Daily Archives: October 2, 2020

The Clockwork Scarab: A Stoker & Holmes Novelby Colleen Gleason

Evaline Stoker and Mina Holmes never meant to get into the family business. But when you’re the sister of Bram and the niece of Sherlock, vampire hunting and mystery solving are in your blood. And when two society girls go missing, there’s no one more qualified to investigate. Now fierce Evaline and logical Mina must resolve their rivalry, navigate the advances of not just one but three mysterious gentlemen, and solve murder with only one clue: a strange Egyptian scarab. The stakes are high. If Stoker and Holmes don’t unravel why the belles of London society are in such danger, they’ll become the next victims.

The Return of the O’Connellsby Lorhainne Eckhart

Will life ever return to normal?



That’s the question everyone in the O’Connell family has asked since their lives were turned upside down by a murder charge. With their father now back from the dead, the O’Connells are coming to grips with the idea that justice isn’t equal. But despite the pending arrival of a new grandchild, and the fact that the family is settling into a new identity, trouble seems to always be one step away. This time, it could come from within, as a shadowy new enemy has found its way into the close-knit family and could ultimately destroy the bond the siblings share, forcing them to finally cut their losses and walk away from one another.

Atonement Camp for Unrepentant Homophobesby Evan J. Corbin

The oldest translation of a Gospel is returned to the world by a secret society long dedicated to its preservation. In it, Jesus explicitly condemns bigotry and homophobia. In a new world in which LGBTQ passengers receive preferential boarding for flights and the United States has elected its first lesbian President, Pastor Rick Harris is stalwart, closeted preacher who doggedly holds onto his increasingly unpopular convictions.

When an incendiary sermon goes too far and offends an influential family, Rick makes a painful choice to keep his job: He attends an atonement camp run by drag queens for society’s most unrepentant and terminally incurable homophobes.

Atonement Camp is immersion therapy for Pastor Harris, and it might be working. An open bar with pedicures, a devastatingly attractive roommate and an endless supply of glitter help him manage to make new friends. Soon, Rick and his cohorts learn the camp may hold its own secrets. Amid the smiling faces and scantily clad pool boys who staff the camp, a clandestine group plots to discredit the New Revelation and everything it stands for.

If Rick has the conviction to confront his own hypocrisy, he might be able to uncover the conspirators with help from his adopted flock–and find new truths within himself.

CONTENT WARNING: This novel addresses issues related to the infliction of emotional abuse by a homophobic parent who suspects his son to be a homosexual. Separately, while not the author’s intent, some readers may interpret the story’s attempt to confront issues of religious hypocrisy as an assault on religion itself. No such conclusion is intended. Lastly, the novel follows a protagonist who, at times, uses hateful slurs to refer to members of the LGBTQ community. Such language is intended to give authenticity to a self-hating, closed member of that same community. Readers may appreciate the protagonist’s growth as he embraces his sexuality and reconciles himself with his faith.

The Burnin’by Estevan Medrano

On April 23, 1940, a fire broke out at a night club in the segregated town of Natchez, Mississippi. It remains one the deadliest building fires in U.S. history, resulting in the deaths of over two hundred men and women–all of them African American. THE BURNIN’ is a novel about the aftermath of the tragedy from the accounts of a coroner, a nurse, and an arson detective.
Herb Jones, a local black coroner, receives a call in the middle of the night from a fireman informing him that a terrible fire has occurred at a dance hall in the town’s “negro district.” Herb drives over to the charred night club where some victims are burned beyond recognition. In addition to the strenuous process of transporting and embalming the bodies, Mississippi segregation laws only permit black coroners to handle black corpses, limiting the help available to him. As the town reeks of death and the funeral firm faces bankruptcy because of its financial obligations to the dead, he attempts to identify the bodies of neighbors, friends, and even relatives.
Meanwhile, Eliza, Herb’s wife, is a nurse caring for the scores of burned and injured at the only black hospital in town. The conventional treatment for critical burns involves a meticulous skin removal process known as the “tannic acid-silver nitrate treatment.”
Julian Winters, a brilliant but smug arson detective, is sent from Jackson to determine the cause of the fire and help draft safety codes to prevent a reoccurrence of a similar disaster. When a few locals that escaped the blaze describe a drunken man threatening to burn the place down that night, he tries to determine if the fire was a terrible accident or a mass murder.

My Last Love Affairby Ali Parker

Get Married. Have a child.

These are the only two rules to get my inheritance.

Neither of which I want. My billionaire life doesn’t play well with either idea.

But no one asked me. My father’s company is up for grabs, and whichever of my brothers makes it to the finish line first wins.

In no time, I’ve found the perfect woman to play my fake fiancée while I figure things out.

Beautiful. Smart. Strong.

Everything I crave in a relationship and more.

But there’s a problem. She’s got a past I can’t ignore.

Not with just anyone.

With my younger brother.

To top it all off, she gets pregnant.

And the one person she doesn’t tell?

Me.

Her Forever Loveby Kimberly Beckett

Liz Randall is coming home a champion.

Fifteen years after leaving Columbus to follow her dream of riding dressage for the United States Equestrian Team, Liz has returned with a gold medal, a determination to raise her teenage daughter, and a dream to expand her therapeutic riding practice.

Falling in love again isn’t in her plan, especially not with Jason Merrick, her first love, the boy whose heart she broke all those years ago. The man with whom she shares more than just a history.

Jason Merrick came home a hero.

An Army Ranger seriously wounded in the same attack that killed his best friend, Jason sought the familiar comfort of his hometown to recover. Now he’s ready to build something rather than destroy. What he wasn’t ready for was seeing Liz Randall–-the girl who broke his heart fifteen years ago. His growing construction company needs the money remodeling Liz’s stables will bring. That’s the only reason to take the job…or so he tells himself.

The moment they see each other again, feelings that never died come rushing back. Jason knows he’ll doing anything to have her. But as much as Liz wants to be his, she has a secret. A secret that, once revealed, could make him walk away from her forever.

His Dirty Handsby Jessica Mills

This pretty girl is running from something.

I’m not usually one to get involved, but she captivates me from the start.

A single mom on the road, looking for a place to hide.

From an abusive ex, it would seem.

He better not bring his sorry self around here. I’m happy to put him in his place.

And I’ve got plenty of experience.

With eight brothers, you figure out a thing or two about moving a man’s feet.

My family and our ranch land are everything to me.

Until she shows up and takes my full attention.

And even in the midst of the chaos, all she wants is my dirty hands to hold her, save her, and take her deep into the night.

I’ve never been one to deny a lady…

The Voodoo Legacy Complete Seriesby Theophilus Monroe

Five books and more than 1400 pages of Voodoo, Vampires, Valor, and Villainy fill this magic academy fantasy boxset.

Being possessed has its advantages… 

Annabelle Mulledy survived a Voodoo attack on her family as a child–but it left her possessed by the spirit of a nearly 200 year-old-girl. This girl, however, came with strange abilities bestowed upon her in the after life. When Kalfu, an evil Loa, discovers Annabelle he hopes to use her abilities to his advantage–to escape the spiritual realm and take a corporeal form. When Ogoun, the Loa of War, intervenes he recruits Annabelle to join him as a student at the Voodoo Academy. Will Annabelle master the arts, and fend off Kalfu’s spiritual assaults? Or, is she ultimately a puppet in a battle between Voodoo demigods? 

Theophilus Monroe’s Annabelle Mulledy is a snarky badass heroine with attitude. Monroe draws on the legend and myth of Voodoo lore in a way that neither caricatures the arts as “demonic” nor glosses over the dark side of the Voodoo tradition. With dark magic, dragons, vampires, and a slow burn academy romance the Gates of Eden: The Voodoo Legacy complete series has something for everybody.

If you enjoy magic academy fantasy books and occult urban fantasy, especially books with a dark twist, then you will love Theophilus Monroe’s Voodoo Legacy.  Fans of authors like Michael Anderle, Martha Carr, Linsey Hall, or Ramy Vance will love this compelling coming of age urban fantasy epic. Pick up your copy today!