Title: Pretty Savage Author: T.A. Kunz Genre: LBGTQ+ Young Adult Thriller
Bad things never happen in the picturesque town of Haddon Falls … until now.
It all starts with a killer party.
It will end with a savage crime spree.
Seniors Donovan Walsh and Drea Sullivan attend a high school party for very different reasons. But after discovering the body of one of their classmates, they find themselves thrust into the same waking nightmare. From that moment, their lives become intertwined in a search for answers to questions they never should have asked.
As bodies pile high, the unlikely pair dig into Haddon Falls’ past and uncover secrets someone would kill to keep hidden. In a small town where every face is friendly and every door unlocked, Donovan and Drea must unravel who is an ally … and who is willing to bury them-and the truth-six feet under.
T.A. Kunz is the pen name for Adam Kunz, who lives in Orlando, Florida. And unfortunately a lot of the rumors you’ve heard about his state are true. When he’s not writing, Adam spends his time reading, playing video games, watching anime and Korean dramas, and spending time with his partner while cuddling with their two dogs, Nicky and Rusty. Since childhood, he’s had a great fondness for reading and writing. His fiction genres of choice are eclectic, but mainly are in the YA, MG, and NA categories. So, it was no surprise when he decided to write his own books that he’d be a grab bag kind of author in terms of story ideas. And he just loves mashing up genres. As a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, Adam advocates strongly for diverse representation in all media. He may or may not have a coffee addiction, the jury’s still out on that one. And his hands-down favorite holiday is Halloween, which holds a very special place in Adam’s heart.
Title: Limitless Author: Kaylene Winter Series: Less Than Zero #2 Genre: Contemporary, Rock Star Romance
“She snuck up on me and stole my heart…”
Friends with benefits, that’s always been my relationship speed. My band Less Than Zero is set to conquer the world. Nothing and one is going to tie me down. Except ethereal animal lover, Alexandria LeRoux, made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. Our secret, spontaneous global hookups are decadent, erotic, extraordinary. For the first time in my life, I picture my future with her. Until one fateful night threatens to destroy my chance forever…
“I’ll travel the world for him…”
I set out that summer with only one goal in mind. Conquer sexy Viking drummer Jace Deveraux before he left on tour. Our first time was so sublime, it ruined me for anyone else What’s a girl to do? Enjoy him in as many countries as possible, that’s what. Now, he says he wants a future. But I’m tired of putting my own dreams on hold for the band. Unless we can find a compromise, things aren’t looking hopeful.
Our lives orbit on different courses. But gravity always seems to pull us back together…
Will Alex leave Jace when a blast from his past threatens all they have built? Or will Jace take matters into his own hands?
Under any other circumstances, spending Christmas in my hometown with my band, Less than Zero, would have been something to look forward to. Over the past few years, we’d spent the holidays together but we’d been on the road. In the early years, dinner would have been take-out food in a shared hotel room from whatever restaurant was open. After our success, the past few years had been spectacularly catered events.
My plan had been to immerse myself in the chaos at my Deveraux family home with the woman whom I hoped would represent my future. That’s not how it panned out. Instead, I was at our lead singer Tyson Rainier’s house watching him propose to Zoey Pearson, the girl who had stolen his heart almost a decade ago.
Ty and Zoey’s romance had permeated the fabric of LTZ since the day they met at our epic Mission show all those years ago, and I’d played a big role over the years in facilitating their star-crossed lovers myth. Gossip sites and social media couldn’t get enough of them. Fan fiction about their love story had taken a life of its own ranging from bubble-gum, heart-eyed, teeny-bopper swooning to the dirtiest erotica. Which translated to tremendous profits in both record and merch sales for all of us.
Our crazy rock star success story meant that we were all now rich enough to retire. We were too young for that, but every single one of us was looking forward to having at least a year off to chill, reconnect with family, and have some personal time to relax for the first time in a decade. Personally, I had been looking forward to settling down as well.
So, my feelings about being here tonight were bittersweet. After so many years apart and the ups and downs of reuniting, they were finally together and getting married. I loved them both, and should only have positive, happy thoughts today.
Except my world had crashed down around me, and no one knew it.
Happiness for my friends was far from what I was feeling. More like tired. Terrified. Pissed. Confused. Heartbroken. Petrified. Scared. Panicked. Alone.
But, also loyal. Always loyal.
So yeah, I needed to be here today. Ty and Zoey were also my family. Despite my own problems, I loved them both.
I couldn’t focus, though, with all that was on my mind. Sure, I kept a slight smile fixed in place and my gaze deliberately aimed at the happy couple to appear normal. Inside, my stomach churned and my brain was all over the place. My entire future was up in the air, a fact that I’d kept secret from everyone but one person.
Like a beacon, my eyes were drawn to her.
Alexandria Le Roux, Zoey’s best friend, was the ethereally beautiful woman of my dreams. Her honey-blonde hair bounced like sunbeams off her tanned, defined shoulders. She clapped her hands gleefully when Zoey kissed Ty and accepted his proposal. Tall, lithe, with legs for days and the most perfect, perky breasts, Alex wore a fitted, white, off-the-shoulder sweater, skintight Levi’s and red jingle-bell earrings.
And, her ever-present black Frye boots. Boots that had traveled the world. Sometimes, even with me.
When she was only 15, Kaylene Winter wrote her first rocker romance novel starring a fictionalized version of herself, her friends and their gorgeous rocker boyfriends. After living her own rockstar life as a band manager, music promoter and mover and shaker in Seattle during the early 1990’s, Kaylene became a digital media legal strategist helping bring movies, television and music online. Throughout her busy career, Kaylene lost herself in romance novels across all genres inspiring her to realize her life-long dream to be a published author. She lives in Seattle with her amazing husband and dog. She loves to travel, throw lavish dinner parties and support charitable causes supporting arts and animals.
Title: Rycks Author: Marteeka Karland Series: Black Reign MC #1 Genre: Contemporary, Motorcycle Club Romance
Lyric: I’m in so much trouble. My orders are to find the highest ranking member of Salvation’s Bane or Black Reign MCs and sleep with them. Worm my way into their bed for longer than one night so I can take back information to Kiss of Death. Little did I know I’d find the one man I could never forget. The man who broke my heart six years ago and left me to fend for myself against a ruthless club who would break me the first chance they got.
Rycks: The second I saw here I wanted to punish her. Lyric ran out on me six years ago. Not that I’d given her any reason to stay. Now, she waltzes back into my life with an agenda I can’t figure out. When I do, I can’t decide what to do. The truth is as scary as it is infuriating. Lyric is my torment. She’s sent to me as bait in a bigger plan I can’t fathom. Mainly because I’m too distracted by what she reveals. Now I’m questioning my loyalties to both her and my mentor, El Diablo. She pulls at my need to protect at the same time she might just prove herself to be a traitor.
WARNING: Contains scene of violence, explicit language, and adult situations. Rycks is the first book in the Black Reign series. While you can read it as a stand alone book, you may better understand the characters and situations if you read books in the Bones MC and Salvation’s Bane MC series.
My heart was pounding. Something wasn’t right. When I entered the other room, there was a long, semicircular table. In the center, in front of the table, was a chair on a black mat. Men sat at the table while more stood in the background. Wouldn’t you know it, Rycks led me to the center chair and indicated I should sit.
I looked up at him. He didn’t meet my gaze.
“You’ll answer their questions truthfully and completely,” he said softly. Then, finally, he met my gaze. When his eyes locked with mine, I knew I was looking at death itself.
Sucking in a little gasp, I swallowed. Then I nodded. “I’ve got nothing to hide.”
“You’ll address yourself to us, Lyric.” Havoc, the vice president of Salvation’s Bane, instructed. “Rycks isn’t a member of our MC. He’s here out of courtesy to him and his club since he’s helping us with this ongoing matter.” Havoc’s tone wasn’t unkind, but it wasn’t gentle either. The man meant business. Whatever had happened to lead to this meeting was serious. And more than just me confessing something to Rycks in an effort to help their club. “Do you understand?” When I nodded, he continued. “You told Rycks last night that you’d been sent by Kiss of Death to glean information from us.”
It took me a second to realize he expected an answer, that it wasn’t rhetorical. Then I responded simply, “Yes.”
“Did you pass on anything you saw? Anything you heard?”
“No. I was with Rycks from the time I met up with him until now.” I thought about the bugs. Was now when I needed to tell them? What was the protocol? Before I could answer, I was interrupted.
“We’re aware of that,” Havoc said. “What I want to know is, did you make it so that Kiss of Death could gather information on our club from the inside. Did you plant any listening or video devices?”
So they had found them.
“Yes. Not tonight, but when I was here before with Wrangler. In the common room. Last night, I was searched before I came in.”
“So you had nothing we could readily see or detect if we didn’t know what to look for.”
What was he getting at?
“Sir, I was with Rycks the entire night. Yes, I did as I was instructed and planted three bugs. I have no idea if they were visual or audio, but they had to be pressed into a wall or flimsy piece of wood. I didn’t go anywhere other than the common room, and the bathrooms I was allowed into all have tiled walls.”
“But you were there an hour and a half before you left with Rycks.”
I paused, thinking. “I suppose so, yes. But I was in the common room the entire time.”
Havoc nodded once, then used a remote to turn on a big TV across the room. My attention automatically focused there. On the screen, I saw myself at the bar with the time stamp. After a couple of seconds, the camera zoomed in. It focused on my left hand where I had apparently removed something from the pocket of my shorts and placed it under the lip of the bar. Then another scene with me doing the same at a table. And a couch. All of them out-of-the-way places that were easily accessible, but wouldn’t be noticed if they hadn’t been looking for them.
“I didn’t do that.” I said softly. “If you pan back, you’ll see it’s not me. I didn’t have anything that stuck to anything. It had to be pushed into the wall. Like a thumb tack.”
He did. And it was me.
“After checking the places in question, we found listening devices. There were also a couple of video devices. Then, you left the room. You stopped to talk to a club girl and get directions to the bathroom. She pointed you in a direction down the hall, which you followed. Only you didn’t go to the bathroom. You went to Thorn’s office.”
The next video on the screen was of her, rifling through the drawers in the president’s desk. Again, it looked as if she planted bugs all around the room.
“I’m going to need you to show us where all those bugs are, Lyric,” Havoc said. “We found some of them, but they’re extremely tiny. There were at least three places where it looked like you planted something, but we couldn’t locate the device.”
“But I didn’t –”
“Stop lying!” Rycks growled. “I gave you a chance to come clean with me, Lyric. You told me about Kiss of Death expecting you to infiltrate Bane and set yourself up with a patched member to feed them information. You neglected to tell me you’d already bugged the whole compound. How many times have you been here with Wrangler?”
“Only once. It was when I planted the bugs I was given. I didn’t lie to you, other than not telling you about them. I intended to, but our conversation was pretty intense and emotionally draining. Other than this, I’ve been completely honest with you. It was an honest omission.” “Bullshit,” he spat. I felt like he’d slapped me. I even flinched a little before I could stop myself. If I’d lost Rycks’s protection, I was fucked. Whatever happened down here, I had no hope of preventing. At that moment, I wasn’t sure I cared. Because, no matter what Salvation’s Bane did to me, it was going to be so much worse for Bella. And she’d never understand what was happening. Rycks had just ripped out my heart for more than one reason. I loved Bella with everything inside me, but I hadn’t realized how much I was beginning to care for Rycks. I hadn’t realized how tightly he had a hold of my heart until he ripped it from my chest. If they killed me, at least the pain would go away. But what would happen to Bella?
Romance author by night, emergency room tech/clerk by day, Marteeka Karland works really hard to drive everyone in her life completely and totally nuts. She has been creating stories from her warped imagination since she was in the third grade. Her love of writing blossomed throughout her teenage years until it developed into the totally unorthodox and irreverent style her English teachers tried so hard to rid her of. Now, she breathes life into faeries, space hunters, werewolves, vampires, shapeshifters, and a few just plain ole ordinary people. She loves to see the awkward, self-conscious band geek get the captain of the football team and make him beg for it.
Gwen Foster has never been kissed. But when she gets the chance to finally see what all the hype is about, it’s with her best friend’s crush. Embroiled in relationship drama she doesn’t understand, and ostracized from her friend group, Gwen escapes the angst by using her favorite femme fatale as a role model… and makes snooping on her classmates her new pastime.
Gwen’s detective work appears to be going well, until an unknown social media account starts spilling all the scandalous personal details she’s uncovered. Now this wannabe spy must stop whoever is behind it before everyone’s dirty laundry is aired, and Gwen is forced to finish high school without any friends.
Other People’s Butterflies is a coming-of-age contemporary mystery about not needing to find your first love – but yourself – and how to mend the relationships that matter to you.
Now it’s just me and Big Jimmy in the den, and I realize with mounting discomfort that his arm is resting behind me on the back of the sofa. Is that a move? Maybe his arm’s just tired. I turn to look at him, hoping I can read his intentions on his face. As I turn, a straggly bit of hair falls across my face. Big Jimmy reaches out and tucks it behind my ear.
Okay, that was definitely a move. I shake my head so that the lock of hair falls again, to show him that I don’t appreciate him tidying me up. I’d probably be more convincing if I weren’t grinning, but I can’t help it – it’s some kind of nervous reaction. He grins back and tucks the hair behind my ear again, and I shake it free again. Now I’m grinning because I’m actually kind of enjoying this. It feels like a game, and it feels like I’m winning somehow.
We carry on. Tuck and shake, tuck and shake. I think he’s going to kiss me. If he does, I’m going to kiss him back. I don’t particularly want to, but I have to kiss somebody sometime and I may as well get it over with. I’m assuming the desire to kiss will kick in once I’m actually doing it. Like in a romantic comedy, when one character kisses another out of the blue. Maybe they’re arguing, or waiting for a train, and the mood isn’t noticeably romantic but then the guy kisses the girl and there’s a little bit of music. Sparkly sounding, with the notes rising upwards, and you can almost feel it in your stomach. Tingly.
His hand cups the side of my face, I close my eyes automatically, and then it’s happening. Our mouths slide slickly over each other, like our lips are coated in oil or something. Romantic comedies have lied to me – kissing does not feel like the music sounds. Maybe the music is only there to cover up the embarrassing squishing noises coming from between two faces.
Cora Ruskin is a part-time MSc student of Science Communication, and works for a charity that helps victims of crime. Writing gets squeezed in between the two. She lives in Bristol, England, with five housemates and a very messy kitchen. “Other People’s Butterflies” is her debut novel.
Title: Keeper of Souls Author: Harper Ray Series: The Revenant Trilogy #1 Genre: New Adult Paranormal
“What would you do if Death gave you a second chance?”
Most people who escaped death were relieved, happy to be granted that second chance at life. In my case, it was more of a curse than a blessing.
Everyday I woke, I was tortured with another soul. They all wanted something from me, but I couldn’t give it to them. Instead, I ignored them. I neglected the pain they had laced beneath their hollow eyes. I dismissed the screams that shattered my eardrums every time my head hit the pillow.
The souls took pleasure in patronizing me. They were a constant reminder of why I shouldn’t have been granted a second chance.
I had managed to escape Death twice, but the third time was my undoing. He came back with a heavy vengeance. Suddenly, I was thrown into a battle between two brothers. Heaven and Hell. Light versus Dark.
They both needed me on their side, but after facing Death for the third time, I wasn’t sure I would survive the cruel fate he had planned.
Slowly, I managed to pull myself off the hard ground, and rise to a standing position. I glanced around and noticed that all the souls I had seen earlier were gone. My lips dipped into a frown. That’s weird.
“Well, things just got…interesting, didn’t they, Ace?” the guy with dark hair taunted.
Ace sighed. “Why are you here, Deagan?”
His body was radiating an un-humanly amount of heat, so I took a few steps back, looking for an exit. The animosity between these two had me ready to bolt, but for some reason, I didn’t think Deagan would let me leave that easily.
I took another step back. Deagan took a few steps forward. There was something about him that made me want to run for the hills. He was dangerous, and that cocky smirk he had plastered on his lips told me that he knew it too.
“Where do you think you’re going, sweet cheeks?” he asked.
“Away from you,” I sneered.
His brows raised. “We’ve got a feisty one here. I like it.”
I clicked my tongue and turned around to bolt in the direction towards the exit. My ear-shattering scream filled the cemetery when Deagan materialized in front of me. I glanced behind me and back to him. “How did you do that?”
His sharp gaze was full of amusement. He was getting off on being a jackass.
A hand landed on my shoulder, pushing me back as Ace stepped between us. “I suggest you leave. You have no purpose here, Deagan.” His words came out clipped, and somehow, even I felt threatened just being in his presence.
My eyes narrowed. “I don’t need you to defend me.”
Ace glanced over his shoulder, and his gaze turned to slits.
Great, now I was on his shit list too. Why the hell was I still standing here?
“Already protecting her, huh?” Deagan pursed his lips, and the temperature outside raised the humidity twenty degrees. Sweat started leaking down my forehead.
Ace’s jaw ticked.
“Did you forget what happened the last time you interfered?”
Ace whipped his head in Deagan’s direction and crossed his arms over his chest. “The real question of the hour is what you’re doing here. We both know whose territory this is.”
Deagan’s stocky body stiffened. His obsidian gaze hardened. For a brief moment, I could have sworn I saw flames dancing in the darkness of his eyes. I shook my head, I really needed to get out of here, it seemed that I was on the verge of losing my mind.
As an author of young and new adult romances, Harper has a passion for writing stories that readers enjoy reading over and over again. Her imagination is the creative tool that helps her come up with several intriguing story lines that she hopes to share with the world. Her fans call her the “page turner author” because with each story she sucks the readers in, instantly hooking them from page one.
If Harper’s not busy writing her next book, she’s either digging into a sappy romance novel, binge watching Harry Potter or going to school full time.
As an affiliate at retail sites, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases. See my disclosure for more details.
Three Reasons You Should Read This WWII Historical Fiction:
The Edelweis Sisters by Kate Hewitt is an emotional story about the Eder family and their three daughters during World War II that is equal parts dramatic, thrilling, and romantic.
Each of the three sisters goes through a journey that allows them to find deep parts of themselves they never imagined existed – and each one is unique.
A few of the “bad” characters were different from what I expected and made several surprising choices.
Johanna Eder and her sisters Birgit and Lotte have always lived quiet lives, working in their father’s clockmaking shop and helping their mother in the house. But they find it impossible to ignore the changes in the world around them.
At first Johanna finds it hard to believe the Nazis pose a real threat. But then her father hires Franz. He’s soulful, with dark eyes that twinkle with intelligence and humor. But he’s Jewish, and as Johanna falls for him, she realizes that loving him puts them all in danger.
The only way to save Franz is to get him to the safety of Switzerland. For this, she needs her sisters’ help, and they join the resistance. As the world turns dark around them, they must slip unnoticed right under the noses of the Nazi soldiers filling their cobbled streets.
Johanna knew she and her sisters would die for each other, but as their hearts are broken afresh each day and the lives of beloved friends and family are threatened, she discovers they would also die for the man she loves, and for what is right.
Johanna could never have foreseen how falling for a dark-eyed man would take her from an innocent girl to a fearless woman; from her quiet clock shop into the very depths of hell.
In the concentration camps of Ravensbruck and Mauthausen, Johanna and her sisters must show the strength of human spirit like never before. If they are to survive, they must prove that even in the darkness, the tiniest seeds of hope can bloom…
The Edelweis Sisters by Kate Hewitt follows the story of the three Eder girls, Johanna, Birgit, and Lotte. Each one very differnt in their own ways, they’ve lived a relatively peacful and normal life until World War II approaches their doorstep. The invasion of Austria is swift and mostly non-violent, and suddenly life is drastically different.
Lotte – the youngest believes she will find peach at the convent through a vocation. Birgit finds herself falling for a soldier, and Johanna falls in love with her father’s apprentice, a Jewish man. The story of each sister wraps its way around the others – showing how connected the three are even when physical distance separates them. Each story is uplifting and heartbreaking its own way, and none of them end quite the way I expected.
The Edelweis sisters really highlighted how the lives of everyday people were altered by the war – and not everyone made it out alive, healthy, or able to return to life as it was before. Work camps, interrogations, worrying about those you care for the most, and trying to find a way to do what you think is right all take a toll on the girls, and the toll was a real one.
Kate Hewitt did not shy away from the horrors of the Nazi regime, but she did find the very delicate balance between showing what happened and being too graphic for many readers. So many very heavy topics were addressed beautifully and in a manner that really showcased how life during war might have been.
**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**
Agent Sabine Harper is thrilled to receive her first mission—until she learns what it is. Turns out, all she has to do is save the world from certain destruction. And she has two weeks to do it.
Sabine survives her grueling training by the Vortech Agency, but now she must protect the world from a devastating solar flare by finding seven energy stones—cerecite. If she refuses, they’ll terminate her father’s life-sustaining cancer treatments.
Sabine is transported to an isolated civilization hidden beneath a dome. She assumes the identity of the invalid prince’s caretaker and finds herself strangely attracted to the prince. But she’s perplexed by this strange island’s many mysteries. The air smells mechanical. Every blade of grass is identical. The island’s dimensions are bigger than they should be. What Vortech told her may not be true. She may not even know where she really is. And someone doesn’t want her to leave—at least not alive.
Freezing wind gusted as I stepped outside the facility. I pulled my hood over my head and followed Agent Logan through the snow.
“You ready?” he called, his frame hidden under bulky layers of clothing and a gray overcoat, a red-letter V stitched over the breast pocket.
I hesitated before answering. I’d spent half my night wondering if I’d made the right decision by staying. Finally, I’d sent off a quick message to Dad, telling him I loved him, I would come back. I was sorry about Mima June. My emotions were too raw to know what else to say.
“I’m ready,” I called back.
“You got everything?”
I straightened my backpack’s straps. If he was asking if I had all my material things, then the answer was probably not, as I was famously lousy at remembering everyday things like a toothbrush and underwear. If he was asking if I had everything in my head—all the knowledge of Champ Island, the Bering Sea, the weather patterns, the gateway cave, the dome and the little information we knew of what was under it—then the answer was yes. I hadn’t spent the last six months of my life in training for nothing.
“I’m good,” I yelled back.
He nodded, then sat on his snowmobile, pulled his goggles over his eyes, and cranked the engine. The roar mingled with the howling wind. I cast one last glance at the facility.
The stark metal building loomed against a churning white sky. A single red light flashed from the antennae reaching up into the storm, as if it were a beacon screaming for help. I wasn’t sure it had stopped storming since I’d arrived half-a-year ago. I’d had no idea what I was getting into.
My nerves on that first day had been unbearable. After joining Vortech and making the cut to elite status, they’d sent me here to the top of the world, to a tiny, unknown island north of the Russian mainland. A place filled with mysterious sphere-shaped boulders that pocked the unforgiving landscape.
That’s when I’d learned about the dome, and my Kansas way of thinking—of Earth and everything in it—had been shattered forever.
After cranking my snowmobile’s engine, I pushed the throttle. Snow spewed behind me as I sped forward and followed Logan. I allowed myself to revel in the rush of wind, the crispness of the air, and the taste of ice on my tongue, something unfamiliar after being trapped inside the facility, with only a few trips to the outside world on my survival expeditions.
We sped past the wreck of the old immigrant’s ship. Weathered wooden planks comprised its hull. In some places, the boards stuck up like the bones of a whale’s skeleton. Whatever storm had pushed it to the top of the world must’ve been massive in scope.
The ship conjured images of the pages of a book I’d read as a child. The Lost Shipwreck of Champ Island. The book opened as if I were reading it again. Black-and-white photos and their captions popping out at me. How the ship got here is still a mystery. The immigrants’ disappearance is a mystery, too. After fifty years of study, scientists are beginning to fit the puzzle pieces together. No bodies were recovered, and in extreme temperatures such as those found on Champ Island, their remains would’ve been easily preserved. Some scientists believe they may have found a cave to take shelter in, yet no evidence of such an event has been recorded.
Beyond the ship lay an expanse of snowy wasteland. I dodged sphere-shaped boulders, some as small as ping-pong balls, others larger than my snowmobile. A blanket of white covered their tops, as if to hide their secrets. Lines of text from the Atlas of Champ Island jumped out in my mind.
Perfect spheres don’t exist in nature. Scientists have discovered the boulders were formed by water. However, because of the extreme temperatures, there are no recorded civilizations living on Champ Island, and no conclusive evidence that the spheres were formed by human hands.
Ice crystals crunched under our snowmobile’s skis, bringing me from my thoughts. I shook my head. Sometimes this photographic memory thing was a pain. I couldn’t stay focused on anything long enough before a book page hit me out of nowhere, and my concentration got jerked from one idea to another.
A howling wind echoed through the expanse. This far away from civilization, I imagined what it would feel like to be a shipwreck victim out here alone, with the screaming wind and the numbing cold. Where would I have gone from here?
The void of white faded with the setting sun, leaving the world drenched in gray. As we approached the substation, only the blinking red lights gave any indication we were near the bunker. The roaring engines grew quieter until we shut them off, leaving me with ringing ears in the sudden silence.
Logan removed his goggles. “You good?”
“Fine,” I called back.
We got off our snowmobiles and headed for the entrance. I flexed my stiff fingers. Despite my gloves, the cold managed to seep through, straight to my bones, until numbness settled inside.
The black metal hatch loomed, a block letter ‘V’ etched into the plate. We trudged through the snow until we reached the keypad. Logan removed his gloves just long enough to press his thumb to the fingerprint pad. A red laser scanned his finger, then the pad turned green, and the hatchway opened.
Snow particles blustered around us. I stepped onto the metal grating and inside the bunker, then I walked with Logan down a metal staircase, our footsteps echoing with hollow clangs. The door sealed shut above us. Panic of being caged in weighed heavy in my chest, but I gripped the railing.
Tamara Grantham is the award-winning author of more than a dozen books and novellas, including the Olive Kennedy: Fairy World MD series, the Shine novellas, and the Twisted Ever After trilogy. Dreamthief, the first book of her Fairy World MD series, won first place for fantasy in INDIEFAB’S Book of the Year Awards, a RONE award for best New Adult Romance, and is a #1 bestseller on Amazon with over 200 five-star reviews. Tamara holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from Lamar University. She has been a featured speaker at multiple writing conferences, and she has been a panelist at Comic Con Wizard World speaking on the topic of female leads. For her first published project, she collaborated with New York-Times bestselling author, William Bernhardt, in writing the Shine series.
Born and raised in Texas, Tamara now lives with her husband and five children in Wichita, Kansas. She rarely has any free time, but when the stars align and she gets a moment to relax, she enjoys reading fantasy novels, taking nature walks–which fuel her inspiration for creating fantastical worlds–and watching every Star Wars or Star Trek movie ever made. You can find her online at www.TamaraGrantham.com.
The mating heat ignites between a dominant alpha-heir and a forbidden wolf-witch hybrid when they’re forced to find his kidnapped sister and stop a war. Now is not the time for Kane to have found his mate. But the Goddess is never wrong. If he gives in to his desires for Sheridan, her lineage could cost him everything. Yet as his body aches for her, and thoughts of her curves cloud his mind, he finds himself willing to risk it all to claim her.
Forced, out of friendship and loyalty, Sheridan joins the hunt and gets more than she bargained for with a dangerous attraction to a darkly handsome wolf. While she seeks to distance herself from pack politics, Sheridan can’t deny that the first place she has ever felt she belongs is at Kane’s side. Not everyone agrees, and some will stop at nothing to destroy their love, their family, their future.
“I know you’re awake so you may as well open your eyes. The lights are dim so they shouldn’t hurt your head. Our healer would like to get a good look at you before she does any healing.”
The faintly sardonic voice prodded her, and the rest of the events coalesced. Kane MacKinnon. Kayleigh. The accident. Her eyes flew open, and she winced at the light that sliced into her brain.
“Turn it down.” Her voice was raspy, hoarse as if she’d been screaming.
The lights went lower until they just illuminated the figure sitting by her bed. Kane leaned forward until his face was a few inches from hers. “Sorry. I thought it would be low enough. You’re pretty light sensitive for a human.”
Yeah, she wasn’t about to tell him about her wolf half or that she had some heightened senses. She’d keep that to herself, especially now that she was in the belly of the beast. Kayleigh had figured it out and swore to keep her secret, though she told her that the MacKinnons would support her and not be like the ones who’d killed her father. For now, Sheridan would reserve judgement.
She tried to lift her head, but the pain sliced right through her as if an axe had tried to cleave her.
Kane stood and pressed a firm hand to her shoulder. “Stay still. Our healer will be right with you. She was working on Vanessa, since she was awake. She wanted you awake before she started, especially since she doesn’t know you.”
“What… What about Kayleigh? Is she okay? What happened?”
Sabrina Silvers began her writing career dreaming of elves, orcs, and hobbits in the fantasy section of her local library, looking in wardrobes for Narnia and Aslan, and hunting for gnomes in the forest. To her dismay, she never found any of them except between the pages of her books. So, she had to go out and create them for herself, leading to her lifelong love of reading and writing and dreaming about adventures, fantasy creatures and love in fantasy lands! She divides her time between writing sexy contemporary romances under a different pen name, reading, knitting and being owned by a very spoiled cocker spaniel who does not share her love of fantasy creatures.
My name is Vicious. God-given name, I cross my heart.
And it fits.
I’m a hot-as-f, inked-up tattoo artist at the trendiest shop in the Rocky Mountains.
I have the looks, I have the bike, I have the reputation.
That means I get the ladies.
Sure. There are lots of women out there who hate tattoos. Wouldn’t be caught dead with guys like me. And that’s fine. I’m not looking for girls like that.
I’m looking for that other kind of girl.
The wild one, the bad one, the crazy one.
Funny thing is… the one I fell for isn’t that girl.
She’s the Good Girl.
And maybe back when she was nineteen I came off as a ‘maybe’, but after seven years of distance I am now the definition of ‘not a keeper’.
But I can be a keeper.
I can make the good girl swoon.
I can be the dream guy she never saw coming.
If she would just… not press charges… I’m pretty sure I can turn this whole relationship around.
JA Huss is a New York Times Bestselling author and has been on the USA Today Bestseller’s list 21 times. She writes characters with heart, plots with twists, and perfect endings. Her books have sold millions of copies all over the world. Her book, Eighteen, was nominated for a Voice Arts Award and an Audie Award in 2016 and 2017 respectively. Her audiobook, Mr. Perfect, was nominated for a Voice Arts Award in 2017. Her audiobook, Taking Turns, was nominated for an Audie Award in 2018. Her book, Total Exposure, was nominated for a RITA Award in 2019.
Title: Code Red Author: N.R. Walker Genre: Contemporary, LGBTQ+ Romance
The brighter the spotlight, the darker the shadow.
Maddox Kershaw is the main vocalist of the world’s biggest boy band. He’s at the top of every music chart, every award show, every social media platform, and every sexiest-man-alive list. He’s the bad boy, the enigma, the man everyone on the planet wants a piece of.
He’s also burned out and exhausted, isolated and lonely. Not in a good headspace at the start of a tour.
Roscoe Hall is Maddox’s personal manager. His job is high-flying, high-demand, high-profile, and he loves it. Maddox has consumed his entire life for the past four years. Roscoe knows him. He sees the real Maddox no one else gets to see.
He’s also in love with him.
When the tour and stress become too much, when the world begins to close in, Roscoe becomes Maddox’s lifeline. But as Maddox knows already, and as Roscoe is about to learn, the brighter the spotlight, the darker the shadow.
N.R. Walker is an Australian author, who loves her genre of gay romance. She loves writing and spends far too much time doing it, but wouldn’t have it any other way.
She is many things: a mother, a wife, a sister, a writer. She has pretty, pretty boys who live in her head, who don’t let her sleep at night unless she gives them life with words.
She likes it when they do dirty, dirty things… but likes it even more when they fall in love.
She used to think having people in her head talking to her was weird, until one day she happened across other writers who told her it was normal.
