Sins of the Fire (Sins of the Fire, #1)

Sins of the Fire (Sins of the Fire, #1) By Phoenix Ward
Publication date: September 13, 2024
Buy Link: Amazon
Genres: Fantasy, New Adult, Young Adult
Summary:

No one knows dragons coexisted with humans.

Ancient times long past, we shared magic, weapons and even our very souls with these creatures. Society’s connection between them spanned the test of time, through art, stories, and spoken word. Yet though depictions remain, they no longer exist.

Christian armies, believing these creatures to be devils, laid siege to end their species in a wild pursuit of their Promised Land. Bloodshed for nearly two centuries suddenly came to an end. Concurrently, those winged beasts, admired and feared, were extinguished without a trace.

It’s 2028, and the Crusades are talked about in my college classes. One dragon was able to escape it all by sealing itself in a blade. If such a blade existed, and anyone were to lift it today, they’d reignite the war long dormant—An affront on God himself.

I’m Kane, by the way. Kane Wynde. And this is Mysherra, the affront to God.

—

EXCERPT:

“You shall be tied to the blade, for as long as your mind and spirit remain. Is this acceptable?”

The earth shook, and the rumble of fire howled from outside of the cave. An ultimatum laid before me. To bind myself within

the blade would mean giving up my freedom for eternity. To fight a war that threatened to burn the earth to its core would mean

my death. The Gods have brought upon us a calamity no mortal could ever hope to quell. Humans who were once close to us

rallied for our demise. Our kind torched them, their lands, and their ilk in sport. Whichever side won, there would be no true

victor. Only ash.

Harleigh Sinclair and the Kingdom of the Bristol Skull (The Harleigh Sinclair, #4)

Harleigh Sinclair and the Kingdom of the Bristol Skull (The Harleigh Sinclair, #4) By Tamara Grantham
Publication date: February 4, 2025
Buy Link: Amazon
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance
Summary:

An Egyptian ankh. An Inuit mask. A Skinwalker’s scythe.
Three Neotact artifacts have been found. Only the shield and sword remain. 

My name is Harleigh Sinclair. I have a gift to find lost artifacts, though there are some who call it a curse…
When I discover a riddle etched inside a goldstone skull, it may be the clue I need to discover not only the Viking shield, but the famed sword of King Arthur, Excalibur. 

After my father was attacked by a Blood Raider over a decade ago, and his sword stolen, my life’s mission has been to find his attacker and bring justice to our family. But before I can find the attacker, I must first discover the original four artifacts before the Blood Raiders obtain them first. 

With the aid of the insufferable and dangerously handsome Jagg Ransom, plus my sister and a team of handpicked experts, we follow the riddle’s clues. Our search leads us from a Viking museum in Norway, to underground crypts in Bristol, England, and finally to a forest haunted by a legendary hellhound. But we’re not alone. 

The Blood Raiders have gotten desperate. And they’ve been following us. If we don’t find the shield first, they’ll attain more power than we can comprehend, and not only will we fail, but we’ll be doomed to die at their hands.

—

EXCERPT:

I stepped into the office of Darius Greyson—my boss, my once savior. Some would call him my captor. Thunder rumbled as I looked through the vast windows ringing the room. Usually, the view from the fifty-seventh floor displayed an impressive panorama of the San Antonio skyline. Tonight, only a few pinpricks of light managed to punch through the storm clouds.

Muted pendant lights flickered as another peal of thunder shook the room. My footsteps echoed over the expansive marble floor, and my heart gave a sudden lurch when I approached the glass display cases sitting atop polished onyx pedestals.

Mending Broken Threads

Mending Broken Threads By E.D. Hackett
Publication date: January 28, 2025
Buy Link: Amazon
Genres: Adult, Women’s Fiction
Summary:

Family secrets never stay buried for long…

Lynette Waller, a divorced Chicagoan, finds herself face to face with the demons of her past after her estranged mother passes away. Standing in her childhood home for the first time in decades, she learns of her mother’s past mistakes and regret through a magic suitcase, a medium, and her equally estranged daughter, Ruby.

To her parents’ disdain, Ruby Franklin traded security for chaos when she dropped out of college to pursue her modeling career in California. When an unexpected phone call sends her to Maine for her beloved grandmother’s passing, she finds herself emotionally unprepared for a family reunion.

The magic suitcase allows Lynette and Ruby to see into the matriarch’s past, but what lessons do her secrets hold? As they search for answers, they find that sometimes the truth is hiding in plain sight. With the help of Mema’s memories, will this mother-daughter duo heal old wounds and find the love buried within their past?

If you adore mother-daughter stories, heartwarming relationships, and transformative journeys, you’ll love this women’s fiction novel Mending Broken Threads.

—

EXCERPT:

Later that night, Lynette lay in her parent’s old bed, huddled under the massive pile of blankets. Suddenly spooked by the shadows in the room and the anticipation of sleep, she pulled the blankets to her eyes and closed them tight.

Her heart raced when her body jerked at the sound of a tree branch breaking outside. It must be an animal or the wind. Lynette flipped on the bedside lamp and scanned the room. The closet doors remained shut, the hallway light spread from under the door, and a pile of dirty clothes sat in the far corner. Nothing looked amiss.

Chasing Headlines (Chasing Victory, #1)

Chasing Headlines (Chasing Victory, #1) By J. Rose Black
Publication date: January 2, 2025
Buy Link: Amazon
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, New Adult, Romance
Summary:

They’re chasing the same dream…
Too bad they’re not on the same team.

When Breslin Cooper’s major league dreams go up in flames, he’s left with his backup plan: college baseball at Texas State Tech in Vanquer, Texas. 

But his public altercation with a reporter saddles him with mandated community service, therapy–and a toxic “Storm Cooper” reputation that no professional baseball scout will touch.

Liv Milline’s family name is practically synonymous with IML baseball. Yet despite her love for the game (the tight pants aren’t bad, either) and her dreams of becoming a baseball scout–her father holds one, ironclad rule: No baseball for Olivia (the corollary: no baseball players for Olivia is just downright mean).

Her one loophole? Playing baseball beat reporter for Texas State Tech.

Chasing similar dreams, Liv attempts to befriend Breslin. But the amazingly talented, pain in her aperture has only two words to say whenever she’s around: “No comment”.

Still, she can’t help but notice the troubled ballplayer’s running on overload. Emotionally wounded and reeling from his mother’s death, the only time Breslin seems close to “ok” is on the ballfield. Liv and his new teammates can’t seem to get through.

When a lapse in judgment catches Breslin in a real-world rundown, jeopardizing his probation and his baseball scholarship, his only choice may be to rely on Liv–the aggravating, attractive, and utterly relentless reporter, chasing her latest headline.

[Book one of a series, Chasing Headlines ends with a HFN, no cliffhanger, but lingering / unresolved issues waiting to bite them in the butt in Book 2.]

—

EXCERPT:

Breslin POV

I threw my glove in my locker and grabbed my backpack from the hook. I imagined myself bounding out of the room, but my legs barely managed more than a shuffle.

Still, I must have gotten going a bit too fast because, the next thing I knew, Rally Girl was on the ground, phone skittering across the tile.

And I was the asshole. Shit.

Twice A Target (Task Force Eagle, #4)

Twice A Target (Task Force Eagle, #4) By Susan Vaughan
Published by: The Wild Rose Press
Publication date: January 29th 2025
Buy Link: Amazon
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Summary:

Disaster strikes DEA Agent Holt Donovan twice, when a gunfight ruins his mission and a car crash kills his brother and sister-in-law. 

Home on the Colorado ranch to raise his infant nephew, Holt enlists a nanny—Maddy McCoy, the woman who once jilted his brother. The world-traveling photographer never expected to return to Colorado, the only real home she ever had, and to the man she never forgot. 

Burned out from covering too many starving children and refugees and short on funds, Maddy agrees, vowing to keep her heart safe. What neither of them knows is that by bringing her into his home, Holt has placed her in the crosshairs of a killer. 

As Holt and Maddy cope with their desire for each other and the resentments of the past, their investigation into the brother’s death leads them into escalating danger and a shocking discovery.

—

EXCERPT:

Bobby’s siren wail penetrated Holt’s consciousness like a nail in his skull.

He opened one eye. The lighted digital clock beside his bed read two o’clock. Right on time, little guy. “Coming,” he mumbled.

One foot on the floor. The other. He raked fingers through his hair, then pushed to his feet. Starting for the door, he snapped alert as though slapped.

Maddy McCoy.