(Edition from Jan. 05th to 12th)
I AM LATE, I KNOW! But at least the post is here, right? Right, haha! This is my weekly edition of the Mailbox news =D
In this issue, you’ll find news about: A. R. Steele, Anne Renwick, Avery Ford, Bianca Blythe, Cortney Pearson, Clara London, Declan Rhodes, Elise Kova, Emily Wesley Stringer, Jovee Winters, Parker Elliot & Stefan M. Nardi.
Hello, lovelies! Its Sunday, so welcome to another edition of the TBR of the Week! Today I chose a book I started last week, called The Silver Skull, by Anne Renwick =D I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review – it will be up over here sometime around January 27th, but I want to speed my ARC reads, haha!
Good morning, stars! It’s me, the book blogger – sorry if you expected the moon, our lady is asleep right now. I was organizing my e-mail this weekend and realized there are TONS of bookish news I’d like to share and comment with you, but mostly are from my hiatus (a.k.a. old news). As a journalist, I can’t sell you this information as fresh, because mostly aren’t. Also, I’d totally spam your inboxes with so many things I wanted to tell you all, so I decided to do a huge post (spoiler alert?) with all the top news I’ve learned and squealed over during my recluse days.
On the future, I plan to transform this into a weekly deal. While we wait for that particular miracle, I’m going to ravish about all the good stuff I’ve learned through the past two or three months =) To make navigation easier, I wrote this post in topics, sorting the authors alphabetically by their first name! #ocd #sorrynotsorry
This post has news about: Anne Renwick, Bonnie Dee & Summer Devon, Elaine Ashford, Helen Harper, Jeff Adams, Jordan L. Hawk, Linda Oaks, Mark C. King and Melissa Foster!
Anne Renwick
I’ve stumbled upon Anne Renwick’s books a couple of weeks ago and signed up to her newsletter. I’m crazy about newsletters of any kind, so I had to add hers to my collection ❤ Last Friday, she revealed the final cover for the second book in The Elemental Web Chronicles, coming out on January of 2017: The Silver Skull!
As you can see, I’m in love already and we haven’t even reached the blurb, haha! The book doesn’t have a profile on goodreads yet, but you can take a look on the first volume here and visit the author’s site here for more information on the series =)
Lady Olivia is not all she seems.
Trained for marriage to an assigned political target, her skills lie in programming household steambots to serve tea, dress her hair… and sound the alarm while she picks locks and listens at doors. Humiliated by a failed assignment, she decides to redeem herself by tailing a suspected double agent.
Lord Rathsburn must flirt with treason.
Struggles to cure a horrible disease have met with unexpected complications. The cells he engineered can make a man’s bones unbreakable, but the side effects are fatal. He believed the research terminated… until his sister was kidnapped by a German count. Her ransom? A cure.
Piloting a stolen dirigible, he uncovers an unlikely stowaway, Lady Olivia.
Arriving together at a crumbling castle, an impossible task is set before them: cure the count’s guardsmen. Amidst their fake marriage, a very real growing attraction, dying guardsmen and escalating hostilities, Lady Olivia and Lord Rathsburn are thrust deep into the world of international medical espionage from which there may be no return.
Bonnie Dee & Summer Devon
My divas released their newest book on October 3rd! Delaney and the Autumn Masque is the last book in the Victorian Holiday Hearts series, with a steamy gay romance for each special holiday of the year! I already own books one and two, but I have failed my goddesses and haven’t started the series yet. #shameonme But I shall and soon, as their books are too good for me to go without =)
A spicy harvest treat from Devon and Dee.
Delaney, former pickpocket and now a member of the Andrews theater clan, performs magic tricks as Billbo the Magnificent. Hired to entertain at a fancy dress ball, the magician is struck by the lurking, dramatic figure of the Grim Reaper. He follows Death to a quiet room for a glorious, lustful encounter.
With his identity hidden, impoverished gentleman Bartholomew Bancroft dares to indulge in an out-of-character moment to quench his forbidden yearning for another man’s touch. But in the light of day, he can’t dismiss his memories of the mysterious magician or a craving to see him again.
Bartholomew enlists the dexterous conjurer to teach him to pick pockets. His plan: to retrieve his hand-crafted jewelry taken by a vengeful ex-lover. During the lessons, Bartholomew and Delaney yield to desire, certain their affair will last only until they retrieve Bartholomew’s stolen work.
At another costume ball, the gentleman and the magician work together to foil the thief, but when all masks are abandoned at last, can lasting love remain?
Bonnie told me about her new solo work on our last e-mail exchange (yes, most of my favorite authors have to put up with me being a pain in the ass on their inboxes) and now we have a blurb! =D The Might Have Fallen will be published through Dreamspinner Press on January of 2017. We don’t have a cover or a Goodreads page yet, so I’ll just leave this killer blurb here and, if you want to stay tuned on Bonnie’s news, sign up to her newsletter on her website =)
Theater headliner Trevor Rowland is at the peak of his career when disaster strikes. In one fell swoop, he loses his eyesight, his fame, and his boyfriend, who absconds with most of his money. Trevor must take on a flat mate, hardworking East Ender Jack Burrows, to afford rent. Anger and bitterness have taken up residence in his heart—but Jack shines light into the shadowy corners with his relentlessly sunny disposition.
Jack introduces Trevor to a local drag club and convinces him he can enjoy the stage again. Trevor’s defenses slowly come down as Jack becomes much more than a barely tolerated roommate.
But will Trevor’s fragile trust be destroyed when it appears he’s been manipulated yet again by a man he’s come to care for? Will he reclaim his life or crawl back into a shell of defeat? Trevor must learn to trust not only a man, but himself, once more.
Elaine Ashford
I’ve stumbled upon Elaine Ashford quite by accident by the end of March. I still hadn’t the chance of reading her books until this week, but she touches my guilty pleasure with her works: sugared gay romances. She released two books during my moping time, the first being Boyfriend Bodyguard, on Sept. 26th through Lovelight Press. A hot bodyguard and a secret relationship? COUNT. ME. IN.
A business relationship…
Pop star Adrian needs a new bodyguard as soon as possible, and the hottie the agency sends is exactly his type. At least visually. But Rob isn’t as dull as he seems and there’s a softer side to this ex-military man that Adrian didn’t expect.
Rob doesn’t care what his new boss thinks: he just wants him to be more careful. Adrian’s recklessness with strangers is going to get him in trouble, and make Rob’s job more difficult than it has to be. But Adrian’s sunny personality doesn’t turn off when it’s just the two of them in a hotel room, and this young star might be more charming than Rob knows what to do with.
Becomes more than a job…
Just because Adrian flirts like it’s breathing doesn’t mean Rob has to be any less professional on the job. Somehow, it’s happening anyway. When a couple of fan encounters go sour – and heart-pounding – Rob has to admit that he cares more than he thought.
Tumbling into bed together isn’t the problem, it’s figuring out how to date out of the public eye.
But how far can that go?
Falling in love means Rob cares more than ever about keeping Adrian safe. But not all dangers are so easy to spot. This time, it’s not some crazed fans: it’s a family matter. And Adrian wants Rob to keep out of it. Are Rob’s protective instincts going to drive them apart? Or is there a real danger out there, and will Rob be in time to save the one he loves most?
Her second book released during these hard times actually went live on Monday, Nov. 21th, and you’ll see a review for it sometime in the next days. Miracles do happen and, somehow, Elaine included my name on her ARC readers list, so I find myself with a copy on my hands that I just finished last night! Despite this being the third volume in the series, they can be read as standalones. I’m sure I’ll end up buying all her books with the Amazon credits my relatives give me this Christmas, haha!
Stepping up…
Hockey captain Parker Gagner is straight. Isn’t he? He’s always thought so, but there’s something so compelling about Eli Martin’s pleading eyes that it makes him step into an argument between Eli and Eli’s asshole ex-boyfriend without thinking. Pretending to be Eli’s new man is only supposed to be a protective gesture, until spending time together becomes more important than pissing off Eli’s ex.
Holding back…
Eli isn’t sure what to do about his growing attraction to Parker. They’re doing a lot of fake dating, and he can’t help wanting more. Making a move is out of the question, though, unless he wants to risk destroying their friendship.
Crossing lines…
An unexpected late-night encounter leaves both men conflicted and avoiding each other. Can they find a way to talk about their feelings before it’s too late, or have they ruined their chance to really be together?
Helen Harper
I’ve met Helen Harper last year when I received Gifted Thief to review from the publisher, via NetGalley. It was love at first read and, almost a year later, Integrity Aidar’s journey reaches an end on the fourth book of the Highland Magic series: Last Wish. The book will be released on December 1st and Helen was awesome enough to provide me with an ARC, so you can expect the conclusion to Integrity’s adventures soon here too! Spoiler alert: I already finished the book, haha!
It’s not easy pretending to be dead – especially when it feels as if you have the weight of the world on your shoulders. Between an unfulfilled prophecy, the demon-occupied Lowlands, the continuing power of murderous Aifric Moncrieffe – not to mention her constant yearnings for Byron – Integrity Adair has a lot to worry about.
Still, how hard can it really be to save Scotland, maintain her morals, get the guy and keep her sense of humour?
This is the fourth and final book in the Highland Magic series.
Another wonderful news is that Helen and other 12 authors put together an awesome box with 13 books, called Urban Mythic: Thirteen Novels of Adventure and Romance, featuring Norse and Greek Gods, Demons and Djinn, Angels, Fairies, Vampires, and Werewolves in the Modern World =D Helen’s contribution was the first book in the series 
Olympiana, Eros. As you can imagine, it’s a retelling of the Greek myth of Cupid and Psyche and she was awesome enough to believe in me and send me a copy despite my offline struggles. Besides being grateful to the end of the world, I can assure you all that the book is great, as I already read it as well, haha! Now I only need to read the other 12 stories… Oops!
William Shakespeare once wrote that, “Cupid is a knavish lad, thus to make poor females mad.” The trouble is that Cupid himself would probably agree…
As probably the last person in the world who’d appreciate hearts, flowers and romance, Coop is convinced that true love doesn’t exist – which is rather unfortunate considering he’s also known as Cupid, the God of Love. He’d rather spend his days drinking, womanising and generally having as much fun as he possible can. As far as he’s concerned, shooting people with bolts of pure love is a waste of his time…but then his path crosses with that of shy and retiring Skye Sawyer and nothing will ever be quite the same again.
Also, you can find the Urban Mythic box here!
Jeff Adams
On more recent news like, in today’s fresh news, author Jeff Adams, whom I just met this week through a Big Gay Books Giveaway, just shared with his readers the final cover for his new book, Love’s Opening Night! The book will go live on December 28th through Dreamspinner Press =)
Can an onstage love story lead to a real-life romance?
Jeremy Steele is a veteran Broadway performer. For his latest role, he’s dancing alongside a man he’s fantasized about for years, TV star Ty Beaumont. Jeremy knows better than to get involved with a castmate, but when Ty has trouble learning the complicated choreography, Jeremy offers to lend a hand. When a rehearsal kiss turns into something more, Jeremy can’t help but wonder what a celebrity like Ty could ever see in a Broadway chorus boy like him. Will a relationship with his crush make it past previews, or can it become a long-running hit?
Jordan L. Hawk
Jordan was very busy as I moped around those few months: she released the second volume on the Hexworld series, Hexmaker, and I can’t tell you all how happy I am! I was dying for a sequel – too bad I have to wait until Christmas to buy the book. I had to settle for her other release, also in the Hexworld for now, haha!
[Click here to read my review for Hexbreaker, Hexworld #1]
A straight-laced policeman. A lighthearted thief. A murdered millionaire.
Fox shifter Malachi steals for one of the biggest crime rings in New York City. But when he witnesses the murder of a millionaire, the only person who can keep him safe is Dr. Owen Yates, forensic hexman for the Metropolitan Witch Police—and Malachi’s witch.
Owen is horrified to discover his familiar is an uneducated thief. Even worse, Malachi threatens to unleash Owen’s deepest desires…desires Owen can’t act upon, as he’s destined for an arranged marriage to secure the Yates family fortune
Their agreement: Malachi will be Owen’s lover as well as his partner, until the day of the wedding. But as their hunt for the murderer carries them from teeming slums to Fifth Avenue mansions, Owens begins to realize Malachi commands his heart as well as his body.
With dark forces drawing ever closer around them, Owen must decide whether to bow to the demands of duty, or to risk everything for the man he loves.
And this one I have already bought! Jordan wrote a lovely short story inside the Hexworld for a Christmas collection and released it as an independent volume on the end of October. I’ll be reading it soon enough, as it’s been too long since my last book from her ❤
Roland knows he will never find love. Everyone views wolf familiars like himself as dangerous beasts, unable to rein in their savage impulses. He’s resigned himself to his fate—or so he thinks, until he meets the dashing Augustus Cao. His witch.
Gus is on the trail of a gang of thieves, and Roland holds an important clue. Even though they can never bond, Roland can’t pass up the opportunity to spend a night with his witch.
Can Roland conceal his secret, while helping Gus catch the thieves? Or will the handsome detective be the one to steal his heart?
Linda Oaks
I’ve met Linda through a fellow bookstagrammer last year, as soon as I started blogging and it was friendship at first e-mailing, haha! I’ve been eagerly following The Chasing Series since the first volume and I’m preparing a surprise to Linda: I’ve bought my e-copy of Fighting for a Chance and I’ll surprise-review it for her! =D It’s the least I can do for her to start repaying all the e-mails she already had to endure from me and to show her how grateful I am to have her friendship on my life and her books on my shelves. Can’t wait to tell you guys more about this baby ❤
It all began with a secret. A cross of paths that altered a life.
Iris Malone had a plan of revenge. She searched for the man known as “The Savage.”
Chance Logan was one of the most promising heavyweight contenders on the planet. Her plan was simple, to make a savage fall to his knees. She would break his heart like he’d broken so many countless others before her.
But sometimes even the best laid plans can begin to unravel.
What happens when you fall for the enemy? When you’re in danger of losing your heart to the man you promised to make suffer?
When lines are crossed, and it’s too late to turn back, you have no choice but to live with the decisions you make.
Will Iris’s plan for revenge ruin the chance at a love of a lifetime? Will she fight for a chance to love a savage or will she lose everything when the truth is finally revealed?
Someone was going down. Someone would pay.
Do you care to place your bets as to who will be standing at the end of the final round?
Mark C. King
My friend Mark has been very busy; not only he released the third standalone book in the Sigmund Shaw series, he’s already working on his next book! How do I know all of this? Simple, my darlings: I’m one of his beta-readers =D I haven’t started the new story yet because I’m so lame, but I can’t wait to! Mark has such a magical way with words that he makes me float as I read his books ❤
Be Careful What You Wish For…
Sarah Clarke, fifteen-year-old niece of Sigmund Shaw, had never had any adventure in her life – outside of books. When her friend, Charlotte Merrihail, a reporter for the Strand Magazine, asked her to come along on an assignment in Egypt, Sarah thought she could finally experience something that was not just in her imagination. What ensues is far beyond her dreams…or nightmares.
A threatening curse, an impossible prophecy, and violent secret societies, are only the beginning of what Sarah will find herself up against.
Melissa Foster
Melissa Foster actually is known for her spicy heterosexual romances, so you can guess how surprised and curious I was to learn she had released a gay romance on Oct. 19th, right?!! I just need to read this! And before you ask, nope! I haven’t had the pleasure of reading any of her books yet, but I’m sure starting through Tempting Tristan ❤ This is another series filled with standalones =)
Fresh off the heels of yet another bad relationship, Tristan Brewer is taking a break from men to try to figure out where he keeps going wrong. He knows his biggest fault—he leads with his heart, not his head—and that’s never going to change. But after several introspective weeks, he’s beginning to get a handle on things. That is, until badass heartthrob Alex Wells walks into his bar…
Alex has spent eight years in the army, months in a hospital bed, and far too long hiding his sexual identity. He’s guilt-ridden, damaged, pissed off, and up for a Silver Star for the incident that nearly cost him his life—and kept him from his grandmother’s funeral. But all he wants to do is live the life he’s always dreamed of and forget his stint with the institution that allows but doesn’t necessarily accept.
The chemistry between Tristan and Alex ignites from the moment they meet, and the more time they spend together, the hotter the flames burn. But the closer they become, the more Alex’s walls go up, and when the two walk onto a military base, Tristan finds out Alex’s physical scars aren’t the ones that run the deepest.
~*~
WHOA, that was a huge post! And I’m sure I missed many more good news, tho. Ugh. Next thing to start December with my right blogging foot is to make a resumed list of new releases I want to see under my Christmas three, haha! #daring #delusional
Thanks so much for reading this post! Tell me a bit about the best bookish news you’ve received on those last three months =D
Until another time and love you all,
The Book Adventures of Annelise Lestrange 