Vibes & Feels
Sarah Skye
(Unlikely Pairings, #2)
Publication date: February 22nd 2022
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance

THE SEQUEL TO SIPS & STROKES!

Falling for your enemy never felt so good.

Marco Woodruff has hit rock bottom. He drunkenly propositioned his ex-girlfriend at his own wedding rehearsal dinner just over a year ago and ended up dumped and jobless with a broken nose. He’s been the pariah of his social circle ever since. Now, he’s trying like hell to change for the better.

Morgan Paulsen loathes Marco. He’s nothing more than the douchebag who broke her best friend Lily’s heart. He’s also the last person in the world she expects to help when she finds herself in a crisis. Her ailing grandma needs a full-time caretaker, something she can’t afford. So when Marco offers to look after Gram for free, Morgan takes it as a sign from the universe and reluctantly accepts under one condition: that they never tell anyone about their arrangement.

But Morgan quickly realizes Marco has a completely different vibe these days. The sweet guy who whips up homemade meals for her Gram and happily escorts her to bridge club definitely isn’t the douchebag she remembers. She’s falling hard for the tall, dark, and handsome hottie who kisses like a demon and rocks out to BTS and Taylor Swift. Marco is equally smitten with beautiful, badass Morgan. Never in his life has he felt so content and comfortable than with her. Never did he think he was capable of feeling so much for somebody.

Soon they’re falling hard into total bliss and blazing passion. But if they make it official, Morgan will lose her best friend forever. Can she come clean to Lily? Can Marco prove that therapy and cutting out his toxic family have really changed him? Or will being open about their love ruin everything?

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EXCERPT:

Morgan

I’m rummaging in my bag for the valet ticket and not watching where I’m going as I approach the podium, which is why I crash into a brick wall dressed in a white dress shirt and paisley tie. We bounce off each other with a collective “oomph.”

The broad-chested guy reaches out to steady me. He cuts off my muttered apologies with, “No, my fault, I was—”

Nothing else follows that statement. When I blink up at him, I find him looking at me with a kind of sick horror in his eyes. I don’t think my essential oil is so potent as to be offensive. Why is he looking at me like I’m his worst nightmare? Why am I getting dread vibes?

And why does he seem so familiar?

I know him… No, no way… He’s too scruffy and raw to be—

The maître d’ clears his throat. “Can I help either of you?”

“Yes, um, well. I need my car brought around, but, um, you go first, Morgan.”

My head whips back to the guy as my suspicions confirm themselves. “Marco.”

He cringes at the way I whisper-puke his name, but the sour taste in my mouth is too much to suppress. Marco Woodruff is standing beside me. My best friend’s dickweed ex-boyfriend. Hey, creep, how’s it going?

I hurry to slide the valet ticket onto the podium. “Um, it’s a red Mini Cooper,” I say as if he needs to know this, then spin on my heel and race out the door to the front curb. Heavy footfalls behind me tell me Marco, too, has come outside to wait.

We stand side by side in total silence.

“Where did they park them, the North Pole?” I mutter when an eternity has passed.

He breathes out a chuckle that I don’t want to hear. It’s commiseration, and we are not people who have anything to bond over.

I pucker my lips as headlights blaze from our left. A Mercedes glides up. I roll my eyes. “Of course.”

The valet pops out, and Marco frowns. “She was first.”

The annoyance in his voice stops the valet, who was already jogging back toward the parking lot. “Sorry, boss, your car was blocking hers in.”

We trade a look.

“Do you need me to wait with you?”

His voice is thin. Clothing aside, he’s nothing like I remember him. The scruffy beard is definitely new. He isn’t cocky, either. If anything, I sense deep fatigue in him. It’s in his eyes. It’s in his slumped shoulders. It’s in his whole damn aura.

But the question has only one right answer. I jut my chin out and sneer. “If I ever need a chaperon, Marco, I’ll find one who’s at least a modicum of trustworthy, thanks so much.”

He flinches like I’ve delivered the blow he’s been waiting for since we ran into each other. Maybe I have. “I expected that answer. Goodnight.”

And with that, he drops into his car and is gone.

Author Bio:

Sarah Skye is the nom de plume of romance authors Sarah Smith and Skye McDonald. Sarah and Skye met on Twitter as fledgling authors seeking critique partners. That turned into a brilliant friendship, a joint podcast (Quick & Dirty Romance Podcast), and now a novel.

Sarah Smith (Faker; If You Never Come Back; Simmer Down) is a copywriter-turned-author who wants to make the world a lovelier place, one kissing story at a time. Her love of romance began when she was eight and she discovered her auntie’s stash of romance novels. She’s been hooked ever since. When she’s not writing, you can find her hiking, eating chocolate, and perfecting her lumpia recipe. She lives in Bend, Oregon, with her husband and adorable cat Salem.

Skye McDonald (The Anti-Belle Series) is an author and personal development coach. Skye’s Anti-Belle series feature sassy GRITS (Girls Raised In the South) learning to love themselves before they can claim their happily ever after. (Spoiler: they always do!) Her coaching method uses fitness and life skills to teach individuals to do the same. When not writing sexy books or cheering for you to live your best life, Skye can be found out on a new adventure, usually with her pup at her side.

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Sabrina and the Lady
Sonya Lawson
(The Comus Duology, #1)
Publication date: February 25th 2022
Genres: Adult, Fantasy

A tyrant occupies the Fae Palace and the only woman who could stop him is hiding in Kentucky, drinking wine with a Milton scholar. But that might be a good thing.

Sabrina, a small-town academic, spends her days teaching and hanging out with the kind but somewhat mysterious best friend she met a few years ago. Her life is steady, maybe even a little dull. Until her friend’s family arrives. Suddenly, Fae is no longer a fictional place. Magic is real. And, oddly enough, Sabrina’s knowledge of a 1634 play may hold the key to saving Nin and her realm.

Nin landed in Kentucky after escaping her captor, the tyrant she once loved. The human realm is calming for her, with moments of joy, but she hates how she hides who and what she is from Sabrina. When Nin’s family unexpectedly arrives at her greenhouse, a series of events force her to share her secrets and grapple with her place in Fae — past, present, and future.

Sabrina and Nin must trust in their friendship, themselves, and John Milton’s Comus to survive in Fae and save the realm from ruin. If they cannot, terror and destruction will reign far beyond the Fae Palace gates.

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**Get the extras from the world of The Comus Duology here!**

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EXCERPT:

She needed a plan, but she had nothing. Nowhere to go that she could easily reach. No one was near to help. Even if they were with her in this place, or she could miraculously find The Falls where her family now hid, being around her was a danger in this moment because of her uncontrolled magic and the forces that stalked her from the Palace. She missed her old home, she missed the Palace from before, she missed her family and her Queen and her ideals of love now horrifically dashed. She had missed her magic, and now it frightened her because she knew not how to rein it in at this moment. So much to do, to think, to remember, to fear, to hate. Too much. All too much. She finally gave it voice, scrunching her tear-stained face and releasing a scream so fierce and desolate, so filled with magic and loss and pain, that when she caught her breath afterward, she saw her wail had literally ripped a hole in the night air.

Another forest poked through, wild in its own right but smelling of strange soil, utter stillness, and, oddly, a hint of humanity. She approached the split with wonder. She knew of no one who had ever torn through the veil of the realms with only a scream, no spellcraft or intention. But it was just what she needed. A spell was traceable — formal magic scented the air, lingering long after casting and making it easy to follow. Her magic in that moment seeped everywhere, pouring out of her in a continual stream without a definitive ending point or anchor. Comus could not trace this type of magic, mostly because it was something new and unknown. Wouldn’t even consider the possibility of this wild, unwieldy magic because it was something far beyond his own power and therefore inconceivable to one such as him. No one in Comus’ power could come close to figuring this out, either. None of his lackeys had even the hint of that type of power because Comus liked to always be unquestionably the best and most powerful in any room.

Gin could do it. Maybe Mother. They could possibly find her again. They would be the only ones she would want to find her, as defeated and disgraced and dangerous as she was. It was her out, her way to save herself and the rest of Fae. After making up her mind, she slipped through the tear in her reality.

From the other realm, surrounded by new trees and earth and air, she watched the hole in the night heal itself without her intention. Knowing she was in the human world, untouchable by hate or love, apart from all she knew for good and bad, she felt adrift, but also relieved. She did not know this place or the people who inhabited it, yet it did not matter. She was safely away from Comus and utterly alone for the first time in years, her only companion the dense, cold, untouched forest. She breathed a sigh before laying on the leaf-strewn ground and introducing herself to this other earth.

Author Bio:

Sonya Lawson (she/her/they) is a recovering academic currently writing fantasy and other forms of speculative fiction. While she remains a rural Kentuckian at heart, she currently lives in the Pacific Northwest. She fills her days with writing, editing, reading, walking old forests, and watching sitcoms or horror films. You can find more information about current projects and upcoming releases at http://www.sonyalawson.com.

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Love at 20,000 Leagues
Lizzy Gayle
(Fantasy Resorts, #1)
Publication date: February 3rd 2022
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance, Science Fiction

Paradise Atlantis: The underwater, high tech vacation destination where utopia awaits.

Not for Sam. Not only is she deathly afraid of being submerged under millions of tons of ocean water, she’s stuck for an entire month with the people she blames for her family falling apart. Even with the unexpected attention of two sexy men, including her longtime celebrity infatuation, Sam is sure the trip will be a nightmare.

She’s both right and wrong. A type of pressure sickness she was unprepared for hits Sam hard, causing both lowered inhibitions and blackouts. When she gives in to her desires, a passionate romance blossoms.

Unfortunately, even this steamy new relationship can’t salvage the trip when a saboteur uses the AI to commit murder – murder timed perfectly with Sam’s mysterious blackouts. Now Sam must clear her conscience by finding the truth. But is she prepared for what she’ll find? Because either she’s a killer or she’s setting herself up to be next on the growing list of victims.

“Gayle transports readers to an underwater utopia in Love at 20,000 Leagues… Devoted paranormal and sci-fi romance fans will enjoy the futuristic setting.” – Publisher’s Weekly

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EXCERPT:

“I guess this is my stop,” I said, hesitating at the threshold.

“Mine too.” Mason joined me, letting the doors slide shut behind him.

“What are you doing on the sixth floor?” I was flattered if this was his way of trying to have some more time with me.

“I wish I was hanging out with you.” He leaned close, seeming to read my mind. “Unfortunately, my dear mother has asked me to investigate a lead on the resident vandal.”

“On my floor?” I asked, curious.

“It wasn’t you, was it?” He grinned. “Personally, I think you taking a stand against my mother would be quite sexy.”

“Hate to ruin your daydream, but I was locked safely in my room last night. What have you found out so far?” I had to admit, curiosity was starting to get to me.

“That’s need-to-know.” Mason raised a hand in a Boy Scout gesture.

“What if I need to know?” I asked, stepping in close. “I can be rather convincing.”

“Do demonstrate.” Mason quirked his mouth up in the corner, and I imagined tasting those lips. “I’m not beyond bribery.”

I cleared my throat. “What exactly do you have in mind?”

“Well, you already promised me dinner this evening. What say we trade classified information for another date tomorrow? I’d say it’s a fair arrangement.” Mason’s smile nearly blinded me as sparks flew to all the right parts of my body.

I pretended to think about his offer, tilting my head and tapping my chin. “I suppose it would be acceptable. Why don’t you come in to my room, so we can talk?” Talking isn’t all I wanted to do with him.

I led the way inside my quarters to the white sofa. I sat on one end, giving Mason his choice, and crossed my legs as casually as possible.

Without hesitation, he planted himself right beside me. He wrapped one arm over the back of the cushion and tilted his body so he could face me.

“Sometime last night around two in the morning, as far as we can tell, someone took a can of spray paint and left a message at the base of the Poseidon statue.” Mason watched carefully for my reaction, I suppose knowing it was my mother’s artwork. But I needed more information to truly process this on top of everything else that had happened. Was it possible to be so overrun with emotion that at some point there wasn’t room for any more?

“What sort of message?” I asked.

Mason coughed, but it didn’t cover his laugh. “Down with the bitch. Your reign is near an end.”

“A threat against your mom?” I asked, unsure who else it could’ve meant. “Aren’t you worried?”

“Nah. You don’t get to where my mother is without making a few enemies. And let’s face it, they pegged her just right.” When he saw my face, he added, “Don’t worry, I’m sure it’s harmless. We did background checks on everyone before inviting them down here. She gets empty threats like this all the time.”

That hardly made me feel better. Who would have done that while trapped down here with her? “So…why this floor?”

Mason furrowed his brow, seeming uncomfortable. “The security footage around the area blacked out for an hour, but so did the footage all the way back to Mermaid’s Cove.”

“Let me guess. The sixth floor went out too.”

“Yep.” Mason leaned forward.

“You can’t seriously believe the person who did this is really on this floor.” I snorted.

Mason straightened in his seat. “I think it’s pretty obvious that’s precisely where they are.”

“It’s too obvious. I mean, if someone had the ability to get through your security system, why would they be stupid enough to leave you a trail right to them?”

Mason’s face blanked and then slowly broke into a smile. “Maybe we should put you in charge of the investigation.”

“Leave me out of it,” I said. “I mean yeah, I’m pissed that someone took it out on my mom’s statue, but it’s not like that’s common knowledge, so curiosity is as far as I get with this investigation. Feel free to run things by me though.”

“I’ll take you up on that. You can be my secret weapon. Of course, if you demand payment, I’m not sure what more I have to offer.” His voice lowered, sending tingles of anticipation down to my toes as he leaned in.

My heart thumped as those luscious lips finally met mine. I’d dreamed of this moment since I was twelve, and it didn’t disappoint. His tongue slipped inside my parted mouth, gently probing my own, and my entire body responded. A moan escaped from somewhere deep in my throat as his hands slid beneath my shirt, running up the sides of my ribcage.

Author Bio:

Lizzy Gayle loves paranormal so much, she lives it. She is both an author and a psychic. Between mothering her three kids, attempting to understand her rocket scientist husband, and consistently attempting to declutter her home (that she is convinced is a secret portal to a clutter-creating dimension), she does her best to use her creative gifts and share them with you. Lizzy is a people person ​so if you contact her, it will make her very happy and she will likely answer while possibly including pictures of her bunnies and/or bird.

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A Blessed Darkness
Elexis Bell
Publication date: February 22nd 2022
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romance

A dark connection. A deadly responsibility.

Sparks fly when Elairie, a mixed-blood elf living on the edge of society and serving as a night guard, meets her latest prisoner. Strange auras surround them, and a magical gravity draws her to him, despite what her associates might say about his race. But the connection they share comes with a dark side.

When Beluroan learns that he and his guard are Blessed Ones, hand-crafted by the Gods to stop a madman from recreating the Blood Magic of old, his veins run cold. Threatened with a return to the magical slavery such magic commands, fear grips him, and memories of his childhood Master fill his mind.

But together, their potential power frightens even the Gods. Can they overcome the prejudices marring their land and master their new magic in time to stop the man trying to enslave their country? Or will they succumb to their own power?

Filled with grit and magic, this literary romantic fantasy will take you on a ride.

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—

EXCERPT:

The vision whisks us away from the cottage, and our spirits fly to a tiny camp deep in the forest. We stand with hands joined, staring at four Elves gathered around a campfire.

Fortune magic whispers through my mind, telling me these are the Elves who took my mother. My blood boils, and I grit my teeth.

One of them, a young woman with a shaved head, has the faraway look of someone in the grip of a vision. The others wait, staring into the flames.

When her eyes focus on the world before her, she hisses, “Fetch her.”

A form beside her separates from the shadows. A malicious smile spreads over his features, but darkness hides sunken eyes. He disappears into a tent only to return, dragging my mother along behind him.

My heart twists in my chest.

Dirty ropes bind her hands. A gash on the side of her face sucks in the light, and dried blood coats her skin.

“Mother!” I scream, voice breaking.

But she doesn’t hear me.

The woman with the shaved head steps closer to her. “What do you know and who did you tell?”

“All I know is that Gourmaht wants to renew the Blood Magic, and he’s somewhere in the Cargam Mountains. That’s it.”

The bald woman looms over my mother, leaning close. “Who did you tell?”

“No one.”

The woman steps back and motions to the shadowy man. His hand flies out, slamming into my mother’s face.

She stumbles backward, nearly toppling into the flames, and I gasp. Cold horror sweeps through me.

But my mother doesn’t make a sound.

She squares her shoulders, lifts her chin. A single tear trickles over her cheek, and blood flows from the gash on her face, now weeping once more, cascading to her tattered shirt.

The bald woman shouts, “Who did you tell?”

Mother’s words come out a whisper, “No one. I told no one. I couldn’t bear to speak of it.”

Finally, this satisfies them. The bald woman enters another vision. But fortune magic tells me it isn’t by choice. Waergou triggered it. The same man who traced Mother’s location.

When she snaps out of it, she says, “Gourmaht believes that she told no one. She has no one, after all, so who would she tell? Such a pitiful, lonely existence.”

Turning to the remaining two figures, she says, “Make it look like an animal attack. Provoke one if you can.”

Then, she vanishes into the tent behind her.

The shadow man shoves Mother to the ground, and my mouth falls open. Beluroan’s grip on my hand tightens.

Don’t let them do this.

The remaining Elves, two faceless figures, drag her to the edge of the firelight. Shadow wraps around them, hiding their faces.

I reach for a stick, anything to use as a weapon, but my hand passes through. Only my spirit stands here.

The Elves pull knives from within their cloaks and slash my mother’s arms, her stomach, her legs. A terrible scream erupts from me, but they hear nothing.

Mother bites her lip, silent and still. Blood trickles from her mouth where teeth pierce flesh.

I tug at Beluroan’s arm, desperate to go to her, to save her, but he pulls me into his arms.

“Elairie, we can’t do anything,” he gasps, voice cracking as he tucks my head against his chest.

They drag her past us, leaving a trail of blood glistening on leaves and broken twigs.

Author Bio:

I’m a nerd with a lot of hobbies and enough sarcasm and swear words to make a sailor blush, though, you’ll never hear a word of it if I’m not comfortable around you. I’ve been an introvert since birth. When I’m writing, though, words come easily.

At the end of the day, I just want to write stories that make people feel something.

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Crossroads
Mary Ting
Publication date: March 2nd 2014
Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult

* * * READERS FAVORITE GOLD AWARD WINNER 2012–YOUNG ADULT * * *
Based on dreams the author had in high school-chapter 1 & 2.

Protecting her was his duty.
Falling in love was forbidden.
Loving her was all that mattered, even if it meant he would be exiled for all eternity.

Claudia Emerson’s life is about to change. It seems like a tragic coincidence when her good friend, who shares the same first and last name, dies in a car accident. Grief brings tumultuous dreams—but these are more than simple dreams. In sleep, Claudia travels to another world called Crossroads. There, she meets Michael, a Nephilim–half angel, half human. Meeting him and being there changes her forever. It marks her as special, and that may not be a good thing. Now fallen angels and demons are after her, and it is up to Michael and the other Nephilim to protect her. Her dreams become a nightmare as secrets are revealed about who she really is and the true identities of the people she loves most.

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EXCERPT:

What did it mean to dream about the same place? While contemplating that question, I tried to find an opening through the field.

Grabbing handfuls of grass, I pushed and pulled every which way. No matter how much I yanked, the vast wall of swaying grasses remained. Feeling defeated, I thought I would try one last time.

Then he appeared.

“Don’t you ever give up?” he said in the most hypnotic voice. His lips twitched, amused by my efforts.

“Umm …” Stunned to see someone looking at me, I stared at the most perfect, glorious face, and I couldn’t take my eyes off him.

As his gaze continued to pierce mine, he stepped in my direction. Having no other choice, I retreated. He was intimidating, and his authority made me willingly compliant. My heart pounded mercilessly as I wondered what that guy could be doing here.

He certainly fit the description of how I had envisioned the man of my dreams: six feet tall, dark hair, and warm, inviting brown eyes. He was lean but extraordinarily muscular, and his skin appeared to be made of satin.

My face warmed as I admired his body. I wondered if he could read my unclean thoughts or hear my heart racing.

Time seemed to stop as we stared into each other’s eyes—no need for words, just alone in each other’s company.

The tension broke when he spoke. “What are you doing here? Do you want to be sent back like before?”

Hearing his velvety voice again sent pleasant tingles to my core. But send me back like before? Then it dawned on me. It was his voice I had heard in my last dream. Although I felt frustrated and angered by his comments, I tried to stay calm and see where the dream would take me.

“First of all, who are you?” I tried to sound composed. “And what are you doing in my dream?”

“Your dream? You think this is a dream? Think again.”

Author Bio:

International Bestselling, Award-Winning Author Mary Ting writes soulful, spellbinding stories that excite the imagination and captivate readers all over the world. Her books run a wide range of genres: science fiction, fantasy, and swoon worthy stories. Her storytelling talents have won her a devoted legion of fans and garnered critical praise.

Mary was born in Seoul Korea and resides in Southern California with her husband, two children, and two dogs—Mochi and Mocha. She enjoys oil painting and making jewelry. Becoming an author was a way to grieve the death of her beloved grandmother. After realizing she wanted to become a full-time author, she retired from teaching after twenty years.

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