Friday Featured Spotlight ~ BBNYA2025 Blog Tours: Finalists 13 & 12

 

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA

BBNYA2025 Blog Tour Spotlight ~ 13th Place Finalist: Speak the Ocean by Rebecca Enzor

For Mer handler Finn Jarvis, the feral mermaid performers at Oceanica Marine Park are nothing more than ruthless aquatic predators, violent and unpredictable. That doesn’t stop the public from flocking to one of the world’s most popular tourist attractions. To them, the Mer are magical entertainment, too beautiful to be dangerous. They don’t see what happens to the ones who dare swim out of line.

Newly caught Erie doesn’t know what the evil landfolk want from her. Alone and voiceless, she watches the other merfolk from the confines of her tank. Broken into submission, they’ve become shells of the once vibrant creatures she knew. But Erie refuses to be subjugated. She’ll get the crowds to see her as something more than simple entertainment—starting with her captor, Finn.

While Finn trains Erie in her routine, she secretly teaches herself the air-words he and the other trainers speak. And when the language barrier falls, Finn starts to realize that the gap between human and Mer is smaller than he thought, and maybe it’s not the Mer who are monsters, after all.

BBNYA2024 Blog Tour Spotlight ~ 9th Place Finalist ~ Skylark in the Fog by Helyna L. Clove

So when the universe falls to pieces, it doesn't mean your life has to, right? That comes later.

Jeane Blake, captain of the spaceship Skylark, makes her living by looting dead worlds, planets fallen prey to naturally occurring wormhole-like rifts plaguing the cosmos. She survives the only way she knows how: avoiding commitment and arguing with her dead foster father's ghost. But when her crew stumbles upon an alien device that could collapse the wormhole network and wipe out all sentient life, they catch the hungry eyes of the Union, a tyrannical empire hunting the sinister tech.

As she flees the Union's brainwashed agents, Jeane is forced to take on a shady mission and gets stuck assisting the runaway monarch of a technocrat planet. Queen Maura Tholis is seeking the aid of an interstellar resistance to reclaim her war-torn world, with another trouble-magnet device as her bargaining chip: a glove that allows her to command AI systems. Jeane couldn't care less about the whole deal, but things become personal when the Union annexes the place she calls home. And it might be her fault.

Reluctant to become weapons in the hands of power-hungry militants and desperate rebels, smuggler and queen join forces. But to save their homes, they must redefine themselves, work with the enemy, and face personal traumas they'd buried long ago-and only stars know which challenge might break them in the end.

BBNYA2024 Blog Tour Spotlight ~ 10th Place Finalist ~ The Last Lunar Witch by S.F. Henne

I only wanted to control my magic, but a single potion catapulted my life into chaos…

I’m Nyssa Thornheart, a witch with broken magic. I escaped to the big city to pursue my passion for alchemy, and hide from my coven until I fix my powers.

If my unstable gifts are exposed, they will be stripped away. To live without magic, that’s a fate worse than death. So I drank a long-forgotten potion in a desperate bid to harness my volatile powers.

But when I’m cornered by thugs, I unleash a rare and dangerous magic, tearing the veil between our world and a demonic realm. My new powers are growing stronger and resist every attempt to subdue them.

Now I’m a hunted witch, pursued by both demonic creatures and authorities determined to protect our realm from the threat I pose.

Can I master my magic, or will I have to sacrifice my powers before the city falls to demons?

For fans of Heather G. Harris and Lindsay Buroker, The Last Lunar Witch is the first book in the Lunar Order Chronicles. An urban fantasy series filled with strong women, found family, inner growth, and cozy vibes mixed with heart-pounding action. Dive into S.F. Henne’s gripping adventure now!

Saturday Spotlight ~ TWR Ultimate Blog Tour: Looking For Lucie

 

Amazon US

Pre-order ~ pubs 10/1/2024

Amazon UK | Other Buy Links

BBNYA2023 Blog Tour ~ 15th Place Finalist ~ Sorrow's Forest

At twelve years old, Mackie King had done something no one had ever done before: he had snuck into the forest, where Queen Sorrow reigned and had unintentionally stolen one of her devils while she slept in a death-like sleep.

In as little as an hour, the devil named himself Blue, fit almost seamlessly into the Kings’ life, and the Township of Lakeview.

Now, Mackie and Blue are grown, Queen Sorrow has awakened, and she wants her devil back.

In a fit of uncontrolled rage and desperateness, she snatches any that match Blue’s likeness. When their identities are revealed, she ruthlessly casts the bodies aside. Each murder is met with the town’s hopeless ignorance. A dark enchantment is sweeping over the land, dulling the minds of the townspeople to the supernatural violence.

Mackie has always been resourceful, but it will take every bit of ingenuity he and Blue have to thwart Queen Sorrow and her minions, save the town, and free themselves from the shadow of the bittering forest.

2022 BBNYA Book Round Up

These books were the 2022 Winner and Finalists that had BBNYA Blog Tours this year, but because 2023 was a shit year for me I didn't have a chance to read them all. Reviews will be coming for the two I didn't have a chance to finish. I had spotlights for the rest.

Friday Featured Spotlight ~ TWR Blog Tour: White Trash Warlock

 

Amazon | Amazon UK | B&N | Bookshop | Apple | IndieBound | Audible

Legends Rise

In the third installment of the Venators series, Rune, Grey, and their companions Beltran and Verida have set off together to save their mentor Tate from the gladiator games. As their group struggles to stay together under the strain of their situation, Rune's twin brother Ryker is falling more surely into the clutches of Zio the sorceress, who has her own plots for the future of Eon, and the Venators.

Where We First Began

Book source ~ Review copy. 

My review is voluntary and honest.

Where We First Began

Rebecca Elise

9 July 2019

Time Travel Romance

221 Pages

The Bad Ones

*Book source ~ Kindle Unlimited

Title ~ The Bad Ones

Author ~ Stylo Fantome

Published ~ 12 April 2016

Genre ~ Dark | Romance | NA

Pages ~ 254

Tour ~ Splintered Souls

Red Adept Publishing

*Book source ~ A review copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Title ~ Splintered Souls

Series ~ Twin Flames, #1

Author ~ Erica Lucke Dean

Publisher ~ Red Adept Publishing

Published ~ 22 September 2015

Genre ~ Paranormal

Pages ~ 217

Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Google | iTunes

Tour ~ Summoned

*Book source ~ A review copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Title ~ Summoned

Series ~ Summoned, #1

Author ~ Rainy Kaye

Publisher ~ Immortal Ink Publishing

Published ~ 28 March 2014

Genre ~ Paranormal/NA

Pages ~ 237

Amazon

My Rating ~ 4 bites and a nibble out of 5

Dimitri Hayes is not your typical 23-year-old guy. Sure, he likes beer, porn and sex, but he can’t have a relationship because he’s at the beck and call of his Master, Karl Walker. Dimitri is a jinn and his family has been in service to Karl’s family for centuries. For eight years Dimitri has been doing Karl’s dirty work; robbery, kidnapping, murder. He may not like it, but it’s a familiar routine. Do a wish and then get some time off.

After he kidnaps a kid for Karl, he meets Syd and there’s something about her he can’t shake. He absolutely can’t do a relationship, but for the first time he’s thinking about it. Just as he believes he might be able to pull it off, Karl starts sending him on back-to-back wishes and Dimitri’s life goes to crap. And it only gets worse from there.

I’ve only read one story where the jinn are mentioned. This is my first book with a jinn as a main character. What an interesting story! Poor Dimitri is stuck in servitude to a real a-hole. Syd is quirky and a bit annoying, but overall a good match for Dimitri who is funny and a bit of a smart ass. The background of what he can and can’t do is interesting and I thought it was pretty funny that Dimitri is not some superhero dude with special powers. He actually is pretty bad at being a criminal though he always gets the job done. He has to or he suffers. Another interesting aspect of his genie-hood. The ending was great, too. There is one part there toward the end that seemed like it was dragging on and on, so that’s why I took off a half bite. Otherwise, this is a funny yet dark mystery revolving around a smart ass jinn, his hot woman and his asshole Master.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Necromancer & Hold Me Closer, Necromancer

*Book source ~ Picked up for free on Amazon

Title ~ Necromancer

Series ~ Necromancer, #0.5

Author ~ Lish McBride

Publisher ~ Henry Holt and Co.

Published ~ 1 February 2011

Genre ~ YA/Fantasy/Paranormal

Pages ~ 33

My Rating ~ 5 bites out of 5

Matt’s best friend Ashley died of cancer when she was 10. That doesn’t stop her from coming around to visit with him though.

I picked this up after reading Hold Me Closer, Necromancer. I went looking to see if there were more stories in the series and couldn’t believe my luck when I saw this short for free on Amazon. Score!

Ashley is a Harbinger. Matt calls her Death though that’s not what she is. She doesn’t kill people, she’s just a guide for those who are newly dead. Sort of like an usher showing you to your seat in a stadium. She can make herself look however she wants, but she prefers the form of her 10-yr-old self. She says it makes her less threatening to the newly dead who are confused though that can backfire when they have a hard time believing a little girl. She’s smart, funny, loving and occasionally snarky. I loved her. She’s a great character! I’m glad she got her own short story in this one and I look forward to seeing more of her in the series.

*Book source ~ Local library

Title ~ Hold Me Closer, Necromancer

Series ~ Necromancer, #1

Author ~ Lish McBride

Publisher ~ Henry Holt and Co.

Published ~ 12 October 2010

Genre ~ NA/Fantasy/Paranormal

Pages ~ 343

My Rating ~ 5 bites out of 5

Samhain ‘Sam’ Corvus LaCroix is a college drop out working in a fast food place with his best friend Ramon when a potato turns his life upside down. Yep, a potato. A spud, a tater, a po-tay-to. If it hadn’t been for that sneaky tuber then Sam may have continued his clueless drifting for a very long time. Instead, he meets Douglas Montgomery, crazy sociopath and mega powerful necromancer. Turns out, Sam is also a necromancer and Douglas does not like to share his territory with any other necromancer even one as weak in power as Sam, so he gives Sam a week to leave town, become his apprentice or die. Not good options there and the messenger he sent to Sam’s apartment? That is messed up. Sam’s running out of time while he tries to figure out what is going on, dodge the cops and stay alive.

I went into this book without a lot of expectations. I saw a lot of book blogging friends had read it and the blurb sounded interesting, but it still took awhile to get on my radar and then longer for me to actually read it. However, once I started it I couldn’t put it down. I like books about people who have no idea they are something else entirely. And Sam’s situation is one I haven’t seen before in all the books I’ve read. The world, the characters, the villains and the plot are all riveting. I did wonder why Douglas wanted to train Sam at all. With his massive ego and paranoia about having anyone in his territory with any kind of power I didn’t see the point though it made for a good plot device. The end has me wondering though. Did Douglas pull a Voldemort? Hmmmm…

Curiosity Quills Blog Tour ~ KIYA: Hope of the Pharaoh

Title ~ KIYA: Hope of the Pharaoh

Series ~ KIYA Trilogy, #1

Author ~ Katie Hamstead

Publisher ~ Curiosity Quills

Published ~ 30 April 2013

Genre ~ Historical/New Adult/Romance

*Book source ~ Many thanks to Curiosity Quills for providing a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

My Rating ~ 4 bites and a nibble out of 5

Naomi is a Hebrew in the city of Thebes when Commander Horemheb comes searching for yet another wife for the Pharaoh Akhenaten. When her younger sisters are taken, she offers herself in their place. Even though she is older and not as pretty as her younger sisters she is educated and could prove useful to the Pharaoh. Horemheb agrees to the trade and Naomi is taken to the city of Ikhaten where the Pharaoh resides with his many wives and concubines. The Pharaoh accepts her as his next wife and hopefully mother to his heir, but she has to change her name to Kiya and alter her whole way of life to fit in and not get herself killed. With a jealous Nefertiti making her life hell will Kiya survive?

I’ve stated many times that I’m not one for the subject of History. Unless it’s wrapped up in a great story. I went into this book with very little knowledge of Ancient Egypt and really you don’t need to have extensive Egyptian knowledge to enjoy this tale. I was hooked from beginning to end. The writing is wonderful, the descriptions of Egypt made me feel as if I was actually there and the characters are well-fleshed and interesting. Especially Kiya. Since the story is told from her viewpoint you really get a grip on her as a person. She’s strong, smart, loyal and steadfast in her views. However, she is human and makes a few stupid mistakes that could have easily gotten her killed. On the whole, she’s someone I’d love to have as a friend. The ending is a cliffhanger though. Luckily, book 2 KIYA: Mother of a King will be out 10/25. All-in-all this is an awesome historical retelling and well worth a read.

Amazon | B&N |  Kobo