Reviews & Excerpt: Hilarina and the Ogre / The Ogre Comes Home by October Arden
Hilary Davis knows how to disappear.
After years of being mocked as "Hilarina Ballerina," he's perfected the act. He has a popular girlfriend he can't stand, friends he doesn't trust, and a strict rule never to dance where anyone can see. It's a brittle kind of safety, but it's all he has.
Then he meets Trenton Wells.
Merissa
3 days ago
Excerpt, Review, & Giveaway: Uprising (The Fitzjohn Duology #1) by J.E. Rizzo
England, 1381 AD: Blanche Fitzjohn is an outcast in her small coastal village. Not only is she the illegitimate daughter of John of Gaunt, the man responsible for her neighbors’ over-taxation, but she possesses strange abilities: hearing sound from miles away and smelling people’s emotions.
Merissa
Sep 4
Review: Everest (The Chronicles of Zara Fae #1) by Rachel Connell
The virus hit Europe first without warning; thousands died within the week, and millions more followed throughout the month. Governments worldwide scrambled to find a vaccine, a cure to this deadly infection that was spreading rapidly. The hospitals were over-run with the sick, and no answers were in sight. Death rates spiraled out of control, and only about twenty-five percent of the world's population survived the affliction…or at least that's what they told us.
Merissa
Aug 26
Haunted Heart (A Holiday Billionaire Romance Novella) by Anastasia Dean
Halloween is a time for candy, costumes, and fun.
For Augustín Cisneros, it’s a time to rid himself of the haunting memory of his vicious ex.
Marrying Carmen was a mistake. Sure, on paper, they’d worked, but he had enough of her cold, materialistic ways. When she attempts to take his assets in the divorce proceedings, he’s ready to fight fire with fire, all while keeping his son far removed from the drama and in the comforting arms of their new live-in nanny, Elena Cantu.
Merissa
Aug 25
Review: The Spirit of the Times by Justin Newland
In fourteenth-century Central Asia, Karia is a young woman living under the yoke of Mongol occupation. But she’s different. She’s a fighter with supernatural powers. She could use them to keep the Black Plague at bay and solve the mystery of the purple skies at dawn – if only she could overcome her self-doubt.
Merissa
Jul 27
Review: The Making of Marigold McGrath by Carrie Hayes
New York City, 1937. Seventeen-year-old Marigold McGrath is coming undone.
Her mother is dead. Her father is drawn to dangerous politics. The only place she feels joy is behind a camera — where she can frame the world on her own terms.
Merissa
Jul 22
A Poison of Shadows (Whisperbound #2) by Annie Anderson
A Poison of Shadows is the second book in a series of interconnected standalone romantasy novels—complete stories linked by blood, magic, and courtly deception. Expect one dangerously controlled vampire prince, one shadow-walking heroine powered by spite and sharp objects, and a mission that turns “watch his back” into something entirely too personal. Mature themes and dark romantic tension included. Reader discretion advised.
Merissa
Jul 17
The Cleansing by Victoria Alvear
When 50,000 Romans fall in a single day at the Battle of Cannae, priests claim there can be only one reason the gods abandoned Rome: a Vestal Virgin has broken her vow of chastity. And they accuse Opimia (Mia), the strongest, most defiant of the six sacred Vestal priestesses.
Merissa
Jul 9
Typhoon Warning (Olympic Cove, #6) by Nicola Cameron
Once the wisest centaur in ancient Greece, the demigod Chiron finds himself trapped in a human body and thrust into his family's war against the Mad Nereid Thetis and the cunning saurian god Zhidō. To succeed, he has to win the heart of Dr. Zoe Antoniou, a brilliant paleontologist who holds the key to stopping Zhidō.
Merissa
Jul 6
Review & Goodreads #Giveaway: Fables & Lies by Elisabeth Storrs
WWII Berlin. Freyja Bremer, a patriotic museum assistant, marries Kaspar Voigt, an ambitious SS scholar, to protect her father. Yet she is unaware her husband is instrumental in Himmler’s twisted quest for Aryan supremacy.
Merissa
Jul 3
The Deceiver: Tales of Kelnore (Royals #2) by Hannah E. Carey
The Raider War is over, but Kelnore's future is far from certain. The House of Vepi is threatened from both outside and within the Imperial Court, and as Fabian prepares to ascend the throne, he finds himself faced with a fractured empire that is skittering far too close to instability. With the impending winter, the nobility of Kelnore have descended on Talekos, and a familiar name is being whispered throughout the city, with rumors that put him at the very center of the dan
Merissa
Jul 2
Bear Creek Memorial Day (Holiday Mates #5) by Alexander Elliott
Following a devastating loss, Jared Emerson now spends his days at the potter’s wheel, quietly honing his craft and wondering what the future holds. As the holidays approach, he attends one of Bear Creek’s free concerts in the park and meets an intriguing bear shifter. Though he doesn’t realize it at the time, the brief encounter sets off a chain of events that will turn his entire world upside down.
Merissa
Jun 16
Dusty Ropes and Rusty Spurs (Bucket List Buddies #4) by JP Sayle & Lisa Oliver
Rick isn’t looking for an omega or beta—will a Bucket List Buddies event find him his perfect match?
Rick, an alpha bear, once upon a time, worked the rodeo circuit, now he’s content working in the florist business with his best friend. Or so he thought after he takes a chance and some unsolicited advice, and buys a ticket to a “Cowboy for a Day” event.
Merissa
Jun 4