever belonged. All the while, a young girl he never imagined he wanted illustrates that permanent is far more than an address. But how can a man who’s never been accountable to anything or anyone hope to commit to not just a place, but a woman and a daughter?
- Pretty Stolen Dolls – By Ker Dukey & K. Webster – A dark romantic suspense!
Benny loves his pretty little dolls.
As long as they do exactly as they're told.
He keeps them perfect by brushing their hair
and gives them pretty dresses to wear.
He likes to toy with them late at night.
One so timid but the other likes to fight.
When his favorite doll runs away...
despite the other doll promising to stay,
his heart becomes broken and he can't help but cry.
He wants her back home or his pretty little doll must die.
Have you ever had to make a decision that haunts you every single day for the rest of your life…the life you stole back?
I have.
I ran for my survival, rocks and twigs cutting into the soles of my feet, my lungs burning and screaming for rest, every muscle tensed and fighting along with me for existence.
I left her.
I ran, ran, ran—from Benny and his lone, pretty little doll—until I couldn’t remember where to find them again.
I’m sorry.
- Loving London (The Flawed Heart Series #3) – By Ellie Wade – The final book in The Flawed Heart Trilogy. Finding London and Keeping London need to be read first. Read my review of Finding London.
- Sex Machine – By Marie Force – Standalone.
He’s good for one thing and one thing only—and she wants it bad.
Honey Carmichael has never had a decent orgasm, and she’s out to change that with the one man in town known for his superior skill between the sheets.
Blake Dempsey is happy to help Honey with her “problem” as long as she knows he’s only interested in sex. His heart was broken when his high school girlfriend was killed in the car he was driving, and he has nothing to offer other than more orgasms than Honey can handle.
Which is just fine with her—until fantastic orgasms aren’t enough anymore for either of them and unexpected feelings turn hot sex into messy entanglement—and that most definitely wasn’t in the plans.
But you know what they say about plans…
- All That Remains (Metamorphosis #1) - By Lauren Dane - While the series is an earth set post plague futuristic, it is not a dystopian future. What we knew has metamorphosed into the new normal.
Summer Killian falls fast and hard when Charlie arrives in Paradise Village. But the heat turns all the way up when she learns Charlie is also with Hatch — the man she loved four years before. While she’s not sure she’s cut out for a triad, neither man is going to give her up.
- Neighbors (A Twin Estates Novel #1) – By Stylo Fantome - Oh, this book looks like fun! Only .99 cents!
Things a good neighbor can do for you:
1. Give you a cup of sugar
2. Let you borrow his lawnmower
3. Water your plants while you're on vacation
4. Make your eyes roll back in your head
Katya Tocci has never paid much attention to who lives next door - her career always kept her too busy. She's a good girl, working her way to becoming the most sought after cake designer in all of San Francisco.
But even a good girl's gotta cut loose once in a while, right? So one fake dating profile later, and she's ready to tarnish her squeaky clean image. Little does she know, her fun time is closer to home than she ever imagined.
Throw in a neighbor who wants to corrupt her, and another who just wants to own her, and her entire world is flipped upside down.
Who knew neighbors could be so helpful?
- Lured In: A Fishing for Trouble Novel – By Laura Drewry
Seasick. That’s how Jessie Todd feels when her best friend and boss, Finn O’Donnell, tells her that the Buoys will be featured on a popular fishing program—which just so happens to be hosted by a guy she used to date. She’s still friendly with her ex, but her new feelings for Finn are making things . . . complicated. His life is out on the sea, and though Jessie works at the resort, her paralyzing phobia of water keeps her on land, where she’s safe. To take a shot with Finn, she’ll need to face her fears—and her innermost desires—head-on.
Finn has been nursing a crush on Jess for a long time, so when she suddenly asks for swimming lessons, he dives right in. Holding her shaking hand as she steps into the ocean makes his heart swell—despite the sinking feeling that she’s just doing it to impress that smarmy TV host. Finn doesn’t trust anyone with his bruised and battered heart, but he’ll be forced to lay it all on the line to keep Jess from being the one that got away.
- The Vanishing Year – By Kate Moretti - A thriller!
Zoe Whittaker is living a charmed life. She is the beautiful young wife to handsome, charming Wall Street tycoon Henry Whittaker. She is a member of Manhattan’s social elite. She is on the board of one of the city’s most prestigious philanthropic organizations. She has a perfect Tribeca penthouse in the city and a gorgeous lake house in the country. The finest wine, the most up-to-date fashion, and the most luxurious vacations are all at her fingertips.
What no one knows is that five years ago, Zoe’s life was in danger. Back then, Zoe wasn’t Zoe at all. Now her secrets are coming back to haunt her.
As the past and present collide, Zoe must decide who she can trust before she—whoever she is—vanishes completely.
- The Thirteenth Chance – By Amy Matayo – Baseball romance!
Baseball star Will Vandergriff knows any number of women who would happily pretend to be his girlfriend. In a last-ditch effort to restore his good standing with his team’s higher-ups, he enlists the help of his neurotic, goody-goody neighbor. Schoolteacher Olivia Pratt might be a bit quirky and a bit of a loner, but she’s a lot more inviting than she knows. Will hopes that bringing her to his next game might revamp his reckless reputation and help get his career back on track. The only problem? The plan works a little too well. Not only do the higher-ups love Olivia, but Will plays his best game yet. Suddenly his losing streak is a thing of the past, and Olivia is his new good-luck charm. Will feels anything but lucky.
After years of keeping the world at bay, Olivia Pratt is pulling off the ultimate performance—not only reluctantly posing as Will’s girlfriend but also insisting that she’s oblivious to his major-league appeal. But she can only lie to herself for so long. Being by Will’s side feels good. Really good. Maybe it’s finally time to make a pitch for everything she really wants—and to find out just how exhilarating love can be.
- Possession (Steel Brothers Saga #3) – By Helen Hardt - Craving and Obsession need to be read first. I will be starting this series soon!
- Mixed Signals – By Diane Barnes
Getting dumped is never easy, but there’s a special bonus sting if your ex-fiancé is a producer for a popular morning radio show. Jillian Atwood’s breakup with Nico has become the hosts’ number-one topic. They’re even running a competition to find him a new girlfriend. The entire population of Boston, it seems, is tuning in with an opinion about who Nico should date next—and what Jillian should do to get over him.
Jillian’s co-worker, Ben, has his own ideas on that score. He hates seeing Jill depressed over a guy as unworthy as her ex. While he’s providing a friendly ear, he's also realizing how much more he’d like to offer. And if Jill could just get over the man who broke her heart, she might find the one who’s perfectly equipped to heal it...
- Transfer (The Retrieval Duet, Part Two) – By Aly Martinez - Retrieval needs to be read first. This duet is getting a lot of buzz and great reviews!
- Outsider (Exodus End World Tour #2) – By Olivia Cunning - Rock star romance! Outsider is the second book in the Exodus End World Tour series. It’s also the sequel to Double Time, the fifth book in the Sinners on Tour series.
Insider (Exodus End World Tour #1) is on sale for only .99 cents!
Happy Reading!
September 27th, 2016
As many of you may have noticed, I have been following along with Infected Book's Year of the Zombie. Some of these authors I knew, some I didn't. So I thought, why not combine Year of the Zombie with Meet the Author. So over the next 12 weeks you will get a chance to learn a few things about all of the authors involved. I will star off with an interview I did with David Moody in 2014. Let's look back to where David Moody was then.
Just Released!
I’ll be honest, I don’t like New Jersey. Granted, my experience with New Jersey has been limited exclusively to the Interstates as I have been passing through. I’m sure that there are some very lovely parts of the Garden State, I’ve just never seen any of them as I sat at a standstill for hours on the Interstate. Hunter Shea has given me more reasons to be leery about New Jersey...
I’ve been a fan of Stephen King’s work since I was a youngster. It’s funny how Stephen King has built up his fan base, the movies based on his books probably earn him as many fans as the books themselves. I’ll even admit, I think I’ve seen more of the movies than I’ve read his books. Mr. Mercedes is more of a police procedural/thriller than the horror...
The Zombie Days By Peter Oliver Wonder
This is the story of a couple of misfits, Pete and Kyle, and their misadventures as they help Evelyn and her mother find Eveyln’s father. Oh yeah, they do this in the midst of the zombie apocalypse, that shouldn’t complicate matters any, should it?
I love a story that starts with a BANG! Kristin Dearborn has done exactly that with Stolen Away. Right from the start I was pulled into a parent’s worst nightmare, your infant child stolen right out of your own home. This sends Trisha into momma bear mode; is there a monster or demon more dangerous than a momma bear?!
Let’s be honest, the sea creature genre is a tough pool to jump into. As an author, you almost have to decide to go in one of two directions: try to live up to the tension and genuine fear of Peter Benchley’s Jaws or go for the pure unadulterated fun of Piranha 3D.
Hunter Shea is the product of a misspent childhood watching scary movies, reading forbidden books and wishing Bigfoot would walk past his house. He doesn’t just write about the paranormal – he actively seeks out the things that scare the hell out of people and experiences them for himself.
What he's reading!
What she's reading!
Greg's Daily Blog
Shelley's Daily Blog
July 15th, 2016
This book is unlike anything I have ever read before in my life. In this story the Greek Gods are alive and well, except for Zeus, he’s dead (see title). With the King of the Gods out of the way, the remaining Olympians reveal themselves to the 21st century.
The Rack & Cue By David Owain Hughes
I was pretty stoked when I received my copy of The Rack & Cue; over 400 pages of David Owain Hughes’ unique brand of uncensored, in-your-face, no holds barred horror. You see, I like big books, I get to spend more time in the characters’ lives. I have had a great time reading his stories, in addition to being shocked and disgusted (in a good way) by his well-crafted characters.
I’ve been having quite a bit of luck lately with my zombie/post-apocalyptic books. I’ve had Flu for a while now, so I thought, let’s keep the good times rolling. With Flu, Wayne Simmons has given his readers a good old fashioned zombie book; it has the spirit of Dawn of the Dead with all of the feelings of 28 Days Later.
July 22nd, 2016
Ride the Serpentine By Andre Duza
Ride the Serpentine was unlike anything I’ve read before. It seemed more like a screenplay than a book. It really gave me the same feeling like I got from The Blair Witch Project. Descriptions setting the scene with a couple of the guys talking in the background and then the narrator’s voice-over.
I’ll be honest, I’m a sucker for anything to do with Hell. I’m fascinated by the horror aspect of religion, it is so ingrained into our lives that it legitimizes the monsters and makes it hit closer to home. Add in an ancient Greek hero and I’m all in!
Duncan P. Bradshaw is demonstrating himself as a storyteller unbound by genres and refusing to be pigeonholed as someone who writes a particular type of book. He has written stories about zombies, missions to mars, and now, with Hexagram, he delves into history with a twisted tale that could only be spun by Duncan Bradshaw.
Adam Baker had the distinction of kicking-off the Year of the Zombie with the January release of Killchain, a great story where the author really makes us think about priorities while the shit hits the fan.
Find out his earliest memory of being terrified, what Adam Baker likes to read. And, as always, does Adam Baker have a plan for the inevitable apocalypse?
Greg – David, I have had the pleasure of reading three of your books, and a fourth (The Rack & Cue) on its way. The first question that really pops into my mind is, does your mom know that you write this kind of stuff?
David - Does Mrs. Hughes know? Mum’s my biggest fan!
I have a problem. I have a lot of books, more books than I can read. And I keep buying more. Tortures of the Damned is a prime example of this problem. Last year while on vacation, my wife and I hit up every book store that we could find (yeah, we do that). We’ll even pull off the interstate if we spot a Barnes & Noble or BAM.
July 26th, 2016
Now, this! This is exactly what I want to read! Ronald Malfi covered just about every human emotion possible: fear, apprehension, hope and hatred. He made me laugh, and Goddamn it, he made me cry. When I finished reading The Night Parade I gave myself a good swift kick in the buttocks for not having read Malfi until now.
August 9th, 2016
High Octane Damnation By Brett Williams
High Octane Damnation is a supercharged, soul-sucking ride to vengeance with a pit stop in drunken debauchery. Brett Williams has taken an Old Testament approach to dealing with pain and loss.
Packed into this quick read (I actually read it in one sitting) is our…um…hero, James McGuire.
Weeks 0f July 25th & August 1st
Just Released!
July 19th, 2016
I was first introduced to J.L. Bourne’s writing several years ago. We were on vacation, and my wife and I spent some time perusing the shelves at the local Barnes & Noble. I found “Two Zombie Thrillers in One Volume!” The cover immediately caught my eye and I left the store with Day By Day Armageddon, Origin to Exile and a few other great books in my hands.
Hell Divers
By Nicholas Sansbury Smith
Just Released!
Just Released!
Rich has always had a talent for spinning a tale, but never considered being a writer - that is until he stopped listening to all the reasons why people say one CAN'T be a writer and decided to just...write. Along the way he's met some inspirational people who have helped and encouraged him to pursue his goals. You'll see them in the acknowledgements of his first published solo work.
Nobody. I mean nobody does family dysfunction as well as David Moody. The shit has hit the fan and the world is falling down all around us; leave it to David Moody to make us forget all about that, to watch the train wreck of a nasty divorced couple.
This Secret We're Keeping
By Rebecca Done
2 Book Lovers Reviews
This is what I love about the Year of the Zombie, getting introduced to the psyches of new to me authors and seeing the unique, novel approach that each one takes to the end of the world as we know it. Sean T. Page goes somewhere completely different with 1975. It’s not about the zombies, it’s not even about human interaction, 1975 is about one man’s head.