RELEASE BLITZ - BAYOU BRIDES BY LINDA JOYCE

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Nola Dutrey is as dedicated to her jazz singing career as she is to her kids’ community band in New Orleans. When she meets her best friend’s brother, her heart beats with a newfound passion. But falling in love with someone whose life is in New York has no future.  

Restaurateur and music enthusiast Rex Arceneau is in town to settle his father’s estate. He must get the financials into the black before handing over the family restaurant to his sister. To reduce expenses—the weekend singer must go. However, he meets Nola, and their connection sizzles. When he hears her sing, he’s hooked. 

  Nola’s torn between powerful attraction and life in New Orleans. Rex is determined to use music as a secret weapon to entice Nola north. Will she ever be a bride at Fleur de Lis or will life’s dissonant notes ruin their harmony and once-in-a-lifetime love?

 

 

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Amazon Best Selling author and multiple RONE Award Finalist Linda Joyce writes contemporary romance and women’s fiction featuring assertive females and the men who can’t resist them. She lives with her very patient husband in a house in metro-Atlanta run by a fifteen-year-old canine named General Beauregard or “Beau,” who believes they are his pets. Linda’s a closet artist who paints with a brush, yet longs to finger paint…but hates getting her hands messy. She’s addicted to Cajun food and sushi. Linda will deny she only leaves the house once a week and only then to get criticism from two other authors.  

Linda lives in Atlanta. She’s a big fan of jazz and blues, and she attributes her love of music to her southern roots, which run deep in Louisiana. Courtesy of her father’s Air Force career, she lived coast to coast in the U.S. and wrote her first manuscript when she was twelve while living in Japan, where her mother was born and raised. During recess, girls lined up on the bleachers, like birds on a wire, and took turns reading and passing pages to the next girl in line.  

In addition to being a book addict, Linda loves dogs. She’s a foodie—a fangirl of celebrity chefs, an RVer with a 5er, loves to hike and kayak in spring and summer, binge watch movies in the winter, and when the days cool and the leaves begin to turn in the fall, she’s all smiles over SEC football.
 

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BLOG TOUR & REVIEW - SCANDALOUS BY LJ SHEN

Scandalous, the highly anticipated next standalone in the Sinners of Saint Series by LJ Shen is available NOW!

Scandalous by LJ Shen

Publishing Date:  September 29th, 2017

Genre: Contemporary Romance

 

They call him The Mute for a reason.

Hard, cold and calculated, he rarely speaks.

When he does, it’s with disdain.

When he does, his words aren’t meant for me.

When he does, my stomach flips and my world tilts on its axis.

He is thirty-three.

I am eighteen.

He’s a single dad and my father’s business partner.

I’m just a kid to him and his enemy’s daughter.

He’s emotionally unavailable.

And I am…feeling. Feeling things I shouldn’t feel for him.

Trent Rexroth is going to break my heart. The writing isn’t just on the wall, it’s inked on my soul.

And yet, I can’t stay away.

A scandal is the last thing my family needs. But a scandal is what we’re going to give them.

And oh, what a beautiful chaos it will be.

REVIEW BY KRISTI LYNN

This is book four in Sinners of Saint series and is Trent’s story. Trent Rexroth is known as “the Mute”. He doesn’t speak often but when he does it is with contempt. He is different than the other “hot holes”. Edie Van Der Zee is only 18 and is Trent’s business partners daughter. This has trouble written all over it!

First I will start out with the cover of this book! I wanted to one click and read it based on that alone. Straight fire!!! To prepare for reading this book, I did a binge read of the first three books and was salivating to dive into Trent’s story. I was late to the party with this series but am thrilled to be all caught up. My love for these “Hot Holes” is fiercely strong. There was something mysterious and captivating about Trent throughout the other stories so I could not wait to read his story and learn more about this sex as sin man and what makes him tick.

This book gripped me from the beginning. It was forbidden, illicit and so very scandalous. This book got me like WOAH! I would like to stand and give a very deliberate and slow clap to LJ Shen for her magical words and storytelling. I have always been one to love the bad boy in books. I swoon and fall hard for the guys I should never but so many mesmerize me and win my heart. Trent did that in spades. He was an AH like the other “Hot Holes” but for him is seemed justified based on all he had experienced in life. His arrogance, cockiness and overall disdain for others made me swoon, pant, and devour all the words. Throw in that he was a single dad and boom….ovaries explode all over.  LJ made me fall in love with him and rather quickly. I was so invested in him getting some happy in his life.

Edie was an easy female lead to route for and hope that she got some sort of HEA. Her life had not been easy and there were times my heart wept for the treatment she received from the man who was supposed to protect, nurture and care for her – her father. Despite all she had been through, she was sassy as heck, strong, determined, and had gumption.

Kudos to LJ on this one! With this series she has become an author I will always one click. She is a brilliant writer and can suck you into a story like no other. I give this book five well deserved stars!!!

 

Excerpt:

  Trent’s gaze cut to mine and stopped when his grays met my blues. The fading noise of Vicious barking at people to move along, and my father finally letting go of my arm to move toward Jaime and Dean—probably trying to gain both allies and sympathy—died down.   “I don’t like you,” Rexroth whispered under his breath, his voice harsh.   “I never asked you to.” I shrugged.   “You won’t be working here.” His arm brushed my shoulder, but I didn’t think it was by accident. I let loose a sugary smile, scanning his face and torso for no other reason other than to taunt him. “Good, you’ll be doing me a favor. My father is the one forcing me to work here. He’s pissed I turned down five Ivy League colleges. Remind me, Mr. Rexroth—which top tier university did you attend for your degree?”   The low blow was supposed to retrieve some of my lost dignity, but bile burned my throat, shotgunned from my stomach. Trent Rexroth was known in Todos Santos as an exhilarating success story, rising from the gutters of San Diego. He went to a shitty state college that accepted even the illiterate, working as a janitor on campus after hours. Those were given facts he’d recited himself in an interview for Forbes.   Had I really just tried to make him feel less worthy because he wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth? It made me sicker than wearing my mother’s designer garbs. Trent smiled, leaning into my body, into my soul. His smirk was more frightening than any scowl, frown, or grimace I’d ever seen. It threatened to tear me apart and sew me back together however he pleased.   “Edie.” His lips were dangerously close to my ear. A delicious shiver moved down my spine. Something warm rolled inside of me, begging to unknot and flower into an orgasm. What was happening, and why the hell was it happening? “If you know what’s best for you, you will turn around and leave right now.”   I elevated my head to meet his gaze and showed him my version of a grin. I was born and raised in a world of intimidating rich men, and I’d be damned if I go down like my mother—addicted to xanax, Gucci, and a man who paraded her on his arm for a short, glorious decade before keeping her solely for public appearances.   “I think I’m going to go find my desk now. I’d wish you a good day, Mr. Rexroth, but I think that ship has sailed. You’re a miserable man. Oh, and one for the road.” I fished for a Nature Valley bar in my mother’s purse and plastered it to his hard, muscled chest. My heart slammed into my neck, fluttering like a caged bird.   I hurried after my father as he glided down the vast, golden-hued hallway, not daring to look back. Knowing I’d started a war and arrived unequipped. But I also knew something else that gave me a surfer’s rush—if I could slam the final nail in my employment coffin and make Rexroth vote against me, I’d be off the hook.   I had just the plan for it. All I had to do was act like a brat. Game on.

Read Today!

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Vicious

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About LJ Shen:

L.J. Shen is an International #1 best-selling author of Contemporary Romance and New Adult novels. She lives in Northern California with her husband, young son and chubby cat. Before she’d settled down, L.J. (who thinks referring to herself in the third person is really silly, by the way) traveled the world, and collected friends from all across the globe. Friends who’d be happy to report that she is a rubbish companion, always forgets peoples’ birthdays and never sends Christmas cards. She enjoys the simple things in life, like spending time with her family and friends, reading, HBO, Netflix and internet-stalking Stephen James. She reads between three to five books a week and firmly believes Crocs shoes and mullets should be outlawed.

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RELEASE BLITZ - REAPERS OF SOULS AND MAGIC BY R.E. FISHER

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Title: Reapers of Souls and Magic
Series: The Rohrlands Saga Book 1
Author: R.E. Fisher
Genre: Adult, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Published: September 29, 2017
Page Count: 472 Pages

The Gods created the Rohrlands. Then they created the Elfaheen to give breath, and life to their once barren world. Endowed with the power to create life, the Elfaheen created mystical and wonderful creatures of legend to fill this world. Until pride, envy and rebellion crept into their idyllic realm. Led by Lavalor, thirteen Elfaheen used the power the Gods gave them to create Asmordia, in their arrogance they inadvertently created the multitudes of multiverses, including Earth…and for every one of those worlds, they created their own eventual dooms as well as their own. Tetra, another of the original children of the Gods, having followed all the tenants of the Gods must now save them all. Filled with innocence and naivety she is forced to ally with Lavalor to save both, the Rohrlands and his corrupted realm, Asmordia. To do this she must find the three outworlders from the realm of Earth and send them home, or kill them, to prevent the Im’Shallene, the end of all things. Tetra must also face the realization that she not only battles Lavalor’s dark desires of rule and independence from the Gods, but also her own inner demons.

Amazon

Reapers of Souls and Magic: A Rohrlands Saga © R.E. Fisher 2017
Arrival to the Guarded Isle
They drew closer to the Guarded Isle, where the Dragon Magi had their order and practiced their arts, in the early evening of the thirteenth day. As they neared the island, they could see the nine mages’ spires and the simple dwellings in which the other mages lived and trained. She could also sense the power that place held.
Telerex flew close enough to the towers to enable Tetra to see the layout, hoping she would remember it without his having to ask her to. They both looked at the main tower, which was sitting in the center of a large hexagon; it was joined with what appeared to be a confusing series of paths connecting them with one another. If you were patient, you could see that each point of the hexagon where each of the outer towers had been built connected with the others, forming a large square with tens of triangles within.
Each of the eight outer towers rose more than a hundred feet into the air and were topped with parapets. Within the walls of the parapets, the stone had been painted with the sigil of each of the disciplines of magic.
The tower in the center stood half again taller than the outer towers, and it, too, was topped with a parapet rather than a roof. Tetra realized that if you flew above the center tower, the lines on the ground continued onto the stone of the parapet, each line connecting to a couple of squares drawn in gold and surrounding a painted sun with a multi-pointed compass over it.
“Impressive, is it not?” Telerex asked his rider.
“It is! I had no idea they could build such structures!” Tetra said.
“That center tower belongs to the Master of Towers. He is the mage in charge. The outer towers house the masters of the various magic disciplines that they have vast control over. The one painted as a lantern’s flame is the Tower of Divination. The yellow-and-black one that resembles the face of a bird is the Tower of the Dead, and that symbol represents the Blackwing; he’s the master of necromancy. I can’t remember the rest of them.”
“What’s a Blackwing?” Tetra asked, not remembering any of her brethren or sisters creating a beast with that name.
“It’s how they see death. A demon bird for the dwarves, a beautiful avian woman for the humans, and a giant raven for the elves. Each is different, but really, they are the same thing,” Telerex answered.
“What do you mean? They have a death magic?” Tetra asked.
“Not like you’re thinking. Their magic can kill, but they can raise the dead, speak with the dead, and sometimes give the dead an immortal existence in this realm—preventing them from going to their heaven or Asmordia. Whichever would be appropriate. They try to cheat death, too.”
Unsure of what to say to such a foreign concept, Tetra said, “Let’s land away from them; I don’t think I wish for you to frighten or anger them.”
Telerex turned away from the compound and looked for a secluded place to come to rest, not wishing to gain the attention of the mages. He knew that would be dangerous for both. Upon landing on the outskirts of the island in a small clearing, Tetra threw her leg up over the dragon’s neck and slid down, not waiting for his customary courtesy of dropping a shoulder for her climb down. She landed gracefully on her feet and turned to Telerex.
“Rest, my friend! You did wonderful! I’ll come back when I’m done,” Tetra stated.
“Be careful, my lady; mages are a suspicious lot and can be dangerous,” Telerex offered.
Tetra winked at him and turned toward the direction she had last seen the mages’ keep. She spied the tall spires with their lit windows climbing high into the night sky and began her trek toward them. As she walked, she examined the plants by the moonlight and saw that they were somehow different from those around her isolated village. These plants didn’t move to make way for her as they did at home, which was a little disconcerting to her. On numerous occasions, she had to actually force her way through them as if they were trying to block her way forward. She placed her hand on her sword and began pulling it from the scabbard to cut away the brush, wondering why they were behaving like that. Using the black blade that had been the weapon for her attempted murder, she hacked her way through the thick brush that was impeding her. It sliced through the massive underbrush with great ease. She managed to keep the view of the towers in front of her as she worked, until she made her way into a clearing on the edge of the small village that lay outside the towers.
After a brief rest, she passed through the village and started to enter the Circle of Towers when she was met by a young elf dressed in a brown robe and carrying a simple staff. He looked up at her as she towered above him.
“Beggin’ your pardon, ma’am; what business do you have here?”
“I would speak with your Master of Towers,” she replied, also in the common tongue. She looked past him, sensing something amiss.
“I gather that your need is important for you to have journeyed here, but none may enter who isn’t of the orders. If you wish to leave a correspondence for his eminence, I will be happy to pass it on to him, my lady,” the acolyte informed her.
She studied the acolyte—as well as several spots behind him—for a moment before uttering something in her native language and then saying in common, “Enough of this charade!” She waved her hand as if brushing away an annoying insect.
The vision of the acolyte was replaced by a regal wood elf that was dressed in ornate robes of royal blue trimmed in gold. Several human and elvish mages dressed in various colors and whose robes were less regal also appeared behind him. She saw one who wore robes trimmed in black with the sigil of the Blackwing on the cuff of his robe, while another mage wore red with what looked to be a stick figure stretched over a rack on his cuff. Others wore robes of grey, green, and indigo, but she was unable to see their sigils.
With looks of shock and anger, they began to raise their staffs as Tetra spoke again. “I mean you no harm,” she said.
The wood elf raised his hand; the mages paused but held their staffs ready for action should the need arise. The ornately dressed mage rested the butt of his staff on the ground. Leaning forward, he asked, “How did you do that?”
“As I said, sir, I mean you no harm.”
“T’isn’t every day a myth flies into our little realm while sitting atop a legendary beast. You will forgive us for being cautious. Again, what is it you seek? We shall not ask again, madam,” he threatened.
“There is little need for threats. I have come among you to learn of the young races.”
“Who are you?” the mage asked.
“I’m Tetra, sir,” she answered. “I need information. There is much about your realm I don’t know and have need to learn.”
“You are one of the ancients? An Elfaheen?”
“I am. Will you help?”
Sensing her sincerity and knowing it was an unprecedented learning opportunity for those earliest beings of magic, the mage answered, “We would know more before we can agree to anything. I am Lleward Coreon, master of this school. Please, come with me.”
Lleward led her between the outer buildings and through a small gate, then into a courtyard where the towers sat. The other mages followed at a respectful distance in case their master needed them. Tetra looked upward at the spires, in awe of their height. The buildings themselves held no magic, but the contents within held all the power she had sensed. It was amazing to her that a structure could be built to such a height and could stay standing without the use of magic. In that moment, she realized how little she knew of these beings that she and her sisters had long referred to as the “lesser races.” She was amazed at what they had accomplished in what seemed to her to be a short amount of time. They weren’t as ignorant or as incapable as she and her sisters had come to believe. They had grown, and were growing still.
They entered the center tower, and she was escorted to an ornate room that was filled with thousands of books. Along each stone wall, she observed numerous burnished cabinets that housed all the books in an orderly and tidy manner. Throughout the room were also various chairs, tables, and couches. It was well lit by a large central fire pit and hundreds of candles and sconces. Lleward led them to a set of plush chairs, sitting next to the fire. He indicated for her to have a seat as he sat in the chair across from the one he had offered her. She took a seat, adjusting the malevolent sword on her hip as she did so.
He leaned forward and stated, “There are so many questions I would ask.”
“What would you know first?” Tetra offered.
“Where have you been all these centuries?” he asked.

This debut novel sets up a good person and a bad person together as they work to achieve their goals. I think this is a relatively fresh concept in fantasy. Similarly, while the central plot involves a prophesy, this novel shows most of the key actors in this prophesy taking actions out of self-interest as opposed to fulfilling some kind of preordained destiny according to the prophesy. Somewhat to my surprise, it also sprinkles in elements of alternate history (although it's speculation on future Earth history rather than looking to our past) and soft science fiction. I'm not a fan of either but I rather like the speculative history parts of this book for throwing perspective on society systems in a non-intrusive way.

The fresh concept of a good 'guy' and bad guy working 'together' to achieve separate goals is the main attraction of this novel to me. In addition, I appreciate good dialogue, humour and reflections of morals and values that are elements that I've always loved in fantasy and have enjoyed in this novel.

This is a complex novel. While I think aspects to do with character interactions between Tetra and Lavalor, our main good 'guy' and bad guy respectively, can be improved upon (currently it feels a tad rushed), I recognise that the author has handled most of the complexity in switching between different perspective and plotlines and other aspects well.

I would recommend the book and I look forward to the next book.

R.E. Fisher left home early, and began discovering the wide range of experiences that this wonderful world has to offer. He loves to wander, settling down in places for brief visits or stays. Thanks to Uncle Sam he has been to the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, and the Tower of London. He’s drank wine on three continents, and has never found one he doesn’t like! These are just a few of the many things that he has experienced in this wonderful life. Europe, check. Asia, partial check. He has tippy toed into Mexico, and found that the culture is awesome! He enjoys wandering and learning, as well as the feel of two wheels under him while he is rolling down the highway with classic rock and metal, blasting in the earbuds!

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