Archive for June, 2018


On Tour with Prism Book Tours

Book Tour Grand Finale for
Miss White and the Seventh Heir
By Jennifer Faye

We hope you enjoyed the tour! If you missed any of the stops
you can see snippets, as well as the link to each full post, below:

Launch – Note from the Author

Hi. 🙂 Welcome to the blog tour for the second book in my ONCE UPON A FAIRYTALE duet. Trey and Sage’s story is loosely based on another of my favorite fairytales, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs…

Thoughts of a Blonde – Excerpt

ELSA WHITE STOOD before the window of her stylish Manhattan office adorned with black furnishings and gold trim. It wasn’t just any office building. It was a skyscraper owned by White Publishing. And Elsa’s office was on the top floor. She enjoyed looking down upon the rest of the world.

From her office window, the people below looked like peons—small and inconsequential. She smiled, knowing she was so much better than them. She had money, lots of money, and a powerful reach. She was forever finding ways to make her presence in publishing even greater—legal or illegal, it made no difference to her.

Jorie Loves A Story – Review

“The parts that make you smile the most is when each of them sees something that either humbles or surprises them about the other whilst finding that the longer they spend time with each other the more muddling things become as they are each spending an inordinate time contemplating each other!

…Faye loves to write strong heroines and heroes who are saving their own lives!”

It’s All About the Romance – Excerpt

Knock. Knock.

Sage stood and smoothed her navy skirt down over her thighs. She then ran a hand over her hair, making sure the long dark strands weren’t out of place. She didn’t know why she was making such a fuss. It wasn’t like she was the one being interviewed.

She came around her desk and opened the door. She had to crane her neck in order to smile up at him. From behind a pair of dark-rimmed glasses his dark gaze met hers, but she was unable to read anything in his eyes. A man of mystery. She was intrigued.

She held out her hand. “Hello. My name’s Sage White.”

Rockin’ Book Reviews – Review

“Although everybody knows the outcome of this tale, the characters are unique and the added twists” are engaging! It is a refreshing change to a well-read tale.

The characters are very real, the scenes easily visualized, and the adventure steadily increases and “draws the reader into the tale”.The Book Cover image and Title are both “well-fitted” to this story.

I offer a Five Stars rating.”

Andi’s Book Reviews – Excerpt

With evening setting in, Trey continued running—pushing himself. After bumping heads with Sage most of the afternoon, he was filled with pent-up energy. That woman was so frustrating and yet so enticing. He couldn’t decide whether he wanted to yell at her or pull her into his arms and kiss her.

He let out a frustrated groan as he slowed to a walk a block from his condo. The sooner he got the information he’d come to QTR for, the better. Ever since he’d stepped inside the office, everything had grown increasingly complicated.

The shrubbery next to him shook. He came to a stop. There was no wind to explain the sudden rush of motion. It was probably a squirrel. He was about to move on when he heard a high-pitched whine. Or was it a bark. Could there be a dog in there?

Bri’s Book Nook – Review

“The plot was fast moving and told from the POV of Trey, Sage, and Sage’s stepmother Elsa. . . . The world-building was also unique, as I found myself enjoying the description of the gala, the chateau, and even the office. This novel definitely didn’t just focus on the romance and forget the rest of the story. Everything flowed smoothly…

…For a short book, everything was done in a nice and orderly fashion. I had nothing to complain about.”

Stacking My Book Shelves! – Excerpt

“I’ve been waiting for you. I have news.” Sage stopped in her tracks. A ball of white fur was sticking out from under Trey’s arm. “What is that?”

He turned to her. His hair was scattered. His shirt was unbuttoned at the collar and his tie was stuffed in his pocket. “It’s more like who is this?”

She frowned at him. “I’m not playing games. Is that a dog?”

Trey nodded. “I can explain—”

“You can’t have a dog in here.”

“I didn’t have a choice.”

Two Points of Interest – Review

“This modern-day retelling of Snow White was a fun read. Both Sage and Trey are dealing with their own issues with trust, parents, and “abandonment”. They have trouble trusting each other. . . . Overall, it was an enjoyable book and I can’t wait to read more books by the author.”

E-Romance News – Excerpt

“His name. We’ll call him Happy.”

“Really?” Trey’s gaze moved from Sage to the dog, whose tail picked up speed. “I guess it fits.” Staring at the dog, he asked, “Would you like the name Happy?”

Arf! Arf!

Sage laughed. “I think he agrees.”

Inside The Mind of an Avid Reader – Review

“This book is sweet and intriguing. I loved the journey of catching Elsa in her evil ways. This modern Day Snow White story is worth the couple hours it will take you to read it!”

Becky on Books – Excerpt

Trey laughed. “You had a pet rat?”

“What’s so funny about that?” she asked with a perfectly straight face.

He subdued his amusement. “Nothing. It’s just that you never cease to surprise me.”

“I also had fish, a bunny—” she paused as though to think about it “—a hamster and a guinea pig.”

“You had a very interesting childhood.”

He didn’t want to stop driving. This was the first time Sage had let down her guard with him and he liked it. She was a lot different outside the office—more relaxed and much more approachable.

Christian Chick’s Thoughts – Spotlight

underneath the covers – Excerpt

Sage pressed a hand to his arm. “Are you okay?”

Trey pushed away the troubling thoughts. “Of course. Why do you ask?”

“Because we’ve arrived at the hotel and you haven’t gotten out of the car.”

He glanced out the window at Cannes’ finest hotel. When he was a child he imagined this place was a palace and a rich king lived within its walls. Other times, he would pretend his father lived there, taking care of important business, and that one day he’d return home. But in truth, his father never stayed at this hotel that he knew of and his father never came home.

Trey choked down the unwanted rush of emotions. “I think I’m just tired. I can’t sleep on planes.”

Book by Book – Review

“If you’re in need of a fun, contemporary romance to read this summer, Jennifer Faye’s Miss White and the Seventh Heir could be the perfect choice for you. . . . Though it’s not entirely unpredictable, Miss White and the Seventh Heirkept me entertained from start to finish, and I enjoyed it.”

Wishful Endings – Review

“MISS WHITE AND THE SEVENTH HEIR is a modern twist on the classic fairy tale, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It’s a light, fun romance with plenty of nods to the classic tale. For sweet romance readers who like their romance on the lighter side with a little heat, this one is for you.”

Simply Kelina – Review

“I loved how both Sage and Quentin have family issues they are working through, which in turn leads them to pushing away from each other. I also love how they meet at work. This was a really fun and fluffy read. It even involves something for our animal lovers.”

Teatime and Books – Excerpt

Her pulse quickened and she wondered what it would be like to kiss him. Before now, they’d always been at work where there was a constant string of people in and out of her office. There was no time for indulging in a kiss.

But tonight, all bets were off. She assured herself that exhaustion was playing with her mind. As she continued to stare at him, she knew she wasn’t alone with these wayward thoughts.

Bookworm Lisa – Review

“I loved that the characters are flawed and working to do and be better. This book is easy to read and enjoy. The romance isn’t rushed, it begins as a reluctant friendship. The friendship is one of the highlights of the book. The characters how that positive relationships lead to a happy and productive life.

I enjoyed my time in this book. I give it a high recommendation.”

Deal Sharing Aunt – Review

“What a great fairy tale retelling. There are so many retellings out there that it is hard for me to give any a 5, unless they truly deserve it. They have to be different, have their own plot, be in their own time period and still have all the original things I remember form the original tale. This story has all those things.”

Don’t forget to grab a free bookmark and enter the giveaway below, if you haven’t already…

Freebie

Grab a FREE Miss White and the Seventh Heir (Once Upon A Fairytale) Bookmark!
NOTE: A big apology but due to postal fees the freebies are only available to continental U.S. residents.

All you have to do is go to Jennifer’s Contact Page and let her know your physical mailing address.
NOTE: Please state the quantity you desire and which bookmarks/titles you are interested in.

And remember you can order extra to share with your favorite bookstore, library and family/friends. 🙂

Miss White and the Seventh Heir
(Once Upon a Fairytale #2)
By Jennifer Faye
Contemporary Romance
Paperback & ebook, 256 pages
June 1st 2018 by Harlequin Romance
Goodreads│Amazon│Barnes & Noble
Book Depository│Harlequin│iBooks│Kobo

A billionaire with a secret…

Can the truth lead to happily-ever-after?

In this Once Upon a Fairytale story, hardworking magazine editor Sage White’s just getting used to being in charge, so she’s alarmed to find sparks flying with her new assistant—the distractingly handsome Trey! Working together, they grow closer, but can their blossoming relationship survive when Sage learns that Trey is really Quentin Rousseau, seventh heir to the publishing empire—and her boss?

Other Books in the Series

Beauty and Her Boss
(Once Upon a Fairytale #1)
by Jennifer Faye
Contemporary Romance
Paperback & ebook, 256 pages
March 1st 2018 by Harlequin Romance
Goodreads│Amazon│Barnes & Noble
Book Depository│Harlequin│iBooks│Kobo

An innocent beauty, a scarred hero…

Could she be the one to open up his heart?

Handsome but guarded former Hollywood star Deacon Santoro prefers the confines of his mansion since an accident left him scarred both inside and out. But he promised to protect sparky beauty Gabrielle Dupre, his new PA. Can Gabrielle convince Deacon that love will give them the fairy-tale ending they deserve?

About the Author

Award-winning author, Jennifer Faye pens fun, heartwarming contemporary romances with rugged cowboys, sexy billionaires and enchanting royalty. Internationally published with books translated into nine languages. She is a two-time winner of the RT Book Reviews Reviewers’ Choice Award, the CataRomance Reviewers’ Choice Award, named a TOP PICK author, and been nominated for numerous other awards.

Website│Goodreads│Facebook│Twitter│Google+│Pinterest│YouTube│Klout

Tour Giveaway

1 winner will receive a $20 Amazon Gift Card, autographed copy of BEAUTY & HER BOSS (Once Upon a Fairytale, book 1), Lindt Lindor assorted chocolate truffles, Lindt Salted Caramel bar, Whoppers, Reese’s Pieces, candle, flower kit, book magnet, pen, and bookmarks
– US only
– Ends June 13th

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Grab Our Button!

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

bookshelves photo: Bookshelf bookshelves.jpg

This is my own version of a weekly book haul and all things new on fuonlyknew.

I’m also linking up with The Sunday Post hosted by Kimberly @Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

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Some chit chat.

I’m experiencing something strange for me. Aside from the excuse of when my internet was down for over a week, I seem to be in a bit of a slump. I hardly seem to post any of my usually memes and features. And I’m seriously behind on sharing reviews. Just can’t seem to be able to get back into the groove here. I’m thinking maybe it’s the pool’s fault. Can’t seem to stay out of it. LOL

It’s been a while since I shared some photos of my plants. They are thriving.

Check out Flora.

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And this gorgeous bloom. It’s almost as big as my head.

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And the banana trees and other tropical plants are growing in leaps and bounds.

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The Sega seed ball is really starting to form. It’s about three feet tall.

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If you look closely you can see it starting to close on top. This is the biggest one I ever had and should give me tons of new sega seeds. I’ll share how to harvest them this coming winter.

I love my backyard!

That’s all for this week.

Have a fabulous  Sunday!

*****

My new books this week.

Blood Moon Carnival by [DiPersio, Paul]  Class 5 by [Horton, Shaun]  Safari: A Technothriller by [Plansky, Alexander]

Sunrise Island Mysteries: Books 1-3 by [Baker, Blythe]

*****

And here are some FREEBIES for ya.

Click on the covers to get your copies. Remember to make sure they’re still free before you hit that buy button.

One In A Million: A Supernatural Thriller (The Fasano Trilogy Book 1) by [Faggioli, Tony]  The Signal (A Delphi Group Thriller Book 1) by [Sneeden, John]  Foreclosed: A Mitzy Neuhaus Mystery by [Hilton, Traci Tyne]

The Gray-Haired Knitting Detective Series: (Books 1 - 3) by [Haggerty, D.E.]  Narcissist in the Daffodils (Greene Fields Mystery Book 1) by [Carter, Kristy]  Dog Collar Crime: Misadventures of a Frustrated Mob Princess (A Lucie Rizzo Mystery Book 1) by [Giordano, Adrienne]

*****

Other posts on my blog this week.

Spectacle by S.J. Pierce ~ Blitz and Giveaway

Teaser Tuesday #238 ~ Beyond Dead

Bark Twice For Danger ~ Book Blast and Two Giveaways

The Gathering by Bernadette Giacomazzo ~ Blitz and Giveaway

One for your summer reading list ~ Beachboy Murder ~ Excerpt and Giveaway

Book Tour Grand Finale and Giveaway ~ A Cowboy Of Convenience

*****

Leave your link and I’ll come visit you.

Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.


On Tour with Prism Book Tours

Book Tour Grand Finale for

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A Cowboy of Convenience

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By Stacy Henrie

We hope you enjoyed the tour! If you missed any of the stops
you can see snippets, as well as the link to each full post, below:

Launch – Note from the Author

While A COWBOY OF CONVIENCE is my sixth Love Inspired Historical novel, it has the distinction of also being my first full-length marriage of convenience story—and my first book to feature dude ranching! I read about the history of dude ranches while trying to come up with the idea for this story and found it so fascinating I decided to make these ranches a central part of the plot and setting for my story…

The Power of Words – Review

“For sweet romance that entertains and inspires, Stacy Henrie is an excellent author, always consistent, and I’ve loved everyone of her books that I’ve read so far. The Sheridan Sweethearts series especially strikes a chord with me, and A Cowboy of Convenience has the perfect balance of rich characterization, historical detail, emotion, and inspiration.”

Kathryn Cooper Writes – Review

“I love this book! I felt the emotions of the characters as I went through the story with them. There were many different parts to the characters’ story that blended so well together. I happily woke up early in the morning just to read this book!..

If you enjoy reading romance that is clean and sweet then A Cowboy of Convenienceis the book for you! It is full of trials, sadness, joys, and love. It is another great Christian Love Inspired Historical read.”

Jen Around the World – Review

“I really loved this book. It is the first one I have read by author Stacy Henrie — and now, I cannot wait to read the other books in this series…

If you want a quick read (because I could not put this book down), be sure and grab a copy and enter the giveaway going on!”

Katie’s Clean Book Collection – Review

“Henrie has found her niche writing Westerns and this sweet historical romance is fantastic! The characters are so likable, hardworking, and have hardships to overcome, making them realistic…

These are the types of characters who come full circle and steal your heart in the process…”

Moments – Review & Excerpt

“This is such a sweet romance, clean and inspiring, which is the kind I enjoy reading! Stacy does a great job with writing about the characters and how their interactions and relationship grows and changes as the book progresses. Vienna and West are both characters whom are easy to connect with and love; I was rooting for them both immediately upon starting this book. I highly recommend this book and really this series!”

“Howdy, Sheriff. What can we do for you?”

“Howdy, McCall.” The sheriff smiled back. “I’m here to speak to Mrs. Howe.”

West glanced at her, his expression and honey-brown eyes as wary as the emotion now churning in Vienna’s stomach. “Everything all right?”

“Not to worry, son,” the sheriff said, turning back to her. “But I’m afraid I need to speak with Mrs. Howe in private.”

Among the Reads – Review

“Author Stacy Henrie sends him on a touching journey of learning the truth about who God is…

I loved the way that Vienna has grown from the last time we saw her in The Rancher’s Temporary Engagement

Vienna’s daughter, Hattie, is too cute for words. I love that she has a doll named Hattie and wants to name a horse by her own name as well. West’s love for Hattie, and her love for “Daddy West” is so very sweet!”

Books n Baubles – Review

“I really loved this book, I honestly couldn’t put it down! I;ll be honest and say there were a couple times I wanted to smack either Vienna or Wes but I’m very happy with the way everything ended up. overall the characters were likable and I really felt like I was there on the ranch with them.”

Christian Chick’s Thoughts – Review

“Of course, there’s never any doubt that Vienna and West’s marriage of convenience will turn real, but in this case, the joy is in the journey. . . . As Vienna and West spend time together, their relationship grows into a deep friendship and then to love. So basically, this is both a marriage of convenience AND friends to lovers novel … what more could you ask for?”

Tell Tale Book Reviews – Review

“I really enjoyed A Cowboy Of Concenience, it gave me more pause to think than the average Love Inspired Historical, and I’d recommend it and Stacy Henrie’s previous books to anyone who enjoys Love Inspired Historical romances.”

cherylbbookblog – Review

“This is such a wonderful story. I loved reading Vienna’s and West’s story.”

Jorie Loves A Story – Review

“Henrie gives her readers a ready emotional connection to her characters – something I truly appreciate by any author, as it anchours you straight into the drama!..

She has a calmness in her words and I liked how she choose to phrase her narrative’s descriptions which both reflected the introspective nature of her story and the gentleness of an INSPY novel.”

Singing Librarian Books – Review

“Henrie’s story is filled with delightful and relatable characters, as she shows not only the struggles, but the life of hardworking people, and of course a sweet love story too that readers will find absolutely enjoyable…

…A heartwarming, inspiring, and entertaining story, readers will absolutely not want to put this charming and enchanting story down.”

Britt Reads Fiction – Review

“If you enjoy marriage of convenience stories, like I definitely do, then A Cowboy of Convenience is a sweet tale that you will want to pick up for yourself!..

…This was the first book that I have read by this author, but I look forward to reading more in the future.”

Book by Book – Excerpt

West threw another glance in the direction Vienna had gone on her walk. He’d wanted to press her for information about the sheriff’s news, but the pensive look on her pretty face when she’d exited the house had told him that she needed some time to herself first.

This undercurrent of protectiveness for Vienna wasn’t new, and it had only grown stronger when she’d come to live at the Running W three years ago—and then when West had learned her scoundrel of a husband was bound for prison. And now that protective instinct included taking care of her daughter whom he held firmly in place on the fence post next to him.

Rockin’ Book Reviews – Review

“This Historical Romance in the setting of the early West, will delight most any reader…

The characters are very endearing, the “Little House on the Prairie”-style drama is delightful. The scenes are portrayed well, they writing of the entire story was done well!”

Reading Is My SuperPower – Review

“If you love cowboys, marriages-of-convenience, friends-to-more and adorable little girls, then A Cowboy of Convenience should be a must-read for you! Henrie once again creates a story that is equal parts endearing and swoonworthy – with characters who quickly feel like friends. I’m sad to see this imprint closing, but i hope Henrie will bring us back to Sheridan at some point anyway – at least once more!”

Brooke Blogs – Review & Excerpt

“A Cowboy of Convenience by Stacy Henrie is an inspirational historical romance that had my heart pitter-pattering from the start…

If you like a sweet story with honorable characters, this is a perfect romance to enjoy.”

“Mommy, there’s a new horsie, and I want to name her Hattie. And my feet weren’t bein’ quiet so I had to shush them. Like this.” Vienna’s daughter repeated the shushing action, her narrowed gaze on her black shoes.

A faint smile lifted her mother’s lips. “That’s wonderful you’re learning to be quiet around the horses, Hattie.”

“Mr. West teached me.”

Vienna looked at West, a mixture of appreciation and regret in those beautiful green eyes. They reminded him of a pair of jade earrings his mother used to wear. The color of the stones mirrored the exact shade of Vienna’s eyes.

Remembrancy – Review

“Vienna Howe was introduced in Stacy Henrie’s The Rancher’s Temporary Engagement (see below for details on that read), and I really enjoyed getting to read her story…

Henry shares some history of the concept of a dude ranch in A Cowboy of Convenience, including those credited with starting the first one and a little history, but the meat of this story is in Vienna’s hidden strength and the push and pull between her and West. And of course, little Hattie who adds so much adorableness, you can’t help but grin when she steals a scene.”

Heidi Reads… – Review

“There is a wonderful sense of anticipation throughout the book as we wait for West and Vienna to work up the courage to share their deepening feelings with each other. This is a lovely marriage of convenience story because they are already good friends with each other and have several years of built up trust behind them. . . . I loved the setting and characters, especially cute Hattie and Vienna’s friend Maggy from the previous book in the series.”

Don’t forget to enter the giveaway below, if you haven’t already…

A Cowboy of Convenience
(Sheridan Sweethearts #2)
By Stacy Henrie
Inspirational Historical Romance
Paperback & ebook, 288 Pages
June 1st 2018 by Love Inspired Historical

Groom by Agreement

A real home–it’s what Vienna Howe dearly wants for her young daughter. Yet the ramshackle property she just inherited hardly qualifies. She can’t afford the repairs–until foreman West McCall suggests they start a dude ranch together. For propriety’s sake, they’ll need a marriage in name only…a practical solution for two wary hearts.

Years ago, West convinced Vienna to marry a man of means, never realizing how cruel her husband could be. Guilt-ridden, he intends to secure the lovely widow’s future. But despite his reluctance to get close to anyone, this union might do more than fix Vienna’s ranch. It could open the door to a warm, loving future…

Goodreads│Amazon│Barnes & Noble│Kobo│iBooks│GooglePlay

Other Books in the Series

The Rancher’s Temporary Engagement
(Sheridan Sweethearts #1)
By Stacy Henrie
Inspirational Historical Romance
Paperback & ebook, 288 Pages
February 1st 2018 by Love Inspired Historical

Undercover FiancĂŠe

The Pinkerton agent that Edward Kent hired is intelligent, capable—and unexpectedly female! Though shocked to learn that Maggy Worthing will be investigating the threats to his Wyoming horse ranch, Edward needs to find the culprit. And if that means a temporary engagement to give Maggy a cover story, he’ll play along with the feisty detective.

Maggy always gets her man—at least when it comes to solving crimes. The young widow refuses to marry again and land under another husband’s thumb. Unmasking Edward’s enemies will earn her a longed-for promotion…but the heart has its own mysteries. Could working together with the handsome English aristocrat spark a real and loving partnership?

Goodreads│Amazon│Barnes & Noble│Kobo│iBooks│GooglePlay

About the Author

USA Today bestselling author Stacy Henrie is the author of western romances and the Of Love and War series, which includes Hope at Dawn, a 2015 RITA Award finalist for excellence in romance. She was born and raised in the West, where she currently resides with her family. She enjoys reading, road trips, interior decorating, chocolate, and most of all, laughing with her husband and kids.

Website│Goodreads│Facebook│Twitter│Pinterest

Tour Giveaway

– 1 winner will receive a $40 Amazon e-gift card (open internationally)
– 1 winner will receive a signed print copy of THE RANCER’S TEMPORARY ENAGEMENT (US only)
– Ends June 13th

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Grab Our Button!

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

beach boy banner

This sounds like a fun one for the summer reading list.

The title and cover are so fun.

Be sure to check out the excerpt and teaser.

And don’t forget to enter the giveaway!

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Beachboy Murder

A Gabby LeClair Aloha Lagoon Mystery

by Sally J. Smith & Jean Steffens

beach boy cover

Genre: Mystery

Synopsis

Just as travel agent turned reluctant sleuth Gabby LeClair is starting to gain some of the Aloha spirit, a business consortium from Chicago breezes into the Aloha Lagoon resort and offers to buy her business. The offer is tempting…but so is hot helicopter pilot Rick Dawson, making it a difficult decision. One that becomes even more complicated when a dead body is discovered in Gabby’s backyard, and she’s suddenly thrust in the middle of a murder investigation!

The dead man is a former beachboy attendant from the island. With a trail of broken hearts—not to mention jealous rivals—leading up to the beachboy, Gabby tries to uncover just who had it in for the late lothario. Is the female of the species really more deadly than the male? Or has the beachboy scorned one too many women for some other man’s liking?

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Check out this peek inside:

Detective Ray wasn’t on my list of top guys on the island. I’d had a drawn-out encounter with him the summer before. He was brusque and all business when he was working. I’d never interacted with him socially, so as far as I knew that was the way he was all the time.

He touched the brim of his straw skimmer. If it had been any other man, I would’ve thought the gesture charming, but on just-the-facts-ma’am Detective Ray, it seemed a little rote.

“Good morning, Miss LeClair.”

“Detective.” I waited.

Her curiosity nearly a tangible entity, Janet stood so close behind me that if I’d moved I would have bumped into her.

“Detective?” Her voice rose in surprise, but for once there was no inflection of flirtation in it.

“What can I do for you this early, Detective Ray?” I asked.

His cop’s point of view took in both of us, and he touched his hat again. “I was just wondering, Miss LeClair,”—he paused, lifted his chin, and scratched under it—”if you”—he cast a speculative glance in Janet’s direction—”have anything to do with the dead body in your back yard.”

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About the Authors:

beach boy authors

The USA Today best-selling writing team of Sally J. Smith (right brain) and Jean Steffens (left brain) make up equal halves of one totally functional writer’s mind. Creative and intuitive and organized and systematic? What could be better than that?

The two desert dwellers work together side-by-side, literally finishing each other’s sentences, putting together their novels faster and more efficiently than they ever could individually.

When their heads aren’t together over a manuscript, you’ll find them with their families, at a movie, the mall, or out-to-lunch—in the food sense, not the spaced-out sense, well…most of the time. Their current series include Jordan Welsh Mysteries, Mystic Isle Mysteries, Danger Cove Pet Sitter Mysteries, Aloha Lagoon Gabby LeClair Mysteries, and Digby Sloan Mysteries.

Visit their website: http:www//smithandsteffens.com, look around, and sign up for their newsletter to receive a free short story. Jean and Sally love hearing from readers and always answer e-mails: smithandsteffens@cox.net.

 

Amazon Buy Link / Publisher Buy Link

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beach boy tease

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GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Click on the banner below to follow the tour and comment.

The more you comment, the more chances to win!

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.



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The Gathering
Bernadette Giacomazzo
(The Uprising, #1)
Publication date: March 31st 2018
Genres: Adult, Dystopian

The Uprising Series tells the story of three freedom fighters and their friends in high — and low — places that come together to overthrow a vainglorious Emperor and his militaristic Cabal to restore the city, and the way of life, they once knew and loved.

In The Gathering, Jamie Ryan has defected from the Cabal and has joined his former brothers-in-arms — Basile Perrinault and Kanoa Shinomura — to form a collective known as The Uprising. When an explosion leads to him crossing paths with Evanora Cunningham — a product of Jamie’s past — he discovers that The Uprising is bigger, and more important, than he thought.

Goodreads / Amazon

Are you a book blogger?
Sign up for the blog tour here!

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Enjoy this peek inside:

Jamie

I saw Emperor – looking like a hot air balloon, sounding as ridiculous as ever – blathering on about his personal Reichstag fire, and laying the blame of the explosion squarely at the feet of myself and my brothers-in-arms.

“…and it’s these traitors of the state – the threat to the security of my Empire of the United States of America – the defectors of the Cabal who go by Jamie Ryanand Basile Perrinault and, my greatest betrayal, Supreme Allied Commander Kanoa Shinomura…” he hollered into the microphone, which seemed to reverberate throughout the city.

At the sound of Kanoa’s name, the Cabal members below the balcony slammed the butts of their guns on the floor in rhythm. I knew that rhythm all too well – it was meant to be a war cry for those of us in the rank-and-file of the Cabal – but, to the untrained ear, it sounded like a machine gun going off…which was exactly the point.

But I couldn’t help but sneer at the accusation that the blast that nearly killed Evanora and Tommy was somehow our fault. He’d spent decades trying to catch us and failing miserably, yet in the same breath, believed we were inept enough to set off a blast that took no lives and could be cleaned up during a balmy New York evening. And he managed to sell this ridiculous belief to the crowd, no less.

“Let’s make something clear, asshole,” I muttered, “if it had been me and the boys that lit your shit up, you wouldn’t be standing here today.”

Despite the absurdity of the accusation – and despite the obvious absurdity of the accusation – the victims of psi just grunted along, agreeing with everything and anything that came out of Emperor’s mouth, in part because they didn’t know any better (they were psi victims, after all), and in part because any disagreement with what Emperor had to say was met with a fierce, painful punishment.

“His Word, Before All and Above All,” I muttered. “With liberty and justice for no one, so kiss my peasant Old New York ass and take a breath mint afterward, unless you like that funky aftertaste…”

My voice trailed off as my eyes focused on a strange woman on the balcony.

At first, I couldn’t discern who she was – she looked like someone I’d seen before, yet someone I’d never seen before.

Her hair was a garish white-blonde, stringy and lifeless, and pinned tightly behind her head with a set of black ceramic chopsticks. Her makeup was almost cartoonish – cat-like black eyeliner and matte black lipstick sat atop a ghostly white foundation. Even her outfit was a hideously hilarious cultural appropriation – a black silk kimono paired with a set of black stiletto heels. I’d seen Old New York 42nd Street prostitutes, with terrible heroin problems, sell the “Asian coquette” look better than what I’d seen before me now.

“Who the actual…” I began, hesitantly, unable to process who I was seeing before me.

And then it hit me, all at once, who she was.

For the first time in a long time, I was literally speechless.

When I could finally find my voice again, it barely came out in a whisper. “Rosie,” I squeaked.

I walked into the Ludlow Street apartment I shared with
Angelique and was instantly greeted with the smell of a meat dish that, I would later learn, was calledcarne asada.

“Angelique!” I called out over the loud sizzling of steak as I kicked off my black Frye boots and set my matching acoustic guitar down. “Where are you, my love?”

“In here!” she called, out of sight, from the kitchen, where more clanging and banging sounds echoed over her voice.

I began walking through the apartment, shedding layers as I went along until I reached the kitchen wearing nothing but my black leather pants and a mischievous smile. I was hoping to have a little appetizer of crème d’Angelique before dinner, but when I reached the kitchen, I realized – much to my chagrin – that we weren’t alone.

Angelique, her hair tied back into a messy ponytail, was wearing a tight, white, see-through shorts jumper and a matching white apron. She was standing next to an unfamiliar-looking woman with a matching messy ponytail, but whose thick chocolate brown hair stood in sharp contrast to Angelique’s thin flaxen locks. The rest of her, too, was in stark contrast to Angelique, but not in a bad way – she was olive-skinned, in contrast to Angelique’s pale white skin; she was curvy, in contrast to Angelique’s ectomorphic figure; she was fiery, in contrast to Angelique’s ethereal nature.

They were standing side by side, working on something that smelled simply delicious. Angelique was mixing flour, sugar, and garlic powder, and her friend was adding melted butter and salted water to the resultant powder, then kneading it until it formed a dough.

“Am I interrupting something?” I asked as I walked behind Angelique, wrapped my arms around her waist, and kissed her neck, breathing in her scent of lilacs as I did so.

She smiled, then took her index finger and bopped the tip of my nose with the flour mixture. “Hey handsome,” she said, beatifically. “We’re making something special for you for dinner. We’ve got carne asada in the pan over there – we’ve got some arroz con gandules in the rice cooker – and we’re making…wait, girl, what’s this called?”

“Arepas,” her friend said, smiling as she continued to knead the dough between her hands, her silver thumb ring glistening in the light of the dusk as she did so.

“Right, arepas,” Angelique repeated. “Ramira here is teaching me all her magic ways – she says this is the exact dinner I need to make if I want my man to marry me.” She giggled, then elbowed Ramira, who giggled along with Angelique.

I couldn’t help but giggle, as well, as I unentwined myself from Angelique and walked over to Ramira to properly introduce myself. “I’m going to be stuffed fordays with all this delicious food, so it’s only right that we become friends,” I began, extending my hand. “Hi there. I’m James Randall Ryan IV, I somehow lucked out enough to convince this lovely lady Angelique to be my girlfriend, and it’s a pleasure to meet you. You can call me Jamie.”

Ramira smiled, then shook my hand with two of her fingers, taking care not to smear the wet dough across my palm. “Well, my name is Ramira Diaz, Angelique is my best friend, and it’s a pleasure to meet you too. You can call me Rosie, though. Everyone else does.”

I sat under a wilting star magnolia tree and stared, intently, through the open window of a room that had to be Rosie’s dressing room. She peeled her black silk kimono off and turned her back to the frameless window, exposing her prominent ribs and shoulder blades as she did so. The sight of her suddenly-bare, emaciated frame shocked me, especially given how pronounced her curves were in our younger years, and tears welled up in my eyes yet again.

In the decades since Angelique and my son had died, I could count the number of times I’d cried on one hand. In the past 72 hours, though – as I realized that my best friend’s kid, and my best friend’s girlfriend, were alive and well, and that the Uprising was bigger than I’d ever imagined – the tears came quickly and flowed easily, and I couldn’t decide if this was a sign of strength or weakness on my part.

Rosie slipped a shimmering white camisole over her emaciated frame, which she then tucked into a pair of white linen slacks. I couldn’t get over how thin she’d gotten, then wondered if this was by her own design, or if she was under orders from that evil husband of hers. No way would Jordan be cool with this, I thought to myself. On his fucking grave would this go on. On his fucking grave. And wouldn’t you know it – here we are, on his fucking grave.

I saw Rosie leave the room and begin to head down a flight of stairs, and I took that as an opportunity to get her alone, away from the rabid Cabal and out of sight of the vainglorious Emperor. She’d taken a few steps away from her building, and into Emperor’s Park, before passing by the wilting star magnolia tree that I was hiding behind. It was only when I saw the back of her slicked back, perfect ponytail – what a difference from the one she was wearing when we first met, I thought – that I saw the opportunity to get her alone and began walking behind her.

“You’ve come a long way from making arepas on Ludlow Street,” I said, tapping her on the shoulder when I finally caught up with her.

She spun around, her face scrunched up in fear, and for a split second, I thought she was going to hit me. But just as quickly, she relaxed as her eyes registered who owned the disembodied voice. “Jamie,” she whispered tearfully. “You’re here. You’re alive. I didn’t realize…”

“How the hell did you not?” I asked, furrowing my eyebrows and side-eyeing her. “Your damned husband has been hunting me for decades.”

“I knew that,” she said, taking ragged breaths. “But just the fact that he was never able to take you alive led me to believe that you were…you know…” Her voice trailed off.

I wasn’t convinced, and I continued to stare at her intently as I scratched my left cheek, which was now beginning to show the first signs of salt-and-pepper beard stubble. “First of all, why the hell are you talking like you’re Queen Elizabeth? Second, let me just state it for the record: you give your asshole husbandway too much credit if you think he can take me down.”

Rosie bit her lower lip, then shifted her eyes down. I put my hand under her chin and tipped her face up, forcing her eyes to meet mine as I tried, desperately, to search for a sign of the Rosie I once knew. “Rosie,” I whispered intently. “It’s me. You don’t have to hide from me.”

Her face was a blank slate. “My name is Rose. Rose Cunningham,” she said with flat affect.

“Oh, bullshit,” I whispered, even more intently. “Whatever happened to ‘call me Rosie, everyone else does’? What happened to that woman who was makingarepas in the kitchen with my Angelique?”

That got her attention, and her deep brown eyes flashed with fire as she balled up her fists and began swinging at me. “You shit! You bastard! You did it! You almost killed my baby!”

I ducked, bobbed and weaved, avoiding each blow as I carefully tried to talk her down from the ledge. “Rosie! What the hell are you talking about? I didn’t do that shit! I swear!”

She continued to swing at me. “Yes! Yes, you did!” she squealed tearfully, repeating the same “yes, yes” with each swing, her voice getting louder each time.

“Do you want to knock it off before the fuckin’ Cabal finds us, Rosie? The fuck is wrong with you? Jesus Christ!” I was shouting despite myself and began scanning the landscape frantically for Cabal soldiers that would have undoubtedly heard us, all while bobbing and weaving like a prizefighter to avoid getting punched in the face.

She swung even harder and squealed even louder. “You tried to kill my baby! Just like you killed yours!”

That line finally got me to react, and I had to steady my breathing to stop from clocking her in the mouth. Even in the throes of the worst of my Faustian behavior, I never hit a woman, and neither did any of my bandmates – the thought of violence against a woman, let alone a woman we’d loved, didn’t even cross our drug-addled minds.

Instead, I grabbed her wrists and forced them down to her sides, holding them in place at hip level as she struggled, trying to hit me, until she finally began whimpering in defeat.

“Now you listen to me, Ramira Diaz, and you listen well,” I began, angrily. “You may have forgotten everything you were and are, but I sure as fuck haven’t forgotten a goddamn thing, and let me rest assure you, I never fuckin’ will.”

Her lower lip was trembling, her eyes were watering, and it became evident that she was on the verge of tears. Still, I continued. “So, let me get a few things out of the way now, so we’re not confused. Number one: that blast? It wasn’t me. It wasn’t anyone tied to me. It wasn’t anyone whose name I can even spell. Because let me assure you, again, that if it were me, or anyone tied to me, we’d have burned down the entire fuckin’ city, even if it meant killing ourselves in the process, and wouldn’t have left a survivor anywhere on this God-forsaken island.

“Number two: you know goddamn well I didn’t kill Angelique or our baby. Now I wear their death on my heart every. Fucking. Day. I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in twenty fucking years, from the day they were killed, because I can’t get their murders out of my mind. There are times I wish I was dead, just so that I don’t have to live with the guilt of their murders, but no, here I am, and ain’t that a fuckin’ bitch from Hell. I’d give all the money in the world to have my Angelique back. I’d trade my life for Jordan’s any day of the week. And my son – my only legacy – never had a chance at life, and you think that’s all fair?

“Number three – and this is the most important part, Rosie, goddamnit, you’d better fuckin’ listen to this if you listen to nothing else: remember that promise I made to you in the hospital room? All those years ago? Because I fuckin’ do. And that’s why when Evanora and Tommy came down the Bowery after the blast, and I realized who she was, I made sure she was safe and clean and warm…”

Rosie looked shocked. “Wait. She came to you?”

I searched her face, trying to see if I could register where her loyalties lie before I continued to answer the question. For some reason, however, I couldn’t make it out. I even tried to read Rosie’s mind using a gentle form of psi, but I still couldn’t read her mind at all. It was like trying to probe a brick wall. So, to protect Evanora – and the rest of us – I chose to cover my tracks. “Yeah,” I said airily, “she mentioned something about listening to Uprising Radio.”

The name of Uprising Radio registered some type of recognition with Rosie, and her eyes lit up slightly. “My baby has heard Uprising Radio?”

“I don’t know for sure,” I continued, still adopting an airy affect, “but I’m pretty sure that’s what she said.” Using my Cabal training, I put a mental wall between my thoughts and Rosie, mostly because I didn’t know how much training she’d had in the psi arts, and I wasn’t sure if she, too, could read my mind. And if, God forbid, her loyalties lied with that pathetic excuse of her husband, I could at least protect, if not myself, then the whole Uprising movement.

I made sure the wall was firmly in place before I continued. “I think I’ve heard Uprising Radio a few times, but I don’t know much about it, who does it, or anything of the sort.”

“Yeah,” Rosie said, hesitantly, behind a mental brick wall of her own, “I have no idea, either.”

We were calmer, now – our breath was steady, our thoughts were collected, and Rosie’s fists were limp. I finally felt confident that she wasn’t going to try to hit me again, so I loosened my grip on her wrists.

But I suddenly found myself unable to let her go, so I slid my hands from her wrists to her hands and grabbed her fingers lightly. I was overcome with emotion.

“What is it, Jamie?” Her voice was cracking.

I exhaled loudly, then drew in a ragged breath. “Do you think about him, Rosie? Do you think about Jordan at all?”

She closed her eyes and allowed the tears to fall as she exhaled shakily. “Every day of my life,” she said softly. “There’s not a day that goes by that Jordan doesn’t cross my mind. Every time I look at Evanora – every time I hear her laugh – he comes to my mind. Sometimes, she gives me this look – you remember, Jamie? You remember when Jordan would hear something that was just too stupid for words, and he would get this look on his face, like, ‘were you dropped on your head as a child?’” – and to this, I gave a half-smile and a nod – “and now, she gets that look. And that one eyebrow” – she took her finger and drew on her left eyebrow – “it would just go up like…like…”

She dropped her hand as her voice trailed off, her eyes filling with tears.

I nodded my head, closed my eyes, and sighed. “Fuckin’ guy,” I said, opening my eyes and looking at Rosie. “So. You didn’t see me, right?”

Rosie smiled and winked at me. “Ivan Sapphire? Please. Get over yourself, rock star.” She squeezed my hands one last time for good measure. “I’m going to leave now. I’m not going to look back because I don’t want to see where you’re going. This way, if someone with bad intentions against you asks me if I know where you are, I can answer honestly when I say I don’t know. But just because I don’t look back, doesn’t mean I want to see you go. I need you to understand that, Jamie Ryan. I don’t need you to over-analyze things that don’t need over-analyzing. I need you to let me go, Jamie Ryan, and I need you to know that I love you, and I thank you, from the bottom of my heart.”

She finally let go of my hands, gave me a slight nod, then turned and walked back to her home. I watched her, silently, keeping the promise I made so long ago to Jordan Barker and didn’t leave what was once known as Central Park until I saw, for sure, that she was safe inside.

~~~~~

 

Author Bernadette R. Giacomazzo

With an impressive list of credentials earned over the course of two decades, Bernadette R. Giacomazzo is a multi-hyphenate in the truest sense of the word: an editor, writer, photographer, publicist, and digital marketing specialist who has

demonstrated an uncanny ability to thrive in each industry with equal aplomb. Her work has been featured in Teen Vogue, People, Us Weekly, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, and many, many more. She served as the news editor of Go! NYC Magazine for nearly a decade, the executive editor of LatinTRENDS Magazine for five years, the eye candy editor of XXL Magazine for two years, and the editor-at-large at iOne/Zona de Sabor for two years. As a publicist, she has worked with the likes of Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and his G-Unit record label, rapper Kool G. Rap, and various photographers, artists, and models. As a digital marketing specialist, Bernadette is Google Adwords certified, has an advanced knowledge of SEO, PPC, link-building, and other digital marketing techniques, and has worked for a variety of clients in the legal, medical, and real estate industries.

Based in New York City, Bernadette is the co-author of Swimming with Sharks: A Real World, How-To Guide to Success (and Failure) in the Business of Music (for the 21st Century), and the author of the forthcoming dystopian fiction series, The Uprising. She also contributed a story to the upcoming Beyonce Knowles tribute anthology, The King Bey Bible, which will be available in bookstores nationwide in the summer of 2018.

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For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

bark twice banner

I love cozy mysteries and I love dogs. What could be more fun than a talking dog detective agency.

Check out Bark Twice For Danger.

Enjoy the excerpt.

And don’t forget to enter the giveaway!

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Bark Twice For Danger

The Talking Dog Detective Agency #3

by M.K. Scott

bark twice cover

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Synopsis

Comic Con is in full-swing and all is well. But no sooner does the biggest event of the year begin before a mysterious wave of identify thefts overshadows the grand affair.

 

While Nala tries to rein in Karly’s efforts to use the con for dating purposes, she also finds herself the target of a brazen thief. If she and her crime-solving canine companion don’t find the culprit, her bank accounts could be wiped cleaned.

 

Can Nala and Max bring an end to the chaos before it’s too late?

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Enjoy this peek inside:

What happens to a girl who can’t say no? Most people would assume she’d end up pregnant before her fifteen birthday. The idea made Emma wrinkle her nose at the impossibility of that happening to her. It would involve someone asking her to do something more interesting than pet sitting their parrot or run papers to a client on her way home. Truthfully, she didn’t mind too much. She didn’t have children to drive to soccer practice or the need to start dinner for her partner when she got home from work. What she did resent was people assuming, since she had no life, she’d automatically do the things they had no time to do.

Delivering papers wasn’t in her job description. Technically it wasn’t on anyone’s in the office. The others were smart enough to make themselves scarce, while Emma merely took the papers and agreed to go out of her way to Carmel to deliver them before the end of the workday. The only perk was she got to leave early to arrive while the client’s office was still open.

After she delivered the papers, she exited the art deco building, only to almost bump into him. She couldn’t say she didn’t notice him. He was the type of male who drew all eyes to him by simply existing. He’d erupted into the parking lot riding a wave of sound and testosterone. Instead of a surfboard, his mode of transportation was a Triumph motorcycle. The bike drew her eye first. Back when she was barely thirteen, she longed for a motorcycle. Her fantasies, however, didn’t include her hanging onto some guy steering the bike. It was always her bike.

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About the authors

bark twice authors

M.K. Scott is the husband and wife writing team behind The Painted Lady Inn Mysteries and The Talking Dog Detective Agency. Morgan K Wyatt is the general wordsmith, while her husband, Scott, is the grammar hammer and physics specialist. He uses his engineering skills to explain how fast a body falls when pushed over a cliff and various other felonious activities. The Internet and experts in the field provide forensic information, while the recipes and B and B details require a more hands-on approach. Morgan’s daughter, who manages a hotel, provides guest horror stories to fuel the plot lines. The couple’s dog, Chance, is the inspiration behind Jasper, Donna’s dog. Overall, both are a fun series to create and read.

Social Media

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  The book is on sale for only 99 cents!

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bark twice teaser

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GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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SECOND GIVEAWAY

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The author is running a Rafflecopter on her blog for a $50 gift card… the contest is open until July 1.

Visit HERE to enter.

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Click on the banner below to follow the tour and comment.

The more you comment, the more chances to win!

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Welcome to Teaser Tuesday hosted by Ambrosia  @ The Purple Booker.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read.
• Open to a random page.
•Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

 

My Teaser for this week is from

Beyond Dead

An Afterlife Adventures Novel #1

by Jordaina Sydney Robinson

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Genre: Paranormal / Cozy Mystery

  Teaser from 5% in the eBook.

“What about you? How did you kick it?” Sabrina asked.

“I tripped.”

Sabrina whistled low. “That must have been some trip.”

“It wasn’t really the trip that killed me. It was getting hit by the bus.”

A sharp burst of laughter escaped before she clamped her hand over her mouth as several pairs of accusatory, watery eyes turned our way.

This is just part of a hilarious scene where newly dead Bridget is talking to Sabrina, another dead girl, about how she died.

Only 5% into this and I already snorted iced tea all over my Kindle. LOL

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Synopsis

Dead less than twenty-four hours, with a job that doesn’t pay, a fashion disaster for a uniform and more afterlife rules than she can shake a stick at, Bridget Sway thinks it’s as bad as it can get. And then she finds a dead ghost stuffed in her locker.

Since the police are desperate to arrest her for murder, Bridget’s new best friend convinces her the only way to save herself from an eternity in prison is to solve the murder themselves.

With a handsome parole officer watching her every move, an outlaw ghost befriending her and two persistent mediums demanding her attention, solving the murder is not quite as easy as it sounds. And when “murder” turns into “murders” Bridget needs to solve the case … before she becomes the next dead body stuffed in her locker.

Beyond Dead is the first book in a paranormal cozy murder mystery series set in a ridiculously bureaucratic afterlife. It is rife with cozy humor (or more accurately cosy humour) that cozy British mysteries are famous for.

The series follows the newly dead Bridget Sway as she tries to adjust to her new life as a ghost while solving the odd murder along the way. Bridget exhibits all the best virtues of cozy mystery women sleuths in terms of wit and humor but, as the amateur sleuth of a cozy ghost mysteries series, she is something most others are not – and that’s dead.

Amazon 

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The above cover is the one on Goodreads. This is the one I own from Amazon.

Beyond Dead: An Afterlife Adventures Novel (A Paranormal Ghost Cozy Mystery Series Book 1) by [Robinson, Jordaina Sydney]

Which do you like better.?

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How about you? Got a tease? Tell me!

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Spectacle
S.J. Pierce
Publication date: June 4th 2018
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult

Avatar meets Gladiator in this spellbinding Young Adult, Science-Fiction seriesby bestselling author S.J. Pierce.

Two hundred years after the Great Disaster, the day earthquakes ravaged Earth’s landscapes, humanity has finally regrouped and is working toward a better future. But in New America – one of three remaining landmasses – overpopulation makes a better future seem bleaker by the year.

Mira (Mirabella) Foster and her parents are citizens of New America, and with the threat of starvation and disease looming on the horizon, a discovery threatens to push everyone to the brink of chaos:blue markings develop on people’s skin. Markings that allow them to camouflage,but also make them feared, and eventually, targets of violence.

Mira’s dad is one of them.

Spectacle, Part One is the beginning of a three-part series. Suitable for ages fourteen and up.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

On sale for 99¢ for a limited time!

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Spectacle has made it to my TOP TEN LIST OF DYSTOPIAN BOOKS to read. ★★★★★

This book is totally ADDICTIVE, FAST-PACED and SUSPENSEFUL, with great lead characters and complex world building. ★★★★★

HUNGER GAMES meets AVATAR in this spellbinding Young Adult, Science-Fiction series by bestselling author S.J. Pierce.

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Enjoy this excerpt:

When Luxxe and I make it into the crowd, they part for us, their cheers and attentions trained on him – the camp’s hunting trainer and star of our monthly hunting expeditions. In other words, their well-respected (and sometimes feared) hero. I’ve seen him hunt enough to know why too. He’s precise and brutal. No holds barred. It’s safe to say he’s the best one here, and I have to admit, though anything violent makes my stomach turn (even for the purpose of food), to see him in his element is like witnessing the athleticism of an Olympian god. This is what he was made for – to kill.

His arm slips from my shoulder as he turns to hug his best friend and training assistant, Cole – another mountain of a teenage boy. He wears his dreads shorter, and his eyes are the color of liquid metal. His markings have harsh angles like bolts of lightning and cover his arms and half his torso. They’ve multiplied since I last saw him.

The cheers around us ebb as they wait for Luxxe to finish his greetings and lead us into the forest; this is the part where I have to fend for myself. Then we’ll part ways into smaller groups and kill whatever we can carry. Our group is usually me, Luxxe, Taylor, and Cole.

While I stand with my hands clasped and looking at the ground, the lonely snowflake in a frenzied bed of coal, I feel some of their eyes on me but pretend not to notice. I know they wonder about me – the blonde, pale girl with no markings who hardly ever comes around; the girl Luxxe is close with even though he has a very committed girlfriend, not that it’s any of their business; the daughter of the former head liaison who met with the President all those years ago. Though most believe my dad is innocent, I think some blame him for starting the war that placed us here, though they don’t say it. At least not to me. I’ve overheard rumblings in the market a time or two about how he went ‘mad’ or ‘rogue’ and secretly planned to take the President out but was taken out instead. And it might be my imagination, but I feel their resentment when they look at me, still fresh after all this time. Like I was somehow in on whatever they assume he did.

Oh, well. Screw them. He was innocent.

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Author Susan James Pierce

Multiple Award Nominated and Bestselling Author Susan James Pierce has a degree in Marketing Management, works for a Fortune 500 company in Atlanta, Georgia, and devotes her precious, spare time to writing Paranormal, Sci-fi, and Contemporary Romance novels.

Please visit www.sjpiercebooks.com and sign up for her mailing list or subscribe to her blog if you’d like to hear when new books come out!

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

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This is my own version of a weekly book haul and all things new on fuonlyknew.

I’m also linking up with The Sunday Post hosted by Kimberly @Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

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Some chit chat.

After a week and a half without internet it sure is good to be back. Sure makes me appreciate it more. Though, once I got used to not having it at home, I did kind of enjoy the down time. Read a bunch of books, watched some movies, and did a buddy read with my son.

Tropical Storm Alberta threatened my area but then moved east of us. Just got a lot of rain for a couple of days. Another  opportunity to do some reading. LOL

The weather is gorgeous but steamy hot! We hit triple digits in the heat index and looks like more of the same nest week. Sure makes me appreciate the pool!

That’s all for this week.

Have a fabulous  Sunday!

*****

My new books this week.

Dance of the Winnebagos (Jackrabbit Junction Humorous Mystery Book 1) by [Charles, Ann]  Tart of Darkness (Chef-to-Go Mysteries) by [Swanson, Denise]  Over Raging Tides: A Lady Pirates Adventure by [Ellision, Jennifer]

Daughter of the Pirate King by [Levenseller, Tricia]  Air and Ash: TIDES Book 1 by [Lidell, Alex]  From the Earth to the Shadows: Valkyrie Book Two by [Hocking, Amanda]

*****

And here are some FREEBIES for ya.

Click on the covers to get your copies. Remember to make sure they’re still free before you hit that buy button.

Sunny Side Up (A Deadline Cozy Mystery Book 1) by [Parin, Sonia]  Death Turns A Trick (The Rebecca Schwartz Series, Book 1) by [Smith, Julie]  Sourdough Wars (The Rebecca Schwartz Series, Book 2) by [Smith, julie]

What Survives of Us (Colorado Chapters Book 1) by [Miner, Kathy]  The Mia Kazmaroff Mysteries: Books 1-3 by [Kiernan-Lewis, Susan]  Tales of Wychwood by [Eckhart, Daniel Martin]

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Other posts on my blog this week.

The Boyfriend Experience By JA Huss ~ Blitz and Giveaway

Blitz and Giveaway ~ Moonlight And Midtown by Christina Bauer

A Barkery & Biscuits Mystery ~ Pick And Chews ~ Tour and Giveaway

Gumshoe Girl ~ A Romantic Suspense Debut Novel ~ Blast and Giveaway

The Friday 56 #183 ~ Air And Ash

The Deadliest Blessing ~ Author Guest Post and Giveaway

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

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The Deadliest Blessing
Provincetown Mystery Series #3
by Jeannette de Beauvoir
Genre: Cozy Mystery
 
If there’s a dead
body anywhere in Provincetown, wedding consultant Sydney Riley is
going to be the one to find it! The seaside town’s annual
Portuguese Festival is approaching and it looks like smooth sailing
until Sydney’s neighbor decides to have some construction done in
her home—and finds more than she bargained for inside her wall.
Now Sydney is again
balancing her work at the Race Point Inn with an unexpected adventure
that will eventually involve fishermen, gunrunners, a mummified cat,
a family fortune, misplaced heirs, a girl with a mysterious past, and
lots and lots of Portuguese food. The Blessing of the Fleet is
coming up, and unless Sydney can find the key to a decades-old
murder, it might yet come back to haunt everyone in this
otherwise-peaceful fishing village.
 
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Guest blog post: What’s in a Name?

Jeannette de Beauvoir

 

One of the joys of writing fiction is being able to populate your own world. Seriously, how cool is that? You can choose who lives next to whom, what they do for a living, explore quirks and personalities that are as familiar or as foreign as you like. And that process includes selecting names.

Okay, so it’s maybe not such a joy, after all. The truth is, I hate selecting names.

My characters come to life as I write, not before. They shift and morph and often change the entire narrative arc of my stories. They become who they are in chapter five, or eight, or ten. So the name I started with generally just doesn’t fit the character as they emerge, as they talk with other characters, as they make choices, as they tell me where the book needs to go. Ah, but word processing makes that easy, doesn’t it? Just do a global search-and-replace, and voilà! Kate Stewart is now Miranda Weatherby.

The exception is the name of the protagonist in my current mystery series. I found a name for her and it… just worked. The third book in the series, The Deadliest Blessing, just came out, I’m writing the fourth book, and Sydney is still perfectly, marvelously, appropriately Sydney.

I have to wonder if her name works because I didn’t make it up. I didn’t spend a lot of time thinking about it ahead of time. It was a gift from the gods of travel.

I’d gone up to Québec to do a talk about a prior character and series, Martine LeDuc, the protagonist of my novels Asylum and Deadly Jewels. I live on the tip of Cape Cod, so this is a long drive! But I was prepared: I had a set of CDs from The Great Courses, and I was good to go. I’d already taken their class on the Vikings, the history of London, women in medieval literature, and a few I’m probably forgetting, and I was looking forward to the new set on the history of espionage.

I’d just passed the border into Vermont when the professor started talking about the man who was the model for Ian Fleming’s James Bond, a real-life cosmopolitan, elegant, enigmatic spy. Not just an agent for the British Secret Service, he was a double and sometimes treble agent, Russian-born, world-traveled, who had torrid affairs with aristocratic women, slipped behind enemy lines during World War Two, planned an unsuccessful coup in the Soviet Union, procured Persian oil concessions for the British Admiralty… the list goes on and on.

His name was Sydney Reilly.

And there it came to me as I drove through Vermont’s snow-covered mountains, that this was a gorgeous name. Even if people didn’t know the history, it was a name that resonated, that was both memorable and slightly exotic, that would fit someone destined for adventure. I named Sydney at once and never looked back.

Of course, I didn’t have the sense to look the spy up online and ascertain how he spelled his name, so my Sydney spells hers a little differently; but perhaps that just adds to her mystique. (She’d laugh if she heard me: I can just imagine her saying, “Mystique? Me? You’ve got the wrong girl, Jeannette!”)

So… what’s in a name? Sometimes it’s just a happy coincidence. One thing I know for sure: I’m going to keep listening to the Great Courses. Who knows what might be gifted to me next?

 

Jeannette de Beauvoir is the author of the Sydney Riley mysteries and other mystery and historical fiction. Read more about her at jeannettedebeauvoir.com.

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Jeannette de Beauvoir grew up in Angers, France, but has lived in the United
States since her twenties. (No, she’s not going to say how long ago
that was!) She spends most of her time inside her own head, which is
great for writing, though possibly not so much for her social life.
When she’s not writing, she’s reading or traveling… to inspire
her writing. 
The author of a number of mystery and historical novels (some of which
you can see on Amazon, Goodreads, Criminal Element, HomePort Press,
and her author website), de Beauvoir’s work has appeared in 15
countries and has been translated into 12 languages. Midwest Review
called her Martine LeDuc Montréal series “riveting (…)
demonstrating her total mastery of the mystery/suspense genre.” She
is currently writing a Provincetown Theme Week cozy mystery series
featuring female sleuth Sydney Riley.
De Beauvoir’s academic background is in history and religion, and the
politics and intrigue of the medieval period have always fascinated
her (and provided her with great storylines!). She coaches and edits
individual writers, teaches writing online and on Cape Cod, and
thinks Aaron Sorkin is a god. Her cat, Beckett, totally disagrees.
 
 
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For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.