Urgent intel warns of terrorist cells planning coordinated attacks throughout Europe. Special Agent Jacob Coulter of Brussels Interpol is assigned to find the terrorist financiers supporting these groups and shut down their funding operations.
An opera singer’s life and career hang in the balance.
The Queen of the Night’s vocal pyrotechnics have launched many a soprano’s international career. But Riley Williams, Jacob’s fiancée, is terrified of heights, and her Antwerp Opera debut as the evil queen requires her to sing from a hydraulic lift forty feet above the orchestra pit. When newspapers cite Riley’s recent unmasking of an international terrorist plot and the lift malfunctions, Jacob suspects terrorist sabotage.
He encourages Riley to accept her BFF’s invitation to stay the Savoy Hotel in London where she’ll be out of danger. Or so he thinks …
A series of murders connected to a notorious terrorist financier known as the Priest leads Jacob across Europe. When the victims’ deaths point to London, his Interpol partner convinces him London is a haven for terrorist financiers.
But the clock is ticking, and what Jacob uncovers is more devastating than anything he could have imagined.
Discover a story of adventure, fun, and friendship with Billy Balloon, the first in an exciting new children’s book series. Kids will love following Billy’s pen pal adventures in this children’s book for emerging readers (Age 3-5).
Billy Balloon was born in a little balloon factory on a little hill, with hundreds of his brothers and sisters and friends. His adventure begins with the start of the Big Balloon Race. The winner of the race is determined by how far each balloon carries its pen pal note. Follow along as Billy overcomes challenges and meets new friends! Your whole family will enjoy this endearing and cheerful story. Come find out what happens.
Be Adoshable!
Adoshable: Adventuring with joy and intent.
About the Author
Jack Payton wrote Billy Balloon during a writing exercise in fourth grade. This incredible story of adventure stayed with him throughout his life. Now, after many years, an amazing marriage, and two wonderful kids, he wanted to share the adventure with others. He isn’t done with just this one book. There are more adventures to go on together. Jack became Adoshable and invites readers to be the same. Learn more at billyballoonadventures.com and follow his adventures (@billyballoonadventures) on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.
About Pacific & Court
Pacific & Court is a Brooklyn-based boutique publicity and digital marketing company specializing in promoting independent authors and book publishers. Together, the P&C team has over 30 years of experience publishing, promoting, and marketing bestselling books. Focusing on heavily tested and proven PR and marketing methods, P&C will reach the exact audience that will be receptive to your unique book. Follow P&C on social media @pacificandcourt.
Review copies of Billy Balloon are available upon request. For excerpts and/or interview queries, please contact Kourtney Jason at kourtney@pacificandcourt.com.
My Review:
I really enjoyed this book very much! It was so cute. The artwork was beautiful. The writing was so sweet. I totally wish I could have seen the letter sent! I’d definitely read other books by this author!
She is a rebel. Lilla is fighting for the refugees’s freedom from oppression. The king, her father, lost touch with reality ever since Lilla’s mother died. Now everyone else is paying the price.
The arrival of Callum, a powerful Teryn general, complicates Lilla’s life. His presence leads to conflicted feelings and friction with Arrov, a handsome pilot and fellow rebel.
Her life is not what she imagined it to be. Not by far. Meddling gods, love interests and sudden magical abilities have no room in Lilla’s world, but that has become her new reality. No matter how hard she pushes them away, it’s too late. They all seek to control her anyway.
Now the Era War between two ruling archgods forces Lilla to act: accept who she really is magic and all; find true love; fulfill her destiny by defeating the Archgod of Chaos and Destruction before He finds her. The Last Lumenian.
My Review:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Title: The Last Lumenian Author: S.G. Blaise Release Date: October 7th, 2020 Page Count: 317 Start Date: December 19th, 2021 Finish Date: January 5th, 2022
Review: Story: This is one of the rare books that I knew the moment I saw it that I would love it. For the most part, I wasn’t wrong. I really did enjoy the book very much. I didn’t get caught up into the story right away like I thought I would be, but I got there eventually. That’s not saying the book was written bad or anything like that. I just wasn’t in the mindset at the time when I first started reading it. The downfalls of being a mood reader. Characters: One of our main characters is a part of the rebels. She’s also a princess of the kingdom that the rebels are rebelling against. The rest of the characters are people who have been wronged by the king or people who have been following his orders. Critiques: None Narration: I didn’t listen to the book fully. The parts I did listen to were pretty amazing. I was very impressed and give a full five-star rating. Final Thoughts: I really need to get to reading the second book of this series! I buddy read this one with a group of friends, but they didn’t want to continue with the sequel. I’ll get there eventually. Maybe I’ll even decide to reread this beauty before I do read it!
He was a prince, forced into a new life as a pauper.
Luc, a poor but vain young man in 1775 Paris, is confused by his dreams of gilded ballrooms and unknown people in lace and jewels. What’s more, everything before the past two years is a hazy fog in his mind. His only link is Aunt Mathilde, who gives him few answers.
What he doesn’t know is that ‘Aunt Mathilde’ is in fact his mother—and a Sorceress. She keeps him captive under her magical veil, desperate to both protect him and punish him for the evil deeds of his royal past.
When disease leaves Luc scarred and weakened, he feels his life is over. He pushes away his humble friends, including Emilie, a young housemaid.
Emilie, scarred from smallpox, is resigned to life as a spinster. Yet, she sees beauty and joy in life and understands Luc’s despair beneath his bitter, beastly attitude.
Unless Luc can embrace his inner strength, care about others, and love unselfishly, he risks destroying himself once more.
This is Book 1 of the Mages in the Mundane historical fantasy series and is an adult twist on Beauty and the Beast, with family drama, a secret underground society of Mages, and a sweet love story. The novel ends with a lead-in to the sequel.
I really wanted to enjoy this book. For the most part, I did. I really loved the story and the idea behind the story. The thing that just didn’t do it for me were the characters. I didn’t care for any of them. The ones I thought I might have been able to connect with weren’t really big parts of the story so I can’t really give a solid answer on that. I may read the next book in the series when it releases, if it hasn’t already. I’m just really not sure at this moment. I also may reread this book just to give it another chance.
Thanks for reading! Please check out the other bloggers in this tour!
Author: Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
Release Date: June 29th, 2021
Page Count: 347
Format: Audiobook
Start Date: February 26th, 2023
Finish Date: March 4th, 2023
Rating: 5 Stars
Review:
I read this for our Cobb County Library book club. I was nervous about reading this book in the beginning. I struggled with comprehending it at first. After starting the book over a few times, I finally got there. This isn’t because the book itself was bad or poorly written. It’s just that I sometimes struggle with comprehending things that don’t hit me right away. Once I did get into it, I enjoyed the book very much. I felt a deep empathy for Belle. Even more so after I found out that this story was based on a real person. I took the time to read the authors’ notes in the back of the book as well. These two authors put in a lot of time and research into this story, and it definitely shows. I actually want to do research on Belle da Costa Greene and H.P. Morgan. I’d also love to do more research on Morgan’s daughter, Anne. I recommend this book. I also want to read other books by these authors.
Sheriff Elizabeth Benoit’s worst nightmare returns when her deputies discover a young woman killed in the same circumstances as a death from 25 years earlier. That previous victim was Elizabeth’s best friend and Deputy Kyle Lundquist’s older sister. Elizabeth has spent a quarter of a century trying to nail the crooked ex-sheriff she knows is involved up to his elbows in this unresolved crime. She has a thick file of clues, but it’s going to take irrefutable proof to put both cases to bed.
Deputy Detective Lila Dayne draws on all her investigative skills, but still she can’t pin down their main suspect. Then prominent members of the community begin to disappear—clearly, there’s a bigger vendetta at play. Despite the legal consequences of being too close to the case, Elizabeth can’t keep away now.
When Elizabeth’s sister goes missing, it’s a no-holds-barred race against time in the showdown that’s been brewing in Eckardt County for decades.
I wound up getting the first two books in this series in audiobook. I was smitten with the covers for the three of them. The covers are gorgeous. The stories are gorgeous. I can’t wait until the third book is released in audio so that I have an excuse to read them all over again! Will have a more detailed review later.
Axel Platzoff did not work at the Handy Pavilion by choice...
Stacking shelves seemed beneath the former supervillain who had come close to world domination so many times. But as part of his plea deal with the Hague, he had to work somewhere, so he worked at the big-box hardware store in the sleepy Australian suburb of South Hertling. Fortunately, he was not the only eccentric employee of the place. Pavilion workers included dryads, time-traveling cyborgs, water-witches, ape-men, cowboys, demigods, angels, demons, mad scientists and animate garden gnomes.
Gradually Axel came to feel at home, until tragedy struck. The construction of a rival hardware store, just across Hurley Road threatened his living and his new friends. Axel had no choice but to to take the fight to his enemies, the only way he knew how. But is the DIY Barn really nothing but a rival hardware store? Or will it’s sinister secret destroy the Handy Pavilion and seriously inconvenience the people of South Hertling?
An engaging mix of urban fantasy and workplace comedy.
Australian SFF author BG Hilton spent most of his life doing jobs so tedious that his only escape was entertaining himself with crazy fantasy stories, and now he writes them down in the hope of entertaining others. He specialises in Specilative Fiction, Humour and Non-Fiction. He works in the education sector these days, which would probably surprise any of his teachers. His debut novel — the Steampunk adventure ‘Champagne Charlie and the Amazing Gladys’ was published by Odyssey Books in early 2020. He lives with his family in Sydney, and consequently spends a lot of time in traffic.
Story: This was a really quirky book. I found myself laughing many times. I have to be honest, I kind of wish that I had some talent in the narration department. I’d totally volunteer to narrate this novel. It’s showcases the dreads of working retail with a supernatural twist. I’d love to see this book be turned into a cartoon. Probably one more geared to teens and adults, but still. I’d watch every episode.
Characters: There were too many of them to keep up with names. I really enjoyed all of them. They were all strange and very quirky.
Critiques: None
Final Thoughts: I’m not sure if this is going to be a series or not. I want to say it is, but I just can’t be sure. If it is, I will definitely be grabbing the rest of the series. I’ll probably reread this a few times. Especially when I’m feeling down and need a good laugh. There are some potentially offensive jokes displayed in the book. I wouldn’t recommend it for anybody who are more sensitive to jokes.
Grieving her mother’s death, Mari Lennox travels to Kyoto, Japan to take photographs of Yanagi Inn for a client. As she explores the inn and its grounds, her camera captures striking images, uncovering layers of mystery shrouding the old resort—including an overgrown, secret garden on a forbidden island. But then eerie weeping no one else in the inn seems to hear starts keeping her awake at night.
Despite the warnings of the staff, Mari searches the deep recesses of the old building to discover the source of the ghostly sound, only to realize that her own family’s history is tied to the inn, its mysterious, forlorn garden . . . and the secrets it holds.
“The Secret Garden is hallowed ground for so many readers, and Logan has clearly honored it and made an elevated piece of work.” —Keri Wilt, speaker, historian and great-great-granddaughter of Frances Hodgson Burnett, author of The Secret Garden
“The gradual but compelling unraveling of this family mystery captivated me. Heartfelt celebration of female friendship across the Pacific!” —Naomi Hirahara, Edgar Award-winning author of Hiroshima Boy and Clark and Division
About Amber Logan
Amber A. Logan is a university instructor, freelance editor, and author of speculative fiction living in Kansas with her husband and two children―Fox and Willow. In addition to her degrees in Psychology, Liberal Arts, and International Relations, Amber holds a PhD in Creative Writing from Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge.
Story: First of all, I want to say how beautiful I find the cover. I hope that it never changes. Well, maybe some tweaks here and there, but the same for the most part. I really enjoyed this book. I went into it blindly like I do with most books. I really enjoyed reading it. I loved learning some more about Japanese culture. I have to be honest, there were a few times that I thought this was going to wind up being a horror novel. I had some theories on how the book was going to end up. I was wrong. The ending was still very beautiful. I really enjoyed it.
Characters: We follow Mari in this story. She takes a trip to Japan after her mother passed away. She found herself struggling with grief and unable to go on. Then she discovers that she’s been offered a grant to photograph an inn. I really liked her, but there were some things she did and thought that I didn’t agree with. I loved the maid! I forget her name, but she was so quirky!!! I’d have liked to see more of the sister in the book if I’m being honest.
Critiques: None
Narration: I really feel like the narrator got as into this story as I did. I didn’t want to stop listening. I will most likely listen to this audiobook again because of how good the narration was.
Final Thoughts: This was such a beautiful story. It is a story that really invokes thought and reflection on life. That being said, it’s also got a very quirky and sassy flare to it as well. I feel like that kind of breaks up the heavy of the story overall. I probably would have finished this book in one sitting had I had the chance. I will be rereading this in the future. It’s just so beautiful!
Dragons. Magic. Rents in time. Dragonborn follows the journey of the young prison guard, Ervig Greenfields, as he seeks out dragons to remove a curse. The dragons offer him access to the Labyrinth of Times, which purges dark magic. But there’s a catch. To enter, he must take the Dragon Oath—an oath to secrecy that requires allegiance to the dragons and a promise to fight alongside dragonkind for centuries, never to return to his own time.
Dragonborn conjures up a winning recipe with prophecies of destiny, humans, and dragons working together to navigate through time to put the pieces in place. Dragons of the Thornose and Goldenhorn clans must learn to work together and to trust the humans. Not all humans, but the handful of people chosen to be Dragonborn. Together, they must overcome the spirits of evil living within the magically protected Book Darkmore. The Dragonborn, and their dragons, become seeds of change in this epic tale, of sacrifice for the greater good. Ride along with them as they slip through a tear in time to the past to change the future.
About the author
Originally from the Chicago area, Author Donna Sundblad now makes her home in the foothills of NW Georgia with her husband, cat and birds. As a child she entertained friends and family with tales from her overactive imagination. By the time she was a young teen, she started to put pen to paper and her love for writing blossomed.
The original inspiration for The Inheritance stemmed from her own journey to find Truth. Even though she grew up in a religious home, it was at age 29 she finally met Jesus Christ in a real way. That relationship changed her life for eternity. While The Inheritance doesn’t tell people what to think, it is Donna’s hope that it will cause people to think about what they believe and why, because their eternal destination depends on whether or not is based on the Truth.
Donna’s upcoming epic fantasy, Dragonborn, is available for pre-order for the Kindle, due out Oct. 4. This clean, cuss-free fantasy adventure carries readers across time as generations of humans and dragons learn to work together to rid the world of the evil living in the Book of Darkmore. The problem is, the book can’t be destroyed. How can humans and dragons win this race to stop the evil? Only time will tell.
Story: I didn’t really care for the beginning at all. If it wasn’t for that, this book would get a full five stars. It’s a really adorable story other than that. I really enjoyed it. I especially loved the dragons’ way of speaking. It was very unique and yet familiar at the same time. I’m really hoping that this is a series so that I can continue reading. I believe I remember it being referenced at the end. I could be wrong though.
Characters: I’m horrible with names. If the book had been told completely from the first person’s point of view, I would have put this book down. He wasn’t relatable at all. The rest of them were really wonderful Especially the dragons.
Critiques: There were parts I felt were a bit too jumpy. This may be a me thing. I do have ADHD.
Final Thoughts: I’m very thankful that I listened to my gut and kept reading. I didn’t like the beginning of the book at all. He really bothered me and made me feel very uncomfortable. I felt like I connected with the daughter more than anybody. I won’t get to much into that. I don’t want to spoil too much of this book for potential readers. I definitely recommend pushing through the beginning. It seems really frustrating, but it’s worth the wait. I promise.
Once Upon a Dance donates all proceeds to charity.
Aspen & Sycamore Saps live on Maple Street with Mama and Mee. The family enjoys the blackberry bushes growing in the yard until the plants spread out of control. The kids want to get some animals to help, but first they’ll need to convince Mama and Mee. Will their new animal friends help? Or will things get a little crazy?
Move along with the quirky collection of animals, firefighters, and more, joined by a professional ballerina. This interactive story will get kids off the couch, exploring movement and dance fundamentals.
The Grumpy Goat is ideal for children 4-7. It features Aspen (no pronouns), Sycamore (she), Mama (she), Mee (she), firefighters, a goat, a pig, and a llama. Major themes include problem-solving, the value of family, and kindness to animals. Dance-It-Out!s are above level (language-wise) as they’re intended to be initially enjoyed with a caregiver or teacher. (~700+Lexile)
Ballerina Konora joins the pages with photos and suggestions for movement exploration. Three books in one: readers can enjoy the story, act out the tale in their own way, or try Konora’s suggested activities, designed by an award-winning ballet teacher to develop body awareness and movement knowledge.
Concepts and Movement in this Story: • Core Strength • Arabesque (from knees) • Hands and Feet Locomotion • Balance • Weight Shift • Climbing • Quality of Movement (Slow/Fast etc.) • Pliés and Jumps • Body Part Isolation (Fingers, Thumb, Elbows, Feet, Shoulders, Chin, Tongue, etc.) • Levels • Fine Motor Skills • Coordinated Movement with Voice • Spinning • March (Skip) • Breath In/Out • Falling • Shapes • Counted Movements • Focus • Spinning Jump • Donkey Kick
This movement journey is ideal for dance, creative movement, physical education, homeschool, kindergarten, first-grade, or second-grade activities. The Dance-It-Out! series features diverse characters. Books make a great gift for boys or girls interested in dance, ballet, gymnastics, or yoga, or reluctant readers who enjoy getting up and moving.
About the authors
Once Upon a Dance is an award-winning mother-daughter collaboration.
Ballerina Konora climbed the ballet ladder to pro, and she’s thrilled to be living her dreams dancing with Ballet Idaho. Along the way, she danced iconic roles such as Sugar Plum Fairy and Cinderella.
Teacher Terrel taught dance for decades and was honored by her City Council for “embodying the spirit of partnership and commitment to children in our community” for her work with young dancers. She’s breathed ballet from every angle and worked in early childhood education, for non-profits supporting kids, and as a university English teacher as a Peace Corps volunteer.
Once Upon a Dance 2021/2022 Awards: Mom’s Choice Gold Award, Family Choice Award, Royal Dragonfly First Place, PenCraft Award First Place, Firebird First Place, Pinnacle: Best Book Juvenile Fiction, Independent Press Award Winner, International Impact Book Award Winner, Outstanding Creator Awards Winner, Readers Favorite Certified Great Read, Indie’s Today 5-Star Recommended, The Wishing Shelf 5-Star, Literary Titan 5-Star Award.
This is the cutest book! I really enjoyed it. I also really enjoy that it’s so interactive. Each page has wonderful dance moves that can be performed to go with the story! How amazing is that? I fully recommend this. I think it would be beneficial of all ages.
Stars Books & Tea 