Bestselling author Tony Abbott’s epic new middle grade series, the Copernicus Legacy, begins with The Forbidden Stone, a thrilling adventure packed with puzzles, intrigue, and action. Fans of Rick Riordan and Ridley Pearson will love this first book in an exciting series that takes the reader all over the globe in a race to find pieces of a mysterious hidden past—before it’s too late.
Wade, Lily, Darrell, and Becca fly from Texas to Germany for the funeral of an old family friend. But instead of just paying their respects, they wind up on a dangerous, mind-blowing quest to unlock an ancient, guarded secret that could destroy the fate of the world.
It all starts with an email and a murder…and Wade, Lily, Darrell, and Becca are off on an adventure of a lifetime. Following one clue to another, they find themselves on the hunt for a relic. I found their quest to be quite fascinating. Traveling across Europe, solving riddles and puzzles, and learning about the life of the famous astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus – which was far more interesting than I would have guessed.
All of the kids are rather brilliant, piecing things together that I never would have been able to myself. The adults in the story act more as guides and chaperones, often seeming to not quite belong or be very helpful other than doing standard adult things. It was nice to see the story focus so intently on the kids and let them really lead the way.
There is plenty of danger and excitement and near-death situations. This is probably more appropriate for the higher aged or more mature middle grade readers as there is some violence – but not graphic. It does get rather tense at some moments, which I loved, and my kids loved, but not all will.
The puzzles are a lot of fun. They are challenging and exciting, and each one plays its own part in moving the adventure forward and revealing the final answer and location. I highly recommend this book for kids who enjoy mysteries with a lot of action and excitement.
Title: Stitches Author: Sam Mariano Genre: Contemporary Menage Romance
This is a special edition paperback released for the 4th anniversary of Stitches. Along with Stitches, this print edition includes the post-“The End” short story that was featured in A Valentine’s Day Treat so you can have all the Seb/Moira/Griff words in one place.
*******
I suppose it all started half a lifetime ago when a mean-looking kid named Griff walked into my life.
When we found the stability in one another we couldn’t find in the world.
When two lonely kids became brothers.
As kids, we had no place in the world, so as men, we made our own. We took on everything together, building our own empire—partners in business and in life.
I guess that’s where it got complicated.
When I fell in love with Moira, and Griff had to share me for the first time.
When he liked what belonged to me just a little too much, and he started avoiding both of us until he came up with his own shitty way of coping.
I don’t know exactly when it all started, to be honest, but I know when it all fell apart.
There are exactly two people in the world who have my love, so what the hell am I supposed to do when holding onto one means losing the other?
Imogen Taylor: Artist. College dropout. Gamer. Screwup.
I had big plans for art school in California, but when the best mom in the world—mine—needed help, I came home to Arbolito, Arizona instead. I even got my old high school job back, making smoothies at the Desert Freeze…in winter.
So, yeah, by day, my life is a cold, tropical-hued hell. But at night, I escape reality by plugging into my favorite video game, Legendelirium, to become a powerful, sexy witch, going on epic quests while vanquishing baddies.
Until a cute guy from my gaming world shows up at work, gives me the worst kiss ever, and my reality and fantasy lives get blended by purple goo laced with lethal, nanorobotic technology.
Now, I’ve got powers—strange, witchy ones. Scary people are after me, and I don’t know who to trust. And, get this. Somehow, it’s up to me to defeat them, or it’s game over.
Enter the fast, fun, urban fantasy adventure of the BUTTERFLY WITCH series, where magic and science become one—mostly accidentally.
I could just give up. Most people would probably say—and some people had said—I should give up. But I just couldn’t, not yet. The only way to figure out what was happening to me was to find Brayden and beat it out of him point blank.
Somewhere behind the clouds, the sun was going down, and the already dusty hues of sage and burnt umber desaturated to dove and charcoal. As I crept down the winding roads, my hope faded with the light until in the long stretches of evening shadow, I found a wide spot that marked an access road. It obviously wasn’t used much, because tufts of pale cheat grass had sprouted through the gravel like a sorority girl’s leg hair during finals week.
With my luck, the Fiesta’s struggling engine would ignite the dry strands and I’d go up in a fireball. Despite the ruts in the gravel, I drove quickly to keep from catching fire. So I almost missed the glimpse of faded blue from the corner of my eye.
I slammed on the brakes, my heartbeat skipping. Throwing the Fiesta into reverse, I held my breath as I crept backward. Could be just a ranger’s truck, or an off-site tent from someone who didn’t want to pay the park fees. Shouldn’t get my hopes up…
I angled the Fiesta’s headlights into the gloom of the chaparral.
The silvery wings of the logo caught my light, but my gaze locked on the dented bumper, the buckled edges of exposed plastic flashing back at me like a warning.
The front half of the car was buried in the shrubbery.
Swallowing hard, I parked, leaving the headlights on. My fingers shook as I grabbed my phone off the seat beside me.
Swiping to the flashlight app, I stepped out into the scrub.
With the stink of dust and creosote clogging my throat, I crept toward the car. Sharp branches had scraped thin white lines in the paint that glinted like spiderwebs when I aimed my phone’s light toward the front seat. A fine layer of dust obscured the glass, reflecting back at me like an obstinate ghost.
I angled along the back fender, trying to avoid the spiny branches of wild lilac, but the door handle was buried in stickers. That was going to hurt…
I reached through the pokey wood to fumble for the handle. My heart beat too fast, making my head spin, and the shadows crowded way too close.
The door was locked.
I tugged again. But of course it was locked. People locked their car doors when they…left to do other things. Other things, like abandoning their vehicle on an empty road through the desert while they did…those other things—
“Ms. Taylor, step away from the vehicle.”
I shrieked as the voice and the bright white light hit me at the same moment. Then everything happened so fast, so damned fast.
Paranormal romance and science fiction romance for everyone who howls at the moon or looks up at the stars to dream. Learn more about Elsa Jade and the worlds of the Mating Season, Mating Fever & Intergalactic Dating Agency — and sign up for the New Release Alert — at http://elsajade.com
Latest News: See the profiles of the sexy aliens of the #IntergalacticDatingAgency in the free sneak peek at Instafreebie. http://instafreebie.com/book/15688
Erin Kellison is the bestselling author of the Dragons of Bloodfire series, the Reveler series, and the Shadow series. She writes urban fantasy, paranormal romance, and science fiction romance. She loves other worlds and visits them as often as possible via movies and books and her kids’ imaginations. When not daydreaming or writing, she’s goofing off with her family in sunny Arizona.
So what if I’m jaded? No one ever asks me how I feel, anyway. They just use me.
My clients call me Hannah. I’m an escort, but I refuse to work in a brothel. I always followed the law until I strolled alongside the lawless. I never wanted to be with a man until I met this one. What business do I have with someone over a century my senior? What could we possibly have in common? Everything and nothing at all.
Weston’s dark and brewing eyes make me forget we’re from two different eras. His past bites at our heels, and he will kill again for me.
The rugged and desolate Old West is no place for me. For either of us.
How can I choose between him and my old life? How much am I willing to give up for the only man who’s ever seen my soul?
The Room to the West is the second novel from Lauren Biel, author of Shoot Down the Stars.
“Dark romance meets Louis L’Amour. A unique time travel romance that had you walking through the wild west with all your senses aflame.” – Ann-Marie Davis, author of the Moreno Mafia series Content Warning: This book depicts strong sexual content, sexual assault, substance use, and violence toward women. This story also has themes of suicide.
I’m a dark romance author with two published novels and several titles in the works. When I’m not working, I’m writing. When I’m not writing, I’m spending time with my husband, my friends, or my pets. You might also find me on a horseback trail ride or sitting beside a waterfall in Upstate New York. I have a pretty normal life, yet my stories are anything but.
Expect the unexpected with my stories. I write various sub genres of romance and all my stories are a bit ‘different’ compared to others in the same trope, so leave your expectations at the door!
Brooke Baxter is living it up in the city of Chicago, not looking for love, but definitely open to it. Meeting her best friend’s nemesis throws her for a loop. She wants to stay loyal to the friendship, but she also wants to explore her attraction to the man she’s banned from speaking to.
Ridge Montgomery is done with women, at least for now. Meeting his employee’s best friend changes his mind. The inexplicable connection he feels with Brooke doesn’t make any sense. Relationship hopping is not his thing, yet here he is. Taking a risk has never felt this good.
Andie Bale lives in Ann Arbor (Go Blue!), Michigan, with her husband, daughter and awesome four-legged baby. Her love of reading started at a young age when sneaking her mother’s romance books to read was the highlight of her day. Now, I am beyond grateful and excited to be able to bring the characters in her head to life.
Grim and twisted, our fairytale is one of nightmares and carnage.
PRETENDER
I have never been like them, but I’ve always been good at pretending to be.
Faking smiles and forcing laughter comes second nature to me.
Coating my words in sugar to uphold a facade and fly beneath the radar of suspicion is easier than breathing most days.
To be kind and inherently good is something I yearn for.
It’s a desperation to deny the undeniable and ignore the truth.
And the truth is that I am sinister.
Rotten to my very core.
Addicted to melancholy and spend too much time romanticizing everything bad for me.
Like him.
And him too.
The ones that are intent on luring me into their world of chaos, stripping me bare, and keeping me forever.
MONSTER
Love makes fools of us all, but this isn’t that.
Or maybe it is.
I wouldn’t know.
Obsession. Fixation. Mania.
Those are things I’m certain of.
Just like I know she’ll hate us for what we’ve done, but her hatred is an aphrodisiac.
It’s worth all the tears I’ll taste when she cries.
VILLAIN
There’s something deeply intimate about witnessing someone’s destruction.
It’s romantic in a sense, taking a person apart so you can shove all their broken pieces beneath your skin.
She’ll hate us for what we’re about to do, but she’s going to need us to.
If we were decent people, maybe we’d be able to pretend we were sorry.
But we’re not.
**Do you really need a TW? Carmine is the first standalone in A Game of Villains series. MFM (no mm), twisted lovers to enemies/ enemies to lovers. Not a romance, just a f*cked up love story between a girl you’ll adore or hate and her two equally disturbed stepbrothers.
With a penchant for (writing) villainous immoral men, and a tendency to deviate away from traditional happily ever afters, Natalie Bennett is an international bestselling author of twisted and unconventional love stories.
When she’s not slaying words she’s somewhere in the sunshine state, happily taking life one curve-ball at a time.
Our meet cute was one big sip of ugly. He pushed my hell-no buttons, wearing an indestructible smirk. I offended his warped morals in front of his starry-eyed minions. Then I got my sweet reward for doing the right thing. I found out I’d be calling Roland Osprey “boss.”
A filthy rich tabloid king. Emphasis on filthy. A gorgeous villain who sold his soul—if he ever had one. A tyrant who stole my sensitive, uplifting music magazine. Welcome to my bait and switch.
Apparently, disasters come in threes. His perfect vests that leave me delirious. The way he stares at my lips—painted for torment with an arsenal of lipstick. Our shared love for sad songs that makes me cry. So does the big fat secret assignment he drops on my head.
I hate that he has a good cause. I wish I could hate the wicked ways he makes me feel divine. When my guard slips, I’m in free fall. One all-consuming kiss in an alley seals our epic mistake. How many times can one damaged grump make me sing the blues? How do you ever fall out of love with the bad guy?
I was supposed to meet Roland fifteen minutes ago, and I’m still slumming around in a t-shirt and panties.
“Just a minu—ULP!” I yell, tumbling out of bed.
Legs, meet sheets.
Legs, get intimately acquainted with sheets.
Legs, dump me face-first on the floor when I try standing with the sheets tangled around my calves.
Yep, I basically just hog-tied myself.
I go down hard, groaning as another knock rattles the door. This time, it’s firmer.
“Callie? Are you all right in there?” Roland’s voice drifts through the thick wood.
Oh, boy.
“M’fine,” I mumble into the pillow that fell with me, thankfully cushioning my head smacking the floor. “Just tripped. Give me a sec.”
He doesn’t say anything, but his silence whispers skepticism.
Who could blame him?
I fight off the sheets, totter to my feet, and dump the bedding back on the mattress before snagging a pair of running shorts from the suitcase I’d left open in the corner easy chair.
Hopping on one foot, then the other, I shimmy into them, yanking them up over my hips. Then I stagger to the door and pull it open with my arms moving faster than my brain.
Eep.
One look at the bosshole makes me realize what a disheveled mess I am.
We’re talking oversized shirt falling off one shoulder, hanging down just long enough to hide my tiny shorts. Bedhead hair sticking up like a cactus—I’m surprised I don’t scare him—and I don’t even want to know what I look like without my makeup.
Especially not after sleeping with my face smooshed in a pillow.
He’s my total opposite.
How predicable.
Even dressed down, he looks so cool and collected and put together that he’d wreck a GQ model.
He’s just wearing a t-shirt and a pair of jeans with thick-soled black workmen’s boots—but it’s a designer shirt, designer jeans, designer boots in fine leather.
The dark-grey shirt clings to his chest like it’s painted on, pouring over his beastly pecs and dipping down sculpted abs in ridged patterns.
God. Even the stitching on the short sleeves strains against the rock-hard cut of his biceps like it’s struggling to hold them in.
Dark, faded jeans hang low on his hips in the right and oh-so-wrong way, held in place by a leather belt that just barely keeps them from dipping down to pure sin.
A little lower, and I know they’d reveal the narrow V of his pelvis.
The fit hints at the power between his legs, from his thighs underneath to a piece of him I dare not imagine. Not if I want to keep my last worn thread of sanity.
Nicole Snow is a Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author. She found her love of writing by hashing out love scenes on lunch breaks and plotting her great escape from boardrooms. Her work roared onto the indie romance scene in 2014 with her Grizzlies MC series.
Since then Snow aims for the very best in growly, heart-of-gold alpha heroes, unbelievable suspense, and swoon storms aplenty. With over a million books sold, she lives for the joy of making two people fight with every bit of their soul for a Happily Ever After.
Current fan favorites include her Enguard Protectors series, accidental love novels, plus long beloved MC romance thrillers like the Grizzlies and Deadly Pistols.
Title: Eau De Parfum Author: Lisa Acerbo Series: Hell in a Handbasket Genre: Young Adult Horror
The smell of Streaker lingers in the air.
I must be dead!
I woke up naked and covered in blood. Teeth marks littered my arms, creating holes and revealing muscle. Someone or something attempted to gnaw off my elbow.
I’m alone! So, maybe, I’m worse than dead.
If friends and family abandoned me, I must have turned into a Streaker. On second thought, it’s an easy “no” to eating body parts.
The idea of brains for dinner disgusts me.
I only see one option ahead, and that’s to find my family and ask why they left me as dinner for the undead.
His glance was quick and furtive. Nostrils flaring, Eric recoiled from the gore around him and the smell of death saturating the air. He held back a scream.
Where am I?
The irregular beat of his heart pounded in his ears like a truck accelerating under a bridge. Although the room was murky, the red ochre stains decorating the floor and walls like abstract paintings remained vivid.
What had happened here?
Eric sat naked, covered in blood, but alive. He lifted himself onto his knees. Everything hurt. He stared at the carnage that was his body and gagged.
Teeth marks littered his arms, creating holes and 1 revealing muscle. Someone or something had attempted to gnaw off an elbow. The tears in his thigh reached bone. Eric yanked his hand to cover the wound then tore it away. Half-healed scabs and open sores covered from fingers to wrist.
Is this what it’s like to be dead? How long have I been here? Like this?
Memories surged back to him. A few days ago, he and the rest of the survivors had taken refuge in this old movie theater, but Streakers found them.
The maggoty swarm had assembled along the large glass windows and doors. Agitated, held back from their sustenance, the zombies writhed and swayed against the barrier.
Dead eyes had stared from outside. Decayed, naked bodies, twisted limbs, peeling skin, and pustules, the Streakers blurred into a mirage of rot and decay. Many lacked clothes, leaving everything that hadn’t decomposed dangling in the open air.
His friends, Jenna and Caleb, had tried to herd Eric and his twin brother, Billy, to safety, but he’d pushed them away. Nearly sixteen, he had wanted to prove himself.
The shattering window had left him frozen in fear. One of the zombies focused its lifeless eyes on him.
A sound? Eric’s thoughts rushed into the present.
Quiet.
What happened to his friends? Had they all perished? Worse, had they abandoned him?
The crunch and crackle of broken glass had Eric jumping to his feet and heart thumping against his ribs. Adrenaline flooded aching limbs into action. Frantic, he searched the ground for a weapon but found nothing. He sprinted, pain in each step, to the corner and waited. There was little else to do.
Lisa Acerbo is a high school teacher and adjunct faculty at a local community college. She lives in Connecticut with her husband, daughters, two dogs, and horse. When not writing, she mountain bikes, hikes, and fosters dogs.
Title: Doolittle Author: Harley Wylde Series: Devil’s Fury MC #11 Genre: Contemporary MC Romance
Minnie — The Reckless Kings told me it was pointless to pine after Satyr. I kept offering myself to him, hoping he’d see me as something more. I was a fool. All that man will ever see when he looks at me is a club girl. I’ll always be trash in his eyes. So when the President offers me a chance at a new life, I grab on with both hands. It might mean living with yet another club — the Devil’s Fury — but once I meet Doolittle, my entire world turns upside down. I’d thought myself in love with Satyr, but I was so very wrong. Doesn’t matter. Same situation, different man. I might be starting my life over, but Doolittle knows what I am, what I’ve been… and he’ll never want someone like me as his old lady.
Doolittle — Beast asked a favor and I gladly agreed. I have no problem with a woman who wants a fresh start. Before I even met Minnie, I’d offered to let her work at my clinic. I don’t know what I expected. But the stunning woman who shows up leaves me tripping over myself. I’ve never met anyone like her before, and the instant connection between us is startling. Just one problem. Well, three. The first is Meredith. The girl won’t take no for an answer and is determined I’ll be hers. The second is that Minnie feels unworthy of being mine. I’ll just have to prove her wrong. The third I never saw coming, and it just might change everything.
WARNING: Doolittle is part of the Devil’s Fury MC romance series and contains bad language, violence, and adult situations. You’ll also find entirely too many adorable animals, no cheating, and a guaranteed happily-ever-after.
The gates to the Reckless Kings compound opened as I drove up. I stopped just inside the gate and leaned out to speak with the newest Prospect, Bronsen. “Can you tell me how to get the guest house? I’m supposed to meet with Doolittle.”
Bronsen hunkered down and braced his arms on the door of my small SUV. “Follow the road to the right. You can see Beast’s big ass house from here. Go past it and look for a gray Chevy Silverado. That’s what Doolittle drove here.”
“Thanks.”
He backed away and I followed his directions, finding the house easily enough. I parked next to the truck and checked my reflection in the mirror, making sure I didn’t have flyaway strands of hair sticking up every which way. Snapping the visor shut, I took a breath to steady my nerves, and got out.
My door had barely shut when two paws landed in the middle of my chest, and I was knocked off my feet. My ass met the concrete driveway and I winced, knowing it would bruise. The fluffy giant grinned a doggy smile at me. “Well, hello to you too. If that’s how you greet everyone, you may need obedience training.”
“Sorry about Goliath. He thinks he’s the size of a loaf of bread,” a deep voice said from nearby.
I craned my neck back and saw Doolittle standing on the porch. Even though I hadn’t met him before, he definitely wasn’t one of the Reckless Kings. Far as I knew, only one Devil’s Fury member had come to visit. “That’s a perfect name for him.”
I gave the giant floof a shove so I could stand up. Dusting off my pants, I approached the house, trying to get a better glimpse of my possible boss. I went up the steps and nearly tripped over my feet when my gaze met his. Holy hell! Beast wants me to work with this guy?
I stared, and then did the most embarrassing thing ever. I blurted out the first thing that popped into my head. “You’re gorgeous.”
My cheeks burned and my eyes widened. I could feel my heart racing and I wondered if it was too late to get back in the car and pretend this never happened. Doolittle chuckled and shoved his hands into his jean pockets.
“I’m always happy to accept compliments from beautiful women.”
My face like I’d spiked a fever of a million degrees. He thought I was beautiful? Sure, men had told me that plenty of times. Usually right before they tried getting in my pants. Doolittle only winked then tipped his head toward the front door.
“Why don’t we go in and discuss the job? I can go over the day-to-day details of what you’ll be doing, what it pays, and all that fun stuff. Then if you haven’t eaten dinner yet, maybe you can stick around and share some pizza with me. Although, I should warn you I placed the order right before you got here, so if supreme isn’t to your liking, you’re out of luck.”
Harley Wylde is the International Bestselling Author of the Dixie Reapers MC, Devil’s Boneyard MC, and Hades Abyss MC series. When Harley’s writing, her motto is the hotter the better — off the charts sex, commanding men, and the women who can’t deny them. If you want men who talk dirty, are sexy as hell, and take what they want, then you’ve come to the right place. She doesn’t shy away from the dangers and nastiness in the world, bringing those realities to the pages of her books, but always gives her characters a happily-ever-after and makes sure the bad guys get what they deserve.
The times Harley isn’t writing, she’s thinking up naughty things to do to her husband, drinking copious amounts of Starbucks, and reading. She loves to read and devours a book a day, sometimes more. She’s also fond of TV shows and movies from the 1980’s, as well as paranormal shows from the 1990’s to today, even though she’d much rather be reading or writing.
You can find out more about Harley or enter her monthly giveaway on her website. Be sure to join her newsletter while you’re there to learn more about discounts, signing events, and other goodies!
Title: The Thief’s Relic Author: Angela Knotts Morse Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Eamonn never wanted to be a thief.
So when a risky mission goes awry and he receives the chance of a lifetime, he leaves behind everything, even his newfound family in the Thieves’ Guild, to pursue an apprenticeship as an honest merchant.
Traveling the country means he sees and hears everything. Civil unrest, rebellions against the monarchies, and rumors of a usurper bent on uniting the provinces under himself with a mythical form of magic. Few suspect he’s not chasing a dead end, including village girl Leyna, a believer in the magic of ancient histories. Eamonn’s skeptical heart is also swayed once he finds himself the tyrant’s target, unknowingly possessing the key to harness the dangerous power.
To protect it, Eamonn’s only choice is to flee. But now that it’s the mission of his former brothers in the Guild to hunt him down, keeping magic out of their hands might be harder than either Leyna or Eamonn thought possible. If they fall, though, their world does too.
His pendant, usually hidden under his clothes, fell from behind his tunic. Eamonn felt all eyes turn to him as the pendant caught the firelight, and he stiffened. Only the crackling of the fire could be heard. The atmosphere in the cave changed in an instant.
Hadli’s dark eyes widened, blazing with the reflection of the fire. He leaned in closer to Eamonn, studying the intricate swirls of silver and translucent light green stone. “Where did you get that?” he breathed, enraptured, as his demeanor transformed. “I’ve never seen anything like it. Did you find it in Idyrria? Rare jewelry is nearly impossible to steal, always tightly guarded.”
Eamonn released a nervous breath, a little amused that Hadli—and all the other lads, probably—assumed he had stolen it. He knew that living with a group of thieves would require absolute trust, and at some point, one or more of them would see his pendant. The awe in Hadli’s eyes, though, caused a pit to form in Eamonn’s stomach, and he swallowed hard. Something about it gave an impression of more than just wonder. His eyes shone of desire, of avarice.
“I didn’t steal it,” Eamonn responded, his voice deeper than usual. He touched the pendant in a delicate motion, an old habit. He swallowed again, his throat dry. “It belonged to my mother. She died when I was young, and my father gave it to me. I’ve never known a day without it. It’s like…” He paused, thoughtful, his gaze passing through the walls of the cave. “It’s like having my mother with me all the time. It’s all I know of her.”
Angela Morse has been writing since the fourth grade when a teacher wrote an encouraging note on one of her assignments. The note read, “I would not be surprised if I go to the library one day and pick up a book by Angela Knotts!” That simple note lit a fire within Angela and she developed a passion for writing stories. Though she has dabbled in a few genres, Angela’s favorite to write is Fantasy. Her audience is typically New Adult (NA) or sometimes Young Adult (YA), depending on the age and maturity of her characters and intended readers. Angela currently resides in Birmingham, Alabama with her husband, daughter, and cat.
