Plucked by the Orc by Jenna Larkin [BLITZ TOUR]
Carnival Row meets My Fair Lady with a steamy sensibility. Welcome to the first Regency Monster Romance, in which the Lords of the Hidden Realm have a place in Society but never in the hearts of London’s fine human ladies.
Until Now.
Scratching by as a flower girl, Iris Gabbert speaks first and asks questions later. All the better to survive the rough and tumble East End streets. So if an odd-looking bloke knocks over a basket brimming with a girl’s means of making a living, what else is she to do but give him a tongue lashing he won’t soon forget? Even if it was an accident. Even if his lordship dresses like a right dandy. Even if he is more alluring than any gent who has passed her way before.
Broad of shoulder and abrupt in manner, the infamous Lord Barrington presents a proposition that promises all the honey with none of the bee’s busy work. And no one ever accused Iris Gabbert of passing on an opportunity. Especially not if it brings her one step closer to her dream of buying a shop. For the small price of improving her manners and donning gorgeous gowns, no less.
Duncan Higgins, Second Duke of Barrington, prides himself on his astute observations of human behavior. All the better to mask the pain of never truly belonging in their sphere. Rejected by the woman he’d hoped to woo, Duncan has withdrawn from Society to focus on his anthropological magnum opus: The Curious Customs of the Human Ton. But when his mischievous younger brother Albion presents him with a dare, Duncan quickly embraces the challenge.
To win the wager, Duncan must transform a humble flower girl into a lady “worthy” of acceptance in Society. His work is cut out for him. The girl he intends to slip into their ranks is uncouth. She refuses to soften her voice. Her favorite bonnet sits crooked on her head, and the rest of her wardrobe is appalling. Yet when Iris Gabbert emerges from her first bath at his elegant Mayfair townhouse, the power of Duncan’s desire ignites.
With sufficient income from his family’s mines to indulge her every whim, Duncan draws Iris into his private and luxurious world. Duncan intends to fulfill her every desire. Every last one. But as a newly refined Iris makes her debut, she catches the eye of the Season’s most eligible human bachelor, triggering Duncan’s deepest fears of rejection. Faced with jealousies, misunderstandings, and a treacherous social landscape, can true love—and lust—prevail?
The ExcerptDuncan Higgins, the Second Duke of Barrington, tucked his muslin cravat tighter underneath his Parisian greatcoat. The evening performance of How You Like It had been crowded with patrons eager to see the new gas lighting at the Theatre-Royal. It was difficult to tolerate the stares his massive form and green-tinged skin attracted, but he could ensure his attire reflected the latest demands of the season.
Better to be respected, or even feared, than to find himself an object of scorn.
His father had stepped foot in London eighteen years prior, the first orc to do so. But Duncan’s height, the horns curling back on his head, and his unusual coloring—unusual on the streets of this city, at least—still drew stares. As in all things connected to the frivolous ton, no one stated anything outright. Rather, he was subject to the averted glances of children seeing one of his kind for the first time. Or the pursed lips of a mother with a daughter of marriageable age looking to catch a gentleman’s eye. A gentleman of wealth, manners, and title.
A human gentleman. They were not eager for their daughters to marry Duncan Higgins, even if he were five and twenty and met their other requirements. He’d learned that lesson well enough.
So be it. Duncan would remain at a distance, observing and taking notes on human society as a scientist would a colony of lemurs or some such.
His younger brother, Albion, would have deemed that too harsh. Albion and their mother came to London from the Hidden Realm two years after Duncan accompanied Father here. He didn’t understand what it had been like for Duncan in those early days. When grown women had screamed at the sight of orcs, no matter how fine their English clothes, and boys hurled rocks at their backs.
As he stepped out to the street this evening, an assortment of dandies packed the space outside the venerable theater, waiting on the carriages that would propel them to the next stop on their nightly rounds about the city. Despite the chill in the air, they left their greatcoats open, the better to showcase ruffled shirts, cravats folded crisply on the cross, and fitted trousers.
Albion often laughed at Duncan’s propensity for tracking human fashion, whilst Duncan argued that all manner of human customs were of interest. The apparel chosen for a particular season spoke to the values and aspirations of the ton. When living as an outsider, one could never know too much about a culture.
And Duncan was an outsider who literally stood out in a crowd. He ducked under the arches outside the theater’s foyer, side-stepping a matron with two daughters prancing before her. The ladies wore stunning multi-colored sapphires—pink, orange, amber, in every shade and gradient—sparkling on pendants hanging from the short pearl necklaces that were all the rage this season.
The rare gemstones originated in his land and were the source of his family’s wealth. Nevertheless, when the mother caught him glancing at her daughters’ jewels, she called them closer to her. Their finery was for the benefit of the human dandies. Not Duncan Higgins. Even if he could have made either of them a duchess.
At one time, such a snub would have caused Duncan great shame. Now, however, these women meant no more to him than the portraits he might examine at a public exhibition in one of the city’s galleries. He tipped his bespoke hat in their direction and continued, wanting only to locate a hackney coach so he might return to his townhouse in a timely manner.
Despite the indulgence of taking in a performance this evening, he wished to abide by his customary schedule, drafting three pages over a glass of port prior to retiring for the night. Duncan aspired to publish a book in the Hidden Realm so the orcs who came to London in the future were better prepared than he had been.
Considering additional comments for his section on the shenanigans of human mothers, Duncan neglected to mind his feet. Distracted, he stumbled over one of the humans milling in front of the theater, tipping a woven basket filled with flowers over in the process. The blossoms hit the sodden ground in a colorful spray of wilting clumps—pansies, snowdrops, and clematis. He nearly tumbled down beside them.
“Bloody hell,” he muttered, reaching for his handkerchief, twice the size of those used by other gentlemen, to wipe away the mud that had spattered his new coat. And just as the French styles were once again making their way across the Channel. Thanks to that scoundrel Napoleon Bonaparte, London had been deprived of Parisian fashions for several years.
“Hey there, ‘ya big lug!” a female voice called, rising above the din of the humans still bustling out of the theater. “Watch where you’re putting them huge green feet of yours, kitten.”
Duncan had been called many names in his life, but “kitten” had never before counted among their number. It took him a moment to realize the young woman was addressing him.
She clicked her tongue between her teeth as she attempted to reclaim the flowers. “A girl’s tryin’ to make a living here, you know.”
Her voice held the distinctive tinge of the East End, an accent he sometimes heard from shopkeepers. This woman’s outlandish appearance matched the Cockney drawl. Her walking dress and pelisse, both of which might have been a startling bronze hue when in fashion five years ago, clung to her slender figure in an indecent manner. A flamboyant blue-purple iris, its petals shaped like the fleur-de-lis of the old French royal family, with a jagged shot of golden color in the center, topped her bonnet.
To make matters even more ridiculous, he found himself staring at this woman, whose delicate form and features were at odds with the boldest feminine voice he’d had the pleasure of hearing since he left the Hidden Realm. In Duncan’s homeland, women were not given to the performative modesty of the ton. What was that phrase he’d heard a human gentleman use to describe a beguiling young lady who had only recently arrived in London from the country? A diamond in the rough. At the time, the expression had confused him, but now he thought he understood what it meant.
From Midnight to Moonlight by Nancy Gideon
Dowser Series: Box Set 1 ($0.99) by Meghan Ciana Doidge
by Meghan Ciana Doidge
$0.99 at the Time of Posting
Urban Fantasy
Published: June 28, 2016
Length: 837 Pages
The customer looked familiar, like maybe he’d been in the bakery a few times before. The vampire, however, was new. – Dowser 1
The Mating Seduction: $0.99 Werewolves of Montana - Book 3 by Bonnie Vanak
Side Jobs (Dresden Files - 12.5) by Jim Butcher
As Chicago’s only professional wizard, Harry Dresden has had cases that have pitted him against insane necromancers, power-hungry faerie queens, enigmatic dark wizards, fallen angels—pretty much a “who’s who” of hell and beyond—with the stakes in each case ranging from a lone human soul to the entire human race. But not every adventure Harry Dresden undertakes is an epic tale of life and death in a world on the edge of annihilation.
The Shadow Children (Book 1) by L.C. Hibbett
Who should you trust when everyone has the face of an angel?
Angels, Demons, Guardians, brooding guys with green eyes -- Eighteen-year-old Grace is sick of the lot of them. All she wants is a normal life, but when tragedy strikes, Grace and her foster family are hurled head-first into a world of magic, intrigue, and deceit.
As the threads of her life begin to unravel, Grace finds herself at the epicenter of a battle to save those she loves.
In a world built on lies, how far will she have to go to uncover the truth?
Perfect for fans of The Mortal Instruments, Hush Hush, and Fallen.
Read an Excerpt
Lucy now lives with her husband, their two little girls, and her dogs in a village not far from her family home. She spends her time writing, reading, and protecting the world from the trail of mischief and mayhem left behind by her daughters. She has reached ninja levels of secret eating and can open and consume vast levels of chocolate without being caught by her children. If you knew her eldest daughter, you’d realize this is an impressive feat–Sherlock Holmes has nothing on that kid.
Lucy’s favorite authors include Cassandra Clare, Maeve Binchy, Trudi Canavan, Jaymin Eve, Oscar Wilde, Kazuo Ishiguru, and Elise Kova. Lucy’s debut series, The Demon-Born Trilogy was released in 2016 and is an Amazon bestseller. She ate cake to celebrate. In secret.
Novel Book Tours: From Midnight to Moonlight Sale! Books by Nancy Gideon
Authors' Cafe
Saturday, June 17
M. J. Schiller, Romance Author
Sunday, June 18
Cross My Heart Writings & Reviews
Monday, June 19
The Realm of Fantasy & Fiction
Tuesday, June 20, 2017
Melissa Keir
Wednesday, June 21, 2017
What Readers Want
Thursday, June 22, 2017
Romance Me
Friday, June 23, 2017
Loren E. Price
Saturday, June 24, 2017
Paranormal Realms
Monday, June 26, 2017
HBS Author's Spotlight
Tuesday, June 27, 2017
fundinmental
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Paranormal Dimensions
Thursday, June 29, 2017
Diane Burton - adventure & romance
Friday, June 30, 2017
My TBR Addiction
This time, he could lose his soul . . .
An invitation to join an exclusive D.C. law firm seems like a chance for Nick Flynn to leave his mistakes behind. But it’s his shadowy past and unrealized inheritance that attracted his mysterious employers. Once embroiled in their dark schemes, his struggle for success becomes a battle for his salvation.
And she could lose her life . . .
Loner detective Rae Borden goes undercover as a call girl to discover the truth about her best friend’s death. Her carefully laid plan of revenge and personal redemption becomes a crusade against an unbelievable evil . . . with Nick Flynn in the middle.
Nancy Gideon is one of the best supernatural writers on the market today! — Midwest Book Review: BookWire
Every delicious word Nancy Gideon puts on the page exhilarates with a sensuous ferocity. Hopelessly addicted. — Darynda Jones, NY Times Bestselling AuthorBy Moonlight Series {Book 9}
Just $1.99 for a Limited Time!
By Nancy Gideon
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
Genre: Contemporary Paranormal Romance
Release Date: October 13, 2014
Length: 290 Pages
Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | Goodreads | Pinterest | Amazon
PRINCE OF HONOR {House of Terriot - Book 1} by Nancy Gideon
Prince of Honor
Turow . . .
Strong, silent man of integrity content to serve his new king as a prince in the turbulent shape-shifter House of Terriot. A tracker and relentless hunter, he’s used to running trails alone until charged with returning a traitor to their mountain top home to face the unforgiving judgment of their clan. On the run with the bad girl he’s loved forever, the choice between duty and desire has never been more difficult . . . or deadly.
Blog Tour: Exordium of Tears by Andrew P. Weston #Giveaway
Exordium of Tears
That simple yet brutal reality is the tenet by which the refugees from Earth – including the fabled lost 9th Legion of Rome; the 5th Company, 2nd Mounted Cavalry Unit; and the Special Forces Anti-Terrorist Team – were forced to live by while the Horde menace existed. Believing that the threat is over, the survivors now yearn to settle down, start families, and reclaim the lives stolen from them.
YA Spotlight: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price--and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can't pull it off alone...
Blitz Tour: Hasting's Dead by Rohn Federbush #Giveaway
“Hastings’ Dead” is set in a small Michigan town, where a University of Michigan student, Range Goloso, has promised her father she’ll return to teach grade school.
Fae - The Wild Hunt (The Riven Wyrde Saga Book 1) by Graham Austin-King
But sometimes the faerie tales are true. Sometimes they are a warning...
The Dragon Ring #Fantasy by Maggie Secara
Truth's Blood by Tyler Roberts {Featured Book}
Now, the economy is in ruin, and the president's European style welfare state stands at the brink of collapse. The United States is unable to repay its debts. China has come seeking payment in real assets, and they mean business. Chaos reigns; power has been cut; select cities have been decimated by nuclear bombs; and burned out houses occupy neighborhoods like rotting teeth in the mouth of a crack addict. What was new is now old and what was old is now new again.
Cliffson Lang's son attempts to escape the fires and mobs overrunning the city of Seattle. When Cliffson is called away to help, his other son is kidnapped by occupying forces and placed in a work camp. Truth's Blood is the Lang family's story of survival at a time when government dependency must be replaced by self-reliance. As the United States experiences the disintegration of society and foreign occupation, their challenge verges on the impossible.
Tyler Roberts is trained and educated in the fields of biology and environmental sciences. His hobbies include beekeeping, organic gardening and writing.
Jason Dark Supernatural Mystery Collection 1 by Guido Henkel
Join Jason Dark, a fearless and resourceful ghost hunter in Victorian England, as faces off against creatures from other dimensions and the forces of evil that feed on our fears. This collection features the occult detective's first three supernatural thrillers Demon’s Night, Theater of Vampires and Ghosts Templar, plus the bonus short story Food for the Dead, which was originally published in Fangoria™ Magazine.
A series of bizarre deaths in Victorian London leaves the victims unnaturally desiccated and decaying, sending occult detective Jason Dark into the dangerous world of the London dockyards in search of a supernatural murderer. But is the paranormal investigator prepared to duel a full-fledged demon on a Hell-bent mission to create chaos and catastrophe throughout the earth, a fiend determined to wreak more death and destruction than his even more ominous Father?
When stage magic isn’t what it seems, Jason Dark turns to an old friend for help. Explore the shadows of the Duke’s Theater with London’s most famous Geisterjäger as he confronts a horror beyond anything yet confronted. “Theater of Vampires” is a story of betrayal, discovery, and horror in the tradition of the Grand Guignol. The only admission price needed is your courage.
About Guido Henkel
Then, of course, there are the mobile games I programmed and released. In fact, we are currently preparing the launch of a new mobile game to hit Verizon soon, so keep your eyes peeled. I’ll report more on this here on the blog as things develop.
The Man Who Became Frankenstein's Monster by Robert Daicy
With no one willing to employ a man with such visible and disturbing scars, William is lost and has no answers for how to live his life. That is when he meets the man who will change that life forever, Roland Skelton, the owner of Skelton’s Spectacular Traveling Carnival. Where others saw a man to be shunned, Roland sees a man he may be able to help.
Roland convinces William to join the Carnival as the headliner of the ten-in-one. With the name ‘Frankenstein’s Monster,’ William is a hit with the paying audience and finds that being onstage is a release from his pain and guilt. In time, William realizes that those he works with understand him better than he could have hoped.
While working at the carnival, William finds a new happiness, an enemy, purpose, and even love. The Man Who Became Frankenstein’s Monster is a moving novel about a man who rises above adversity set against the backdrop of the golden age of the carnival.