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Friday, July 10, 2026

Release Day: The Engine in the Sky (The Dyson Bridge Series Book Three) by V.G. Harrison

The greatest threat to Earth is the only one that can save it.

The Engine in the Sky
(The Dyson Bridge Series
Book Three)

by V.G. Harrison
7/10/2026
Genre: Sci-fi
Publisher: Mocha Memoirs Press
Number of pages: 161
Word Count: 46,139
Cover Artist: Maya Preisler
When Professor Meridia Vail’s space station is hurled across time and dimensions, she and the rest of the Bridgeway crew wake on an alternate Earth that's only five years into the future but looks like it's a century behind her technology. Their goal is to reclaim their crippled station, return to their dimension, and hope that a mysterious interdimensional illness doesn't kill her and her people first.

Stuck on a backwards version of her own planet, Meridia must deal with governments who want her technology and intelligence agencies who want control. Nobody trusts anyone, and the longer they delay, the closer the Bridgeway gets to a catastrophic reentry.

However, the greatest shock comes when Meridia meets her doppelganger, a brilliant mechanic with a loving family that leaves her heart aching for the life she could have had.

As time is running out for her crew and New Earth, Meridia faces an impossible mission: return to the station, save her crew, and prevent a global disaster. Duty first. Family second. When Meridia is thrust into a situation where the two become synonymous, she must decide how much she's willing to risk for a world she's sworn to save and a life she can never have.

Excerpt:
"If you must blame someone, blame me," Dr. Wei said. "Mr. Cooper takes his orders from me, as does the rest of my crew. He was acting on those orders, which the rest of my people were unaware of for obvious reasons."

"Dr. Wei, you’re our guest, albeit a rogue one at best. It’s about time you and your crew acted like it. You want NASA on your side and you have it. But this stunt does nothing except set back relations between us. Our trust has been—"

"Violated? Whether NASA was aware of Homeland Security’s intentions or not, our expectations of trust and respect do not stop at your organization."

"We had nothing to do with this!" She huffed for a moment as if she were gathering her thoughts. "The feds are not under my jurisdiction."

"Why not?" Cal replied over the comm. "Seeing as we’re on your base, you would think you’d know what your other guests are up to at all times, too."

"I can’t speak to that, but someone had damn well better tell me who authorized movement of the pod from the landing site in the first place." That last part sounded like she was talking to those outside of the MCC and not us. If she didn’t know about the attempted theft of our pod, then who did?

"The CIA," an officer said over his earpiece. "We had orders from our agency to move the pod to a more secure location where it couldn’t be accessed by any foreign entities."

"You’re an idiot," I replied. "You can’t get more secure than outer space, which is where it was going."

Jaxon activated the thirty-second countdown on the glass and the flashing security lights to warn people back. He must have finished laying out the course and double-checking his calculations. I began waving everyone out of the area. None of them wanted to leave, so I started shoving them to get their attention. It took a tremendous amount of thrust to get those engines revved high enough to push the pod through the Earth’s gravity.

"No way." Several of the officers began to move, but the lead guy didn’t. "I have my orders. That pod stays here."

"Your orders are going to get you blown to pieces, if you don’t get out of the way," I shouted. "There’s an initial blast to give the pod a jumpstart."

"He shuts those engines down now or I’ll blow a hole through the glass." He aimed his gun. "Tell him to stand down! Now!"

Worry etching his face, Jaxon pressed his hands against the glass at T-minus ten seconds. Once the engines started, turning them off wasn’t advised, since the ignition already used up a third of the power cell. Igniting it again, the pod will never make it back to the Bridgeway without a recharge. I doubted the feds would allow us to let the solar panels sit in the sun for even six minutes without trying to steal it.

Since the stupid officer wasn’t going to move, I raced back and heaved him out of the way. A blast sent us flying. We tumbled down a small hill. Pain sliced through my upper arm before we landed in the grass. We watched the pod rocket into the air.

"Damn it!" The officer leaped off the ground and stared. He turned his ire on me. "We had our orders! Keep the pod safe."

"Too bad your orders didn’t include the Bridgeway crew." Unable to move my throbbing arm, I crawled toward the tablet, grabbed it, and prayed it hadn’t been cracked in our nosedive.

Pain shot through my arm again. When I touched the spot, I noticed blood coating my palm. It hurt like someone stuck a hot poker through my skin and out the other side. Thankfully, it was the meatier side, but it still stung like hellfire.

About the Author:
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Amazon best-selling author, V.G. Harrison enjoys creating smart heroines who are more comfortable dealing with things like Fine-structure constant and quantum entanglement than the fallout from their conflict. She loves to write stories that leave her audience so engaged they can't sleep at night, thinking about the possibilities. In a nutshell, she specializes in humanity-facing sci-fi thrillers with cinematic tension and grounded physics.

V.G. holds a Bachelors in Biomedical Engineering and a Masters in Information Technology. When she's not writing, she's an IT manager in the healthcare information field.

Her ever-growing list of hobbies include astronomy, attending comic cons, keeping an eye on the cryptocurrency and stock markets, hydroponics gardening, hiking, dabbling in technology, and connecting with her daughter, Vivi, on a cool level.

Wednesday, July 8, 2026

Book Trailer Reveal for Loyal Liars by R.M. Carpus + giveaway

We're thrilled to present the book trailer reveal for Loyal Liars by R.M. Carpus - Coming June 2027!
 


Loyal Liars

by R.M. Carpus
Expected Release Date: June 8, 2027
Genre: Dark Academia Villain Romance / Suspense Horror
Tropes & Themes:
  • Villains
  • Morally gray
  • Enemies to lovers
  • Touch her and 💀
  • Class divide/class differences
  • Secret societies
  • Broken bad boy
  • Strong FMC
  • Family secrets
  • Rags to riches
  • It was all a bet
  • Dark elite underworld
  • Wealth and power
Mirror, mirror, on the wall,
Who's the greatest liar of them all?

When the Reapers unleash a new wave of terror on Abingdon University's elite, ivy-shrouded halls, Lukas Godfrey, the drop-out son of the school's esteemed English Chair, is ordered by his father to retaliate against their leader. Confronting the Reapers is the last thing he wants to do, but their latest attack threatens the only home he's ever known, and what Daddy wants, Daddy gets. As Master of Abingdon's oldest and most powerful secret society, Liam Godfrey makes the rules, and only fools disobey.

Until Lukas meets the girl who makes him want to break free for good from his father's tyrannical reign and start creating the blueprint for his own destiny. Lana Cameron is everything Lukas isn't, and a raging storm he never saw coming. As he fights his desire to choose Lana over the privileged life Liam has mapped out for him, he discovers the one thing they have in common might be the key to saving them both.



About the author
website
R. M. Carpus is the co-founder of Wraith House and a member of the Horror Writers Association. She earned her bachelor's degree in English and professional writing from Saint Joseph’s University and lives in Seattle, always on the lookout for orcas, Brandi Carlile, and Eddie Vedder. Her forthcoming Gothic suspense novel, I KNEW HER ONCE, releases summer of 2026. 
 
IG: @rmcarpus @rrbooktours
TIKTOK: @rmcarpus @rrbooktours
#rrbooktours #darkacademiabooks #villainromance #booktrailer 
 
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Tuesday, July 7, 2026

Announcement: Universal Monsters: The Bride of Frankenstein Lives #1 from Skybound

Universal Monsters: The Bride of Frankenstein Lives #1 arrives just in time for Halloween, landing in comic book shops on October 28, 2026.

 HERE COMES THE BRIDE... Kelly Thompson and Mattia De Iulis reunite once again to deliver the most haunting new horror series of the year. Born in the heart of a thunderstorm, made of stolen flesh, electricity, and monstrous desperation—The Bride lives!

With no memory of her past or understanding of what she is, The Bride takes her first steps into this strange new world. With danger seemingly lurking around every corner, she must solve the mystery of where and who she came from...and discover what makes life worth living.




Skybound Entertainment and Image Comics, in partnership with Universal Products & Experiences, revealed Universal Monsters: The Bride of Frankenstein Lives, a new four-issue comic book series from the Eisner Award winning writer Kelly Thompson (Absolute Wonder Woman, Black Widow) and her longtime creative collaborator, Eisner Award nominated artist Mattia De Iulis (Absolute Wonder Woman, The Cull). 

"The original Bride of Frankenstein is a brilliant film exploring the creature's failed attempts to find friendship and community, and then the desperate act to force others to create that which he cannot find. What it's not about, however, is how The Bride herself feels about her creation,” mused writer Kelly Thompson. “Through The Bride of Frankenstein Lives we get the opportunity to explore not only her search for who and what she is, but her search for the women that were destroyed to create her -- all brought to striking vivid life via Mattia De Iluis's incredible visuals."

“When I first read Kelly’s script, I knew right away this was going to be something special,” added artist Mattia De Iulis. “We are finally giving the Bride the center stage, she’s no longer someone’s property, she is a human being fighting for her own story. And for me, it’s an honor to translate that onto the page."

Universal Monsters: The Bride of Frankenstein Lives will be followed by additional new Universal Monsters limited series pairing the biggest names in comics with pop culture’s most iconic monsters in the bestselling modern line of horror comics. 

The full list of covers is below: 

  •  Universal Monsters: The Bride of Frankenstein Lives #1 Cover A by Mattia De Iulis 
  • Universal Monsters: The Bride of Frankenstein Lives #1 Cover B by Joshua Middleton 
  • Universal Monsters: The Bride of Frankenstein Lives #1 Cover C by Artgerm 
  • Universal Monsters: The Bride of Frankenstein Lives #1 Cover D (Connecting) by Luana Vecchio 
  • Universal Monsters: The Bride of Frankenstein Lives #1 Cover E (1:25 Incentive) by Joshua Middleton 
  • Universal Monsters: The Bride of Frankenstein Lives #1 Cover F (1:50 Incentive) by Rosemary Valero O’Connell
  • Universal Monsters: The Bride of Frankenstein Lives #1 Cover G (1:75 Incentive) by Christian Ward
  • Universal Monsters: The Bride of Frankenstein Lives #1 Cover H (1:100, FOIL Incentive) by David Talaski (SRP: $5.99) 
  • Universal Monsters: The Bride of Frankenstein Lives #1 Cover I Blank Sketch (SRP: $5.99) 
  • Universal Monsters: The Bride of Frankenstein Lives #1 Cover J (FOIL) by Artgerm (SRP: $5.99) 
  • Universal Monsters: The Bride of Frankenstein Lives #1 Cover K (Die Cut, FOIL Hairiant) by Ryan Sook (SRP: $5.99)

Book Review: Twisted Road (Torpedo Ink Book 10) by Christine Feehan + excerpt

Twisted Road (Torpedo Ink Book 10)
by Christine Feehan
Book 10 of 10: Torpedo Ink
July 7, 2026
There’s no escaping the pull of desire in this novel in #1 New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan’s Torpedo Ink motorcycle club series.

When Czar shut down Lazar “Keys” Alexeev’s undercover mission, that should have been the end of the story. Instead, Keys is back in the middle of a nowhere town where a petite redhead with a pouty mouth and a ready smile drives him to distraction. He’s not sure why he’s breaking all of Torpedo Ink’s rules to spend more time around a woman who’s not even his type. He can’t get her out of his head—and now he’s facing the consequences.

Lyric Johansen doesn’t like to look anyone in the eyes, but Keys’s gaze is the one thing keeping her from a full-on panic attack. Her instinct to charge into the fray and help the biker fend off a group of vicious thugs has led to the most insane situation she’s ever been in: trapped in a coffin with a man she barely knows, minutes away from a painful death.

Survival means staying focused. But when Keys kisses Lyric to snap her out of losing it, he’s the one who ends up falling apart. He’ll need to unleash hell to get them out alive.

If only to get another taste….

Amazon

Keys and Lyric wake up in a pine box after getting knocked out by some bad guys. Keys has been undercover in Lyric's small town for a few months, and they have gotten to know one another a bit. But waking up in a box on their way to be slaughtered is not a good day.

Keys knows he can get them out alive but first he has to calm her down from having a panic attack, which isn't easy since he's just found out she's claustrophobic. He gets through to her, tells her to act unconscious and he'll do the rest. It almost works, but she's not known for taking orders or sitting idly by when she thinks she could help.

Now the bad guys are dead, another bad guy is waiting for confirmation of their death, they're both hurt and Keys has no way to get a hold of his motorcycle club members to help them. But his club, Torpedo Ink, does come for them when he can get word to them. Afterward, when the wounds are healed and Key and Lyric have time to themselves, they come to realize that they don't want to go back to being alone and want to make a life together. But Lyric doesn't know if she'll be enough for him to stay with her in the long run. It was fun watching these two learn how they fit together, even if Keys was way too bossy for my taste.

Keys makes a point of telling Lyric that he doesn't want to live without her. The first meeting with some of the other members of Torpedo Ink doesn't go as well as Keys had hoped because the guys don't think Lyric is the kind of woman Keys would end up with if he ever claimed one woman. There are some misunderstandings, and when Lyric meets Czar, their leader, he can see that both Keys and Lyric are meant to be together. All members of Torpedo Ink have special supernatural-type gifts. Steele is a doctor and can surgically repair injuries psychically. Someone else in the group is a human lie detector and Czar knows instantly if two people are meant for each other. They all have their own gifts in that way.

But the guys are all like family because they all went through something truly horrible as children. It made them killers, killers who go after human traffickers and pedophiles. Czar thinks that there's a human trafficking ring operating from the town that Lyric was living in when she met Keys. So, Czar and some of the others question her about what she saw and heard while she lived there. While she's not comfortable, she does her best to answer them. They know they have to go after the human traffickers and save whatever women and children they might have kidnapped.

While I liked the storyline quite a bit and loved seeing what some of the other characters have been up to, Keys is over-the-top bossy and pushy about what he wants to do with Lyric. She goes along with him because she wants to please him, which sat wrong with me on more than one occasion. I didn't love his character the way I loved some of the others, but it was a nice addition to the series.

Twisted Road is the 10th book in the Torpedo Ink series by Christine Feehan. I've read all the books, and they are best read to understand what the members have gone through since they were children. There's a lot of talk of murder, revenge, and sex in these books. But these are not bad people; they spend their lives saving people when they can.

I give this book 4 out of 5 sheep!



 

Mary Kirkland
Dark Thoughts Blog   

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
One

It was rather ironic that Lazar "Keys" Alexeev had been undercover for three solid months and not one incident had occurred. There had been no leads to find. No criminal activity that he could sniff out, and he was excellent at that. After three months of absolutely nothing, Czar, the president of Torpedo Ink, his motorcycle club, had shut down the mission.

It sure as fuck should have ended there, but like an idiot he'd returned to that little nothing town in the middle of nowhere on the pretense of getting his hair cut. Then he spent time there he shouldn't have because he was breaking every rule Torpedo Ink had. Now he was facing the consequences.

There was nothing like waking up with a blinding headache in a coffin-sized box with holes drilled in it so you knew there was torture coming. Hands behind his back with idiotic cuffs he was out of in about two point three seconds. But the best-or worst-was he was lying on top of another body.

Female for damned sure. He'd know a female body if he were half-dead. His head was pounding like a mother, so it was possible he was close. He'd been close many, many times, and he was still alive. Mistake on their part. Bashing him in the head and throwing him in a box with the intention of torturing him later was just about the fuckup of all fuckups.

He took a breath and let it out slowly, almost afraid of checking out the woman lying beneath him. She was very slight, and that told him who she was. He'd known her for that first three months and had been coming back for an additional two-so five months. She wasn't his type at all. He preferred women with tits and ass and lots of experience. He didn't give a damn if they were married or not. They had taken marriage vows they were willing to break, so what difference did it make to him? Pussy was pussy.

But there was Lyric Johansen. She made no sense to him. None. Zero. Nothing about her made sense. It wasn't that she didn't have a figure-she did, mostly because she had that little tucked-in waist. The rest of her was tiny. Dinky. She wore clothes that completely covered any assets that she had. She was incredibly strong. She climbed boulders and did all kinds of backpacking. Alone. He'd seen her a few times in clothes she wore to boulder and hike, and they showed her shapely legs and toned body. Mostly, she hid from the world in baggy sweaters and far-too-big jeans.

She wore a cap or scarf over her hair. That didn't make sense either. He'd only seen her hair once. Just once. He'd gone to her shop early and had seen her through the window. She had the thickest, reddest hair he'd ever seen. Sheets and sheets of long, straight, glossy red. Not orange. Not blond red but a real, almost ruby red. He doubted anyone, even a brilliant hairstylist like she was, could get that color. It had to be natural. From the first time he saw all that red, he'd wanted to drag down her panties and look to see what she was hiding. But she was everything he didn't want or need.

Now she was lying so still, he couldn't detect the rise and fall of her chest beneath him. He knew that if she was dead, he was going to go on a killing spree to end all killing sprees. He swore under his breath and maneuvered his body in the tight space so his hips were cradled in hers and he could press his ear to her chest.

"You'd better be alive, Wildfire. If you're not, this dumbfuck town is going to be razed to the ground. Wake the hell up."

To his relief, he felt the slight lift of her chest beneath his ear. The relief was ridiculous, completely out of proportion for a man like him. He didn't care about much other than his club and fellow club members. Even then, he was more of a lone wolf than anyone realized, even men he considered brothers and his closest friends.

Women came too easily to him, and his body was always demanding he indulge. And he did. Sometimes several women in a day. He didn't care about them, and they didn't care about him. He was good at what he did, and there was mutual satisfaction-most of the time. Truth he never wanted to admit to himself nagged at him-sometimes he was bored out of his mind. Maybe lately it was more often than he was satisfied.

He didn't understand why he'd come back alone to spend time in the town. Spend time getting a haircut. Going to the country bar that made him grit his teeth at the amateurish music that was often more enthusiastic than on key. But he did know this particular woman was a pain in the ass, and he spent far too much time thinking about her.

"Wake up, baby." He moved again so his face could be directly over hers. It was hot as hell in that box. He didn't like that she'd been out so long.

He could feel the movement of the truck and knew they were on an unpaved road. It was extremely bumpy, throwing the damn wooden coffin all over the back of the truck. That hurt his head and likely would hurt Lyric's if she ever woke the hell up. He was a man known for being calm in all situations. He could explode into action when needed, but he did so thinking clearly and sanely. If Lyric didn't wake up soon and let him know she wasn't in a coma, he wasn't going to be so calm.

He bit at her chin. "Come on, baby, open your eyes."

Why the hell had she come running out of her shop to save him? She didn't show the least good sense. There were five of them, big mothers, armed and showing they were willing to kill him. Hell, they hit his head from behind with what felt like a baseball bat. Once he was on the ground, they kicked and punched him as viciously as he'd ever been attacked-and, sad to admit, it had happened often when he was younger.

The idiotic woman, not more than five feet nothing, had come to his rescue when she saw him being attacked. He remembered the determination on her face, the fire in her eyes. He hadn't considered that she had all that passion stored in her, but he should have known with her fiery hair and the hobbies she chose to pursue. She might appear quiet, but after seeing her play the part of warrior woman, he was more intrigued than ever.

And she'd saved his life. He had no doubt in his mind that the five men attacking him planned to kill him. She'd left the safety of her shop and waded in like an avenging angel, hitting the nearest man with a blow-dryer. A fucking blow-dryer. They'd overpowered her, hit her in the head, and he'd seen her go down before one of them kicked him in the head, and it was lights-out. He had no idea how long he'd been out, but he couldn't map out the road the way he normally would have. He wasn't too worried. Once they made their escape, he would find the way home.

He needed to ascertain just how injured she was. He didn't understand why they'd hit her so damned hard. She'd gone flying. They were going to pay for that. He was used to the members of Torpedo Ink having his back. They'd been doing so since they were all little kids raised in that hellhole in Russia, but other than those men and women, no one had ever stood up for him. It was unexpected. And puzzling. Worse, it fucked with his brain when he needed to be clearheaded and thinking about survival. His own survival, not some dinky woman whose fault it was he was there in the first place.

"Wake up, Lyric." He poured command into his voice. He was good at that. Very few dared to defy him, men or women. Deliberately, he feathered his lips across hers in a whispering, light rub, catching her faint breath in his mouth. For some reason, his entire body tightened. Hardened. Demanded.

What the fuck was wrong with him? Now he was so hard up he was going after a woman who was half-dead? In a coffin? A flimsy one, but still, a coffin. And Lyric, of all women. He tried to remember when he'd been with a woman last. It couldn't have been more than a few hours earlier, yet he was as hard as a rock at the first touch of her full, pouty mouth.

Pouty. He despised that kind of woman. Manipulative. Emotional. Whiny. Okay, he hadn't heard Lyric ever be any of those things, but those full, pouty lips gave her away. He had fantasized far too often about those lips wrapped around his cock. Which was insane. He was far too experienced to think she'd know what she was doing. He'd have to give her instructions. Tedious. But if he was being truthful with himself, he'd dreamt of her until he'd left Caspar, his hometown, and taken the ride to her nowhere burg, all the while telling himself she wasn't the kind of woman he would ever go for.

For one thing, it was obvious she was innocent. He wasn't about to waste his time on some untutored pussy that he'd have to expend energy trying to teach. Worse, she'd fall apart after and expect him to stick around. Innocents were off the table. He didn't have much of a code when it came to sex, but that was sacred. He'd never once broken that rule, nor was he ever tempted to-unless it was now. With her. And he had no idea why. She was worse than a pain in the ass.

Damn it. Why wasn't she waking up? The asshole who'd hit her from behind had used some weapon Keys hadn't seen from his position on the ground, but probably a baseball bat, just like the one used on him. He'd hit her hard. Keys smelled blood. "Come on, woman, wake the hell up."

Keys was born in hell and lived there for years, but he had been given gifts that he'd taken the time to develop. He could play any instrument and had an ear for perfectly pitched music. Truth be told, that was what landed him here. Lyric laughed often with her customers and with him. Her laughter was sweet most of the time, but when she laughed at-or with-him, she had the absolutely purest notes he'd ever heard. He found himself wanting that laughter just for himself-and she gave it to him.

He had a major affinity for wood. Any wood. He touched it and read its history. He worked with wood, building beautiful things. Just touching wood could bring peace to him, just as his musical instruments did. This coffin . . . not so peaceful.

He and Lyric weren't the only ones who had been inside that box, but the others weren't alive anymore. They'd been tortured and then died in the makeshift coffin. The wood itself was on the flimsy side. Whoever had constructed the box had done so with haste and no pride in their work. That was good for him.

"All right, baby, I'm telling you to wake the hell up." Because he wasn't a man who felt fear. He'd lived through too much. He was a trained assassin and had been since he was a child. He had nothing to live for, therefore he didn't fear death. But he did fear for her. The pain-in-his-ass woman who he couldn't stay away from when there was absolutely no sane reason to keep her in his life.

"Your fault we're in this predicament, darlin', so open your eyes." He dipped his head and locked his teeth on her full lower lip. That damned lip he'd spent far too much time fantasizing about. He bit down and tugged gently before feathering his lips over hers again, just to catch her breath in his mouth.

She groaned. Tried to turn her head, but he wanted to see her eyes. Assess the damage.

"Look at me, Wildfire. Open your eyes and look at me."

"Not yet. I can't feel my arms. At all. I'm afraid to look."

"Open your eyes. You were hit in the head, and you've been out for a while. I need to know how hurt you are."

"Suffice it to say my head exploded and my brains have leaked out." She murmured the words, a whisper of sound that sent a ripple of heat through him. That voice. When she was unguarded, like now, her tone played over his every nerve ending.

"Good to know you'll rely on my judgment since you're admitting you have no brain at the moment."

Her lips did that now-familiar moue he found himself looking for when he was with her. That dimple that made him want to trace it with his tongue. Lately, that had been often-too often. He'd broken every rule his club had to visit her, and he still didn't have a clue why.

"Why are you on top of me? I can barely breathe. Get off. I can't breathe, and I can't feel my arms. They're trapped under me. With your weight on top of me, I can't move them." Her eyes remained tightly closed, as if she knew better than to examine the world around her.

"You can breathe, and you're unable to move your arms because they've gone to sleep."

The coffin slid to the left and then pitched to the right, hitting the side of the truck's bed, shaking them both up. The road was even rougher than before. And steep. He felt her breath catch in her throat.

"That hurt you?" He detested that he couldn't examine the wound on the back of her head.

"My head really does feel like it exploded. And I'm hot. I hate that my arms are trapped, and you have to get off of me." She whispered it to him like she was embarrassed. "I know this sounds silly, but I have horrible claustrophobia. I don't like the feeling that I can't move."

That wasn't great news. "I'll get us out of here."

"Where are we?"

"At the moment we're prisoners, and we're being hauled up a mountain, presumably into the forest, where I believe our captors think they're going to have fun torturing us."

She squeezed her eyes shut tighter. "I can't say as I'm looking forward to that."


About the Author:
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I write every day and have done so since I was old enough to pick up a pen. (I spent a lot of time getting in trouble at school for writing instead of doing the things I was supposed to do.) Once I create my characters, I try very hard to have them react to situations as they really would. Sometimes I have preconceived ideas of what I would like them to do, but they don’t mind me, because it would be out of character for them. They take on a life of their own. Sometimes when I throw difficult situations at them in the hopes I’ll get a certain reaction and they don’t do what I want, I complain bitterly to my husband and he laughs at me. Still, it is important to me to have them be real, not perfect people, so they make mistakes we lesser mortals might make.

Book Review: The Exquisite Torment of Loving Your Enemy (Dearly Beloathed Book 2) by Brigitte Knightley

The Exquisite Torment of Loving Your Enemy (Dearly Beloathed Book 2)
by Brigitte Knightley
July 7, 2026
Genre: romantasy
The stakes are high, the love is forbidden, and the slow burn turns steamy in this swoony, witty, and heart-stoppingly romantic sequel to instant New York Times bestseller The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy.

This stunning hardcover features a cover with foil, beautifully designed endpapers, and a black-and-white interior map!

Osric is a member of the Fyren Order, a guild of assassins who gleefully murder for money. Aurienne is a Haelan, a scholar-healer whose Order’s motto is Harm to none. Clear-cut absolutes separate them: good and bad, right and wrong, light and dark . . .

Until they don’t.

When Osric first bribed Aurienne to heal him, he never imagined those lines would begin to blur. But every healing session draws them closer together. He finds himself developing unwanted feelings for Aurienne as her capable hands heal his body—and his heart.

Aurienne’s perfect life has been flung into chaos in the form of a devastatingly handsome assassin. She should be in her research lab, not illicitly healing a Fyren every full moon—nor wrestling an attraction to him that threatens to slip into something else.

Things go superbly sideways when Osric and Aurienne discover more about the deadly Pox deliberately unleashed through the TÄ«endoms. The plague may be the work of another Order—an Order far nastier than either of them can handle.

As the lines between Osric and Aurienne continue to blur, the balance between peace and war, and love and hate, trembles, shifts, and hinges on a heartbeat.

Amazon 

I did not read the first novel, but the author did a great job of catching you up. The glossary, Pronunciation Guide, and the explanation of The Orders were very helpful and well done.

I had a little trouble with some of the text when a word means the same thing in the "English" language, but you catch on fast with all the meanings. I thought the book was very well written, funny, sad, and exciting, and just plain enjoyable. I normally do not read books of this nature- and words I can't pronounce—I think old age has something to do with it—but as I stumbled along the first chapter or 2, I found out I was enjoying myself as I continued.

I give Ms. Knightley 4.5 Barts





About the Author:
website
Brigitte’s modus operandi is to write what she wants to read: enemies-to-lovers romances that put the unresolved back in UST. Her work is enjoyed by fans of slow burns, tongue-in-cheek romcoms, and suffering. The spirits of Wodehouse and Jerome K. Jerome pervade her writing, but Austen is at its soul.

She is represented by Thao Le of the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency.

Release Day! Hunted (The Giving Chronicles #2) by Elayna R. Gallea

by Elayna R. Gallea
Book 2 of 3: The Giving Chronicles 
Reluctant allies to lovers
  • Only one bed
  • “I’ll protect you”
  • Only one horse
  • Wound tending
  • Fated mates
  • Slow burn (but it pays off)
  • Groveling
  • Touch her and dîé (and he means it)
Nothing is as it seems.

The Giving Season has ended, but the onset of winter hasn’t brought Wren peace. The king is still after her, and he has more reason than ever to want her dead. In possession of magic she shouldn’t have, she’s desperate to flee the capital.

And there’s just one person who can help her: Gabriel Moreau, the Hunter who chased Wren across the country, duty-bound to bring her to justice. Forced to make the most difficult decision he’s ever faced, Gabriel chooses to break his oath and vows anew to protect Wren. Now, he too will be hunted.

Together, Wren and Gabriel race across the kingdom to escape the king’s wrath. But the cost of safety is steep, and life on the run is more dangerous than ever. Even with the Hunter by her side, their bond growing stronger with each obstacle, Wren is all too aware that everything, especially the notion of safety, is a lie.


 
Book 1 

About the Author:

website
Elayna R. Gallea is a whimsical weaver of words, creating tales of romantic fantasy. Nestled in the enchanting land of New Brunswick, Canada of snow and trees, she lives with her husband and two children. When she's not writing stories that will rip out your heart on the way to the happily ever after, she's probably eating copious amounts of chocolate and cheese, reading every day, and playing with her dogs and cats.
 
PAPERBACK EDITION OF HUNTED (US/ CAN) GIVEAWAY)


TO ENTER:
Like, save, & repost to Instagram
Follow @authorelaynargallea @rrbooktours & host
Drop a in the comments and tag 2 friends

Bonus Entry:
Share in your stories for 24 hrs tagging @rrbooktours

TERMS:
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CLOSES JULY 10TH

IG: @authorelaynargallea @rrbooktours

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Sunday, July 5, 2026

The Bounty of Blood and Nails (The Devil’s Huntress Book 1) by N. K. Brown


The Bounty of Blood and Nails (The Devil’s Huntress Book 1)
by N. K. Brown
March 3, 2026 
Genre: Dark Fantasy
Feminine Rage
Morally Grey Characters
Dark magic
Forbidden magic
Grumpy x Sunshine
Love Triangles
Spicy Romance
Hidden Villains
Tam is a heartless, ruthless bounty hunter—or so her handler would have you believe.

With her ability to use forbidden blood magic, Tam tracks and captures her prey. The same blood magic that curses her to a life of servitude under a cruel handler—one wrong move and not only her life, but her family’s will be at stake. But when she’s sent to a remote, superstitious northern town where even a glimmer of magic will send you to the gallows, she’s forced to confront the darker consequences of her work.

After the murder of her bounty, innocent townspeople are blamed—and Tam’s conscience begins to stir. But there’s no turning back. Her handler raises the stakes, and her next mission is even more dangerous: infiltrate the royal castle and capture the enigmatic Prince Bellinor. Disguised as a maid, Tam is drawn into a world of deadly secrets, where her words are whispered into the prince’s ears through an ancient magic she’s never faced before.

To get close to the prince, she befriends his loyal bodyguard, Clement, but the deeper she digs, the more she realizes that Clement’s destiny is tied to the prince. With time running out and the castle tightening, Tam is forced to watch the trial of the people blamed for her own prior actions. But will she complete the mission—or risk it all as she falls in love with the person whose life she must destroy?

In this fast-paced, thrilling tale of magic, betrayal, and forbidden love, Tam will have to decide if being the bad guy is worth losing everything.

Trigger Warnings: Blood, gore, violence, and scenes of a sexual nature
 
About the Author:
I am a veterinarian and a proud mother of three. Originally from Stratford-Upon-Avon I now live outside of Boston.

Finally ready for the career change I have always wanted, I joined Jericho Writers and am an alumni of their Ultimate Novel Writing Course 2023/24. I love to write in the SFF genre usually with a dark and speculative twist. An animal or two will usually pop up somewhere in my writing!

When not reading or writing or reading about writing, you can find me out on a long run, lost in my imagination (or a good audiobook) as I plan my next novel. 
 

Friday, July 3, 2026

The Night Crew III: Hunting Ground (The Night Crew Series Book 3) by Brad Ricks

Maarten van Vuuren (Illustrator)
Crystal Lake Publishing
Book 3 of 3: The Night Crew Series 
Something is slaughtering people in the Arkansas wilderness—and even the Night Crew may not survive what they're about to find.

When mutilated bodies begin appearing in the Ouachita National Forest, Chief of Police Roy Henderson knows local law enforcement is out of options. His only hope is to call in the Night Crew—a covert team of supernatural operatives led by Michael, a vampire still learning what it means to live with the monster inside him.

What begins as a hunt for a rogue werewolf quickly spirals into something far more dangerous.

As attacks escalate around the town of Mena, Arkansas, Michael finds himself battling on two fronts. In the real world, a growing supernatural threat is pushing the town toward panic. In his mind, mysterious visions connected through blood are pulling him into a terrifying mystery he cannot explain.

Meanwhile, a grieving father forms a vigilante militia, a local police officer struggles to keep supernatural secrets buried, and a park ranger may hold the key to stopping a massacre before it begins.

To survive, Michael must hold his team together, uncover the truth behind the killings, and confront forces more dangerous than anything lurking in the forest.

Perfect for fans of fast-paced supernatural thrillers, vampire fiction, werewolf horror, occult mysteries, and action-packed monster hunting adventures, Night Crew III delivers relentless suspense, unforgettable characters, and terrifying creatures lurking just beyond the tree line.


About the Author: 

website
Brad Ricks is an author of supernatural horror and thrillers, blending dark settings, paranormal terror, and psychological suspense.

His novels blur the line between psychological horror and terrifying thrillers. His NIGHT CREW SERIES delves deep into the shadows of the supernatural.

Inspired by masters like Edgar Allan Poe and Stephen King, Brad crafts stories that haunt readers long after the final page.
 
He lives in Central Texas with his wife and children, balancing his day job with late-night horror storytelling.

New Release: The Rite of Redemption (The Rite of Fates Book 3) by Atlas Avery

The Rite of Redemption (The Rite of Fates Book 3)
by Atlas Avery
July 3, 2026
Betrayal is inevitable where power lies. The difference between retribution and redemption lies in the choice of who we wish to be.

 

About the author
website
Atlas Avery is a new voice in the literary world, conjuring magical realms focused on devotion and ruin. When she's not wrangling toddlers or navigating an ocean of chair teas, she's weaving her next enthralling tale, all while attempting to persuade her kids that "quiet time" is a real thing. 


Thursday, July 2, 2026

First Look: Universal Monsters: Blood of the Wolf Man #2 (of 4)

Universal Monsters: Blood of the Wolf Man #2 (of 4) will be available at comic book shops and digital platforms including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play on Wednesday, July 22, 2026

The must-read horror series of the summer continues! As the cops close in, Adam must convince his father that monsters do exist...before the full moon rises again.

Universal Monsters: Blood of the Wolf Man is the seventh Universal Monsters series launch, following James Tynion IV and Martin Simmonds’ Dracula (which netted Simmonds a BEST PAINTER/MULTIMEDIA ARTIST (INTERIOR ART) Eisner Award nomination), Ram V, Dan Watters, and Matthew Roberts’ Creature from the Black Lagoon Lives!, Michael Walsh’s Frankenstein, Faith Erin Hick’s The Mummy, James Tynion IV and DANI’s The Invisible Man, and Tyler Boss and Martin Simmonds’ Universal Monsters: Phantom of the Opera.

Blood of the Wolf Man will be followed by additional new Universal Monsters limited series pairing the biggest names in comics with pop culture’s most iconic monsters in the bestselling modern line of horror comics.

Universal Monsters: Blood of the Wolf Man #2 features a main cover by Leomacs & Pip Martin (Rogues), an open to order B cover by Jacob Phillips (That Texas Blood), incentive variants including the continuation of the connecting 1:10 incentive cover series by Maria Wolf (Phoenix) & Mike Spicer (TRANSFORMERS), a 1:25 incentive variant of Phillips’ B cover in black & white, a 1:50 incentive variant by Luana Vecchio (Lovesick), and a 1:75 incentive variant by Anwita Citriya (Creepshow).

The full list of covers is below:

Universal Monsters: Blood of the Wolf Man #2 Cover A by Leomacs & Pip Martin (Lunar Code: 0526IM0451) 


Universal Monsters: Blood of the Wolf Man #2 Cover B by Jacob Phillips (Lunar Code: 0526IM0452) 

Universal Monsters: Blood of the Wolf Man #2 Cover C (1:10 Incentive) (Connecting) by Maria Wolf & Mike Spicer (Lunar Code: 0526IM0453)


Universal Monsters: Blood of the Wolf Man #2 Cover D (1:25 “Classic Horror” B&W) by Jacob Phillips (Lunar Code: 0526IM0454)


Universal Monsters: Blood of the Wolf Man #2 Cover E (1:50 Incentive) by Luana Vecchio (Lunar Code: 0526IM0455) 

Universal Monsters: Blood of the Wolf Man #2 Cover F (1:75 Incentive) by Anwita Citriya (Lunar Code: 0526IM0456)