Royals #1 from Image Comics

Eisner Award winning writer Derek Kirk Kim (The Last Mermaid, Same Difference) and rising star artist Jacob Perez (Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) have hit the jackpot with their new mind-bending crime caper series debut, Royals. Royals #1 has sold out completely at the distributor level and is being rushed back to print this week by Image Comics in order to keep up with demand.

ROYALS #1
Writer: Derek Kirk Kim
Artist: Jacob Perez
Published: April 1, 2026
Lunar Code: 0226IM0321
Page Count: 40
Image Comics
Cover price: $4.99
MINISERIES PREMIERE Twin brothers Paul and Castor have crafted the perfect poker hustle using their uncanny telepathic connection. But they might have finally met their match when they risk it all against the leader of the Bloody Cocks, the most ruthless criminal syndicate in Seoul. Eisner Award-winning writer DEREK KIRK KIM (THE LAST MERMAID, Same Difference) and rising star artist JACOB PEREZ (Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) invite you to the shadowy back alleys of Seoul, South Korea, for a thrilling, mind-bending crime caper unlike any other!

 

A Hundred Black Sunrises: A Friday the 13th Story by Tamela Miles + giveaway

Keeping secrets keeps you alive.
Sienna would know.

 

A Hundred Black Sunrises: A Friday the 13th Story
by Tamela Miles
March 16, 2026
Genre: Dark Paranormal Romance
A hundred different ways to break your heart, a hundred different ways to take your last breath. Sienna and Finn are exploring their strange attraction to each other until strange becomes something sinister. The clock is ticking as they fight to unravel the mystery of what draws them together on fateful Friday, the 13th.

What readers are saying:
A Hundred Black Sunrises is a haunting and emotionally charged horror short that blends reincarnation, cursed love, and inevitable tragedy. The story follows Sienna and Finn, two souls drawn together across lifetimes, only to face the same dark fate again and again. What begins as an intriguing connection quickly spirals into something far more sinister, as the truth behind their bond unravels. Though short, the narrative delivers a powerful mix of supernatural horror and tragic romance.
– Alicia Dean, Goodreads Reviewer

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A loud cracking sounded across the room and a huge, sil- ver gilded mirror fractured in half, splitting apart their reflec- tions. Elijah grabbed her hand and spoke softly. "Let me get you away from here, Poppy."

As they moved toward the dining room entrance, one of the kit- chen servants appeared. Her brown eyes widened and then narrowed at the scene laid out before her. She hastily wiped her hands on her white apron and latched onto Poppy's other hand.

"Run far, far away from this cursed place. Take nothing with you. His evil was contained while he was alive, but his death means..." she trailed off and shrugged her shoulders.

"What...what did he mean by "a hundred black sunrises?" Poppy asked in a tremulous voice.

The servant smiled sadly. "Nothing good, you can believe that." She gestured towards the hallway leading to the front door as a dozen other servants from the kitchen suddenly crowded around them. "Now, go! Take her and go!"

Elijah needed no further encouragement and pulled a dazed Poppy down the hallway, already filled with black smoke. As he opened the heavy door, she looked back one last time to say goodbye to every- thing she had ever known, and her gaze lit on Christianpaul's smiling portrait of himself as a much younger man. She shivered as Elijah led her out the front door and she clutched his arm fearfully. Poppy knew every brushstroke of that painting and never in her life had the bastard worn a smile in it.

About the Author:

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Tamela Miles is a California State University San Bernardino graduate student with a Bachelor of Science degree in Child Development and a former flight attendant. She grew up in Altadena, California in that tumultuous time known as the 1980s. She now resides with her family in the Inland Empire, CA. She’s a horror/paranormal romance writer mainly because it feels so good having her characters do bad things and, later, pondering what makes them so bad and why they can never seem to change their wicked ways.

She enjoys emails from people who like her work. In fact, she loves emails. She can be contacted at tamelamiles@yahoo.com or her Facebook page, Tamela Miles Books. She also welcomes reader reviews and enjoys the feedback from people who love to read as much as she does. 

 

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4.5 Sheep Book Review: A Fated Reckoning: An Epic Fae and Vampire Romantasy Standalone by Jamye Smith

A Fated Reckoning: An Epic Fae and Vampire Romantasy Standalone
by Jamye Smith
June 24, 2026
🌟 EPIC FANTASY WORLD: Multi-species cast (pixies, ice dragons, siren priestesses, beasts) - Post-war landscape - Magical Wastelands - Political intrigue
📖 FORMAT: Complete standalone with HEA - No cliffhanger - First Person POV

I loved him once. Now I cling to the hate, currently measured in the inches of steel I've driven into his chest.

Two centuries ago, Mikael didn't just break my heart - he shattered us. The vampire I trusted above all others betrayed me and ignited a war that left our people in ruins. To end the slaughter, I bargained with the Fates and drained the land of magic, and broke myself in ways time can't mend. What survived was a fae warrior turned city ruler, burying her past beneath liquor, duty, and the bond I severed.

When Mikael returns, alive when he shouldn't be, I do what any rational woman would: stab him in the heart.

But death isn't on the table for him. He's come back with a confession, and a curse - the amulet he stole came with a price. The one you love most will die.

My soul has fractured into four pieces. To break the curse before it kills me, we must recover each fragment. Riddles sear themselves into our skin, igniting with every touch - skin to skin, bond to bond - dragging us into the closeness I swore never to endure again.

As the curse frays, so does the magic suppressing our bond, unraveling every feeling I've spent two centuries trying to destroy. Each fragment recovered cracks the walls I've built wider, revealing truths I buried beneath denial and rage.

When the final riddle is solved, I'll face the cruelest truth of all: breaking the curse may cost me the person I love most.

I'm terrified it's still him.

CONTENT WARNINGS:
Violence - War trauma - On-page character death - Explicit sexual content - Grief - Betrayal - Blood - Torture (off-page) - Themes of sacrifice and loss

This is Book 1 in an interconnected series of standalones featuring different couples in the world of Eidrfall. Each book has a complete HEA and can be read alone, but characters appear across stories 

Amazon 

A Fated Reckoning: An Epic Fae and Vampire Romantasy Standalone by Jamye Smith is a very delightful vampire/Fae romance. I love it when the Fae and my Vampires get together, in all the ways! 

This story really is a true standalone, you can read it and enjoy it for all that it is. Tons of romance and so much spice at times I was having a dang hot flash! Certainly not for the faint of heart. 

Talk about an adventure! Seemed like one long fun quest that takes the reader all over the world created. Having two people who love/hate each other and are forced to touch because of this curse! I can't even imagine, but didn't need to since you get all the drama here. 

Loved the back and forth dialog between our leading couple. What a fun all around story for anyone who loves a good fantasy with action and romance! 

Getting 4 and 1/2 Sheep

 

 

KD

About the Author:
website
Jamye Smith, a Las Vegas-raised author diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, has a penchant for daydreaming about fantastical worlds. She loves traveling, having traversed thirteen countries thus far, and has lived in multiple states. She co-hosts the podcast 'Indie Odyssey: A Writer's Journey,' exploring the intricacies of indie publishing. Jamye holds a Master of Business Administration, currently works as an Agile Team Lead for a tech consulting firm.

When June Haunts May (The Haunting of Pinedale High #10) by Celaine Charles + giveaway

One visible spirit.

Two phantom thieves.

Three courageous friends.

When June Haunts May (The Haunting of Pinedale High #10) 
by Celaine Charles
Genre: Cozy YA Paranormal Ghost Story
June Brookes has haunted the library at Pinedale High for decades, without attention. Until one day, new sophomore, May Blakely, notices. Could this be June’s chance to cross over to the hereafter? If only she knew what needed to be finished from her old life.

Angsty May prefers solitude. Her deadbeat dad may have ditched her in this small town, but she has no interest befriending this strange girl, or the cute boy across the street.

June’s hereafter hustle goes haywire when two phantom soldiers plot to hijack her passage to peace, at the expense of hurting fellow students. June saves May’s life, igniting their joint efforts to protect the school. Can May help June to her happily ever afterlife?

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“Have you ever seen her in a class?”

What was he getting at? “We don’t have any classes together. But I don’t have any classes with you either.”

“Okay, so how about the fact that she was cold as ice when I touched her shoulder?”

The chills she’d sensed from June had felt like relief in the blazing sun, but she had noticed them. “What are you saying?”

Reid pulled her underneath a yellowing oak in an empty yard. Ignoring her look of annoyance, he glanced over his shoulders before whispering low and close to her ear. “Did you know Pinedale High is haunted?”

First the woods and now the whole school? May stepped back, hands up in feigned surrender. “Okay-okay, I get it. Prank the new kid. You know, I’m sorry I even thought about checking in on you. I don’t have time for this.” She about-faced and strode down the sidewalk without him.

“Wait, what? I’m not pranking you.” He caught up in only a few strides, his long legs veering her off to the side. “Please, hear me out.”

May’s mind flipped through any example of a high school boy wanting her to hear him out. This had to be a trick. “No, you listen to me. I’ve been the new girl far too many times than I care to count. And I get it. I’m easy prey…perhaps even a challenge.” She thumped him in his too-close-to-her chest. “But I’m not playing.”

“I think June’s a ghost. I’m not kidding or pranking you. And I need you to listen.”

Flashes of her strange interactions with her new friend…if she could even call her that…flickered through May’s mind. They’d only known each other for a couple of days, but she had sensed something off.

She turned away from him, trying to put everything together. Bouts of June’s chilliness, yes. But earlier, it had been strange how fast she’d flown down the spectator stands. Before that, she struggled to push open the main school doors.

May had attributed June’s glossy hollow eyes to the lighting, but maybe it was because of something else. She closed her own eyes for clarity, kicking her foot into the grass. Maybe allergies?

She tucked her hair behind her ear, running the strands between her fingers as more details registered. June’s peculiar way of speaking was odd, and her clothes that first day, like a blast from the past. She was still wearing her penny loafers…with pennies inside.

May dropped her backpack, shook her head at Reid, who was waiting for her to process. But her brain wasn’t cooperating. “Ghosts?” The word spat off her tongue like she’d swallowed a flick of her cat’s tail.

“I know I sound insane. I’m not. I promise.” He glimpsed her with creamy brown eyes. They were the color of Great-Grandma’s sweet tea, and she was overheating inside and out, ready for a tall glass.

“Is this why you’ve been crying at the pond during lunch?”

“What?” His face scrunched, cheeks burning past the eighty-degree temperature outside to a brighter shade of full-blown embarrassment. “No. I mean—I’m not crying at the pond. What are you talking about?”

“What are you talking about?”

They stood at an impasse, shock etching along both their eyebrows and drawn lips. Her mind raced for something to say, and if she had to guess, he was in the same boat.

Don’t miss the rest of the Haunting of Pinedale High books!

Find them on Amazon

About the Author:

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Celaine Charles lives in the enchanted Pacific Northwest, teaching elementary school by day and writing by the stars at night. She’s an award-winning, multi-genre author who balances her dual life creating poetry, fantasy, and contemporary romance shorts, while blogging about her journey on Steps in Between. In addition, she’s embarking on the world of children’s picture books.

She’s published collections of poetry through Egret Lake Books and Palmetto Publishing Group, and fiction through The Wild Rose Press and Eliza Storm Books.

Celaine is a member of the Pacific Northwest Writers Association, Storyteller Academy, Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and reads poetry regularly with the Museum of Northwest Art, Writing’s on the Wall series.

Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!
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Book Review: Wrathful and Avenging Gods (Labyrinth of Gods Book 4) by Debbie Cassidy

Wrathful and Avenging Gods (Labyrinth of Gods Book 4)
by Debbie Cassidy
April 4, 2026
The road to freedom is a river of blood.

I was tricked. Betrayed. And now the primordial evil has the throne. The asura and my closest friends are in his control, and the sky world is in lockdown with me trapped outside of it.

Only the deva can stop him now, but the key to summoning them is inside the royal domain. Someone needs to activate it. That someone will have to be me.

But the power he wields is immense, and his true goal is a mystery that I don’t have time to unravel.

I need allies.

I need an army.

And I need a way back into the royal domain.

My task feels impossible, but with the help of a few unexpected allies I might just be able to pull it off.

The primordial evil stole my throne, my people, and the man I love.

I plan to get them back starting with my Araz.

By the time I'm done, evil will tremble at the sound of my name.

Join Leela and Araz in the final thrilling instalment of the Labyrinth of Gods. 

Amazon 

Wrathful and Avenging Gods (Labyrinth of Gods Book 4) is the final book in a romantasy series by Debbie Cassidy. The book takes off right from where I assume the last installment left off. It was tricky to follow at times without the backstory, but it does get high marks for being so much fun!

I was lost from the start, but hung in there until the pages started to take flight and the characters really dug in. It would have been a good idea to start at book 1, but this was the review copy I got and so there ya go!

TONS of action and adventure, loved all the different takes of good vs evil and reading the characters as they overcome some hard obstacles. Things don't go as planned for sure, but the story never felt forced or rushed.

Overall, I really liked this one and maybe a spin-off from this point could be in the works. But start this series at book 1, just so you can enjoy it fully! 

Getting 4 Sheep

 

 

 KD

About the Author:
website
Debbie Cassidy lives in England, Bedfordshire, with her three kids and very supportive husband. Coffee and chocolate biscuits are her writing fuels of choice, and she is still working on getting that perfect tower of solitude built in her back garden. Obsessed with building new worlds and reading about them, she spends her spare time daydreaming and conversing with the characters in her head – in a totally non psychotic way of course. She writes Urban Fantasy, Fantasy and Reverse Harem Fantasy. All her books contain plenty of action, romance and twisty plots.