Showing posts with label Bewitching Book Tours. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bewitching Book Tours. Show all posts

Monday, January 28, 2019

Blog Tour/Giveaway!! The Vampire's Temptation, by Cecelia Mecca



Welcome to the blog tour for
The Vampire's Temptation,
sponsored by
Bewitching Book Tours!!

For my stop, I'm featuring 
an excerpt with mini-review!
There's also a tour-wide giveaway!!



The Vampire's Temptation
(Bloodwite, Book 1)
Cecelia Mecca
Trade Paperback, 280 pages
January 22, 2019
Kindle Edition, 267 pages
January 24, 2019
Altiora Press
Cover Artist: Kim Killion
Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43471558-the-vampire-s-temptation







 Even cursed blood can fall prey to love’s bite.
Kenton Morley and Lawrence Derrickson have hated each other since they were feuding border lords in medieval England and Scotland…seven hundred years ago.

When their bloodlines were cursed, birthing the world’s first vampires.

Their feud has carried through the centuries based on an old argument: Kenton seeks to destroy the Cheld—the only line of humans capable of killing their kind—while Lawrence seeks to save them.

It’s said that men can forget, but never forgive. It’s also said that true love knows no bounds.

When the vampires move to Stone Haven, Pennsylvania, Alessandra Fiore will find out firsthand which of those old adages is true.

It doesn’t matter whether she believes in vampires or not…

Because they believe in her. And she’s on the very cusp of discovering her dormant powers as a Cheld—a potential vampire hunter.

With both of these strangely wealthy newcomers’ storming into her sleepy, peaceful town, warning her to stay away from the other, what is a girl to do? Especially when Kenton—the one that supposedly wants to kill her—has a devilish twinkle in his eyes that she just can’t say no to?

No matter how dangerous she instinctively knows both men to be, strengths and powers of her own are beginning to bubble to the surface, encouraging her that she can take care of herself, thank you very much.

Love and Hate—two sides of the same coin. Literally.

The only thing left to do is flip that coin and hope for the best…to see which old saying is true. And how many innocents bet the wrong way.





Note
This mini-review is of the excerpt below, and not 
the entire book. I only do this with tour books 
that I'm REALLY interested in reading,
 and that's DEFINITELY
the case here!

I LOVE how skillfully this author has sketched out the contrasting personalities of these two
vampires! They are both obviously alpha
males, sworn enemies, and yet, one of them
is more compassionate than the other.
The verbal sparring is very effectively done,
and it made me want to read more, so I could
find out more about how these two came
to be so antagonistic toward each other.
Their attitudes in regards to the woman who
is a Cheld (who has not yet appeared on
the scene) are also markedly different.

The ending of this short excerpt also tells the 
reader much about these two.
Kenton is obviously the cynical one, as well.
He laughs at Lawrence's impulsive
reaction, and has actually enjoyed baiting him.
This is going to be a riveting read, as
it includes some humor right along with
all the drama and romance!
And that cover SURE rocks!!







Lawrence was here.
Taking a sip of a gin and tonic, Kenton stared out into the distance from the second-floor balcony of his new home. A train’s whistle broke the blessed silence, though “silence” wasn’t truly silent for him, and hadn’t been for some time. In still moments, he could hear shop owners in town putting out their trash and preparing to close for the evening.
Even so, the view was relaxing—the line of trees across from him was broken by only one discernible building, the courthouse that stood guard on Main Street. The downtown area of Stone Haven was lined with brightly colored Victorian homes and townhouses. He’d considered purchasing one of the latter, only to dismiss the idea.
Too confining.
Now, it would seem, the decision had been a good one. If his senses were accurate, and they always were, his temporary lodgings were located just next door to his nemesis. Purchasing the mansion had attracted attention, but no matter. He would be long gone as soon as the deed was done.
He sat, making a mental note to request that his maidservant purchase cushions. Apparently the previous owner had not found wrought iron as uncomfortable as he did.
Kenton took another sip of his drink as darkness fell. The maid he’d hired from the previous staff—the mansion had been a bed and breakfast when he purchased it—appeared around the balcony to his right. She’d not spoken yet, but Kenton could hear her breathing.
“Send him up,” he said without turning toward her. “But from the outside entrance,” he added. “He may not go inside. Ever.”
 Whether the woman was startled by his knowledge of her presence—because he already knew a guest waited below—or because of the vehemence of his request, Kenton wasn’t sure. Nor did it matter. What did matter was the man who even now made his way up the winding outside staircase.
As Lawrence entered the room connected to the balcony, it struck Kenton that he’d made a critical error. He should have killed the girl—woman, more precisely—before Lawrence had arrived. Now his purpose in Stone Haven would be more difficult to fulfill.
“Beautiful, isn’t she?” Lawrence asked, walking around to stand just next to him. He didn’t need to ask who. The man wasn’t talking about his elderly maid.
“I’d offer you a drink, but regrettably, you’re not staying.”
“How long have you known about her?” Lawrence Derrickson had the sole honor of being the only person to almost make him lose his temper in over seven hundred years, and it would seem he still had the ability to get a rise out of him.
“Longer than you, apparently.”
He knew the barb would hit its mark, and it did.
“Yet you haven’t killed her?” 
“Regrettably not.”
“Why?”
Knowing it would anger Lawrence, Kenton took a slow sip of his drink and looked down at the town below them.
“A quaint little place. Didn’t expect as much, although I must admit, the only other time I’ve been to Pennsylvania, when—”
“I don’t give a damn when you were here last or what you think of the town that you plan to terrorize, Kenton.”
“Terrorize? A bit harsh, don’t you think?”
He didn’t give Lawrence a chance to answer. “Nice of you to move so close to me, though I wouldn’t have expected you to splurge on such a luxury.”
Two mansions sitting side by side in a town of this size. The irony wasn’t lost on him. 
“I won’t let you kill her,” Lawrence insisted.
He laughed, not to taunt the other man, but it did have that added benefit. “I will enjoy watching you attempt to stop me.”
“She may not pose a threat. Will you for once listen to reason?”
Kenton shot to his feet in an instant, so close to Lawrence he could stun him into silence if he so chose. Centuries of fighting this very same man had taught him not to attempt to kill the Scot. It couldn’t be done. But he certainly enjoyed trying.
“She is a Cheld,” Kenton said.
For Lawrence, that wasn’t enough. For him, it always would be. “She is,” the Scot agreed. “But you don’t know—”
He rolled his eyes, annoyed by the tedious predictability of the argument. “Nor do I care.” Lawrence narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists, telegraphing his intentions as clearly as if he’d punched him. “Are you alone?”
He could lie, but Lawrence would learn the truth soon enough—that his siblings were far away from this quaint little Pennsylvania town. Their kind could sense one another, an ability Kenton had more than most, so he did not need to ask the same question about Lawrence’s kin.
Clan Karyn consisted only of one man, for now. Odd, since Lawrence usually traveled with at least one member of his precious clan, although a four-person family could hardly be called a clan, truth be told.
Nothing like the hundred men Lawrence once led.
“I am,” he said. “And so it seems we will have a bit of fun here in”—he waved his arms around him—“Stone Haven.”
Lawrence ground his teeth. “Fun? If you call the murder of an innocent woman—”
“Innocent?” Kenton lifted his chin. “She is a Cheld,” he repeated. “And for that, she cannot be allowed to live.” He lifted his glass. “A toast to our little secret. And to Alessandra Fiore’s last days on earth, poor thing.”
He downed the remainder of his drink in one gulp, then set the empty glass on the table. Droplets of red remained. Mary was none the wiser about the real contents of his favorite bottle of sloe gin. Stepping around Lawrence, he gripped the railing of the balcony and looked down below. “Have fun attempting to save her,” he said over his shoulder.
Just as Lawrence turned to walk away, muttering a curse under his breath, Kenton added, “I hope you have better luck than you did in Caltabellotta.”
He wasn’t surprised when Lawrence pushed him from the balcony. Indeed, he allowed it. And laughed the whole way down to the ground despite the risk of discovery.
Taunting him had been worth it.







Purchase Links
Amazon US/Amazon UK/Amazon CA











Cecelia Mecca is the author of steamy historical and paranormal romance that transports readers to another world.
 
Every heroine, from Lady Sara in the Border Series to Alessandra Fiore in Bloodwite, is your best friend– the one who kicks butt and takes names. When these ladies meet alpha males who try to take control, sparks fly until the very last page.
Cecelia writes the Amazon bestselling Border Series, which takes readers to an admittedly romanticized time of knights and castles in 13th century Northumbria, along the Anglo-Scottish border. Next, she’s jumping into a new world which tests the patience of even the most steadfast romance heroine. After all, dealing with the ultimate bad boys– sexy, wealthy and swoon-worthy vampires– is not for the faint of heart. In other words, she’s releasing her first contemporary paranormal series in January 2019.
 
Our Highlander-loving, vampire-writing author can be found in Northeast Pennsylvania, chai in hand, thinking up new ways to tame both medieval and paranormal playboys. She is firmly House Stark and Gryffindor.


Website/Newsletter/Facebook
Goodreads
Twitter/Instagram
Amazon Author Page



To access the complete tour schedule, just click on the button below!



https://bewitchingbooktours.blogspot.com/2019/01/now-on-tour-vampires-temptation-by.html






Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Enchanting Yuletide: A Multi-Author Anthology - Deck the Halls with Books Holiday Extravaganza



Welcome to the 
Enchanting Yuletide Tour,
sponsored by
Bewitching Book Tours as part of their 
2018 Deck the Halls with Books
Holiday Extravaganza!!

Be sure to enter the tour-wide giveaway!!


Enchanting Yuletide
Jena Baxter, Raven Williams,
Ellie Lieberman, Barbara Lieberman,
Guy Donovan, CK Brewer
Trade Paperback, 218 pages
Pipe and Thimble Publishing
November 14, 2017
Kindle Edition, 184 pages
November 15, 2018
Christmas Fiction, Fantasy
Cover Artist
Raven Williams


https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43252056-enchanting-yuletide




Six stories of the holiday season, guaranteed to put you in a festive mood. So, grab your hot chocolate and snuggle up to experience the season as you've never done before. After all, tis the Season for Magic!





Purchase Links
Paperback Edition
Amazon US/Amazon UK/Amazon CA

Kindle Edition
Amazon US/Amazon UK/Amazon CA







a Rafflecopter giveaway




A prolific writer, Raven began her career in 2010 with a blog and non-fiction, then moving to fiction in 2014, when she began Elven-Jumper, the first book in the Realm Jumper Chronicles. 

She now has 30 books to her name, spanning the Realm Jumper Chronicles, Raven’s Twisted Classics, and the Demon Stones Saga, as well as her non-fiction, with more planned.

When Raven is not writing, she is creating art in the form of abstract paintings, fractal designs, and jewelry pieces that tie into her stories. She is also a caregiver for a disabled family member and two cats. She physically resides in the Northwest Florida Panhandle, but spends most of her time mentally in her Mystic Realms.
Will you join her?

Newsletter/Website
Mystic Realms Curio Shop FB Page
Blog/Twitter
Goodreads/Tumblr
Amazon Author Page




A prolific writer, Jena Baxter creates characters with depth and stories filled with action, emotion, and a little bit of romance. She loves building fantastical worlds and cultures.
Living in Northern California with her husband, Jena enjoys soapmaking, her pets, and writer's conferences. She also reads for a screenwriting contest on an annual basis.

Website/Facebook/Twitter
Goodreads/Pinterest
Blog & Newsletter
Amazon Author Page



You can access the complete tour schedule by clicking on 
the button below.


https://bewitchingbooktours.blogspot.com/2018/12/enchanting-yuletide-multi-author.html




Thursday, November 1, 2018

Tour Review: Everyday Enchantments, by Maria DeBlassie



Welcome to the blog tour for 
Everyday Enchantments,
sponsored by
Bewitching Book Tours!

For my stop, I'm featuring a review of this beautiful book!

There's also a tour-wide giveaway!!



Everyday Enchantments
Maria DeBlassie
Trade Paperback, 179 pages
Moon Books
October 26, 2018
Biography & Memoir, Creativity, 
Metaphysical, Nonfiction,
Philosophy, Psychology, Spirituality 









Everyday Enchantments is a love letter to the magic of everyday life, the sweet moments and the profound that we often overlook in our hurry to get from one place to the next. What if we had the power to unplug from our daily hustle and bustle and conjure a more profound way of living rooted in natural mysticism?

We do. All it takes is the whispered wish for more everyday enchantment breathed onto a dandelion head. This collection of essays reminds us to escape into the ordinary, find beauty in a simple cup of tea or rereading a beloved novel—and joyfully let our world turn upside down when synchronicity strikes in the form of wrong turns down forgotten lanes and unexpected midnight conversations with the moon.  


This book is a study in what it means to live deliciously, joyfully, and magically. And it’s an invitation to conjure your own bliss—-because let’s face it: we could all use a little more magic in our lives.  





Note
I received a PDF copy of this book from Bewitching Book Tours, in exchange for an honest review. When I started reading, I fell totally in love with it, so I rushed over to Amazon to pre-order it! It arrived on Oct. 27th, and I finished reading the printed copy.


It's rare to find a book that is so luminous, so full of beauty, that it literally takes one's breath away! But when such a book appears, it's extremely important to grab it right away, and keep it as a treasured jewel, to read again and again.

Everyday Enchantments is just such a book. The author, Maria DeBlassie, is, quite simply, a gifted writer. The book consists of short meditations on the simple things of life, which DeBlassie transforms into blissful experiences of the soul. Indeed, the word "transformation" is not only descriptive of the magic the author wields with her beautiful, poetic descriptions, but of the effect these descriptions have on the reader. 

I have long been in a kind of 'war' with reality. Books containing fantasy and supernatural elements have always attracted me because of the hum-drum monotony of daily routines. What a wonderful surprise, then, to find a book in which such routines are turned into artistic, and even mystical experiences! Clearly, I need to look at the 'ordinary world' with new eyes, and this book is certainly a catalyst in awakening my perception to the beauty inherent in this reality. 

In this wonderfully unique book, even cooking (which is definitely not on my list of favorite activities) is turned into an opportunity to dwell on the sheer transcendent pleasure of the simple things of life. For example, DeBlassie marvels at the 'gold' found in an unexpected double yolk, or the process of pickling jalapeños. Her topics range anywhere from gardening, to writing, to her own, untameable hair, which she links to her own inner strength.

Although this is an eclectic blog, I had stopped reviewing nonfiction books on it some time back. However, when I came across this one, I immediately contacted the tour company in order to sign up to review this book for the tour. I simply could not pass it up. I promptly received a PDF in my email. When I opened it, and read the first meditation, titled, appropriately enough, "Everyday Enchantment", I felt as if I had been touched by something very deep, something at the very core of my being. I immediately recognized a kindred spirit -- someone to whom the aesthetic experience is also a mystical experience. I felt, in short, as if I had come home. Although I started reading the PDF, I was chafing at the bit, so I was overjoyed when the printed book arrived, ahead of time. (The release date had been moved forward.) I just don't like to read either ebooks, or books online. I need physical contact with a book. I need to lovingly turn those pages, to hold the book in my hands. And, in the case of this particular book, that need became imperative. 

This book is so full of the transcendent beauty of life, of simple, everyday things! That's because the author is an artist and a mystic. That's because the author has an emotional, visceral connection with the visible world, one that moves my spirit. In reading this book, I have reconnected to a not forgotten, but not frequently visited part of my being -- my own artist's soul. I have reveled, and will continue to revel, in descriptions that can move me to tears, even as they give me an indescribable joy. I am being very, very honest here, because I want to live from this part of my being, more and more often. I, too, want to see, feel, and cherish the spiritual essence of the visible world, this 'mundane reality' that I have for so long shunned. In doing so, I have effectively created a barrier to my own inner experience of beauty. This book has jogged my memory. This book has touched the artist in me. This book is now my own personal jewel to treasure, to read, slowly and with gentle breathing. This book is now a part of my soul.

When I first started reading the PDF version, something stirred within, and I did something I had not done in a while. I wrote a poem. I wrote from that inner core, that part of me that I need to get in touch with more often. Now I need to start creating visual art again. That, too, is something I haven't done for quite some time. So I thank the author for inspiring me like this. Creativity can come in gentle, flowing waves, or like a tsunami. I think I've just been caressed by the one, and pummeled by the other. 

Here are some quotes that I know will spark that something ineffable in the reader who knows, and has experienced, just what I've been writing about here.

"To live with Enchantment is to see beyond the bricks and mortar that make up your home and into the magic infused within its frame." -- "Everyday Enchantment", page 1

"(Seldom can you find a person strong enough to brave the stillness or wade into the bottomeless waters of imagination.)" -- "Everyday Enchantment", page 2

"You are grateful for that flash of insight helping you hone your creative path that has long since diverged from the mainstream. Grateful for your fluency in a language that too few know how to speak. Your day is nothing without this never-ending conversation between yourself and the universe or the clap of thunder that punctuates your off-the-cuff revelations. You cannot speak your truth without lightning striking both in your blood and in your sky." -- "On Synchronicity", page 6

"Each stitch is a piece of woven intention. A slip of yarn looped around another to bind your thoughts into the blankets you create. Healing, nourishing, abundant thoughts." -- "Crocheting Infinite Blankets", page 8

"You are like Persephone -- except you don't regret letting those ruby seeds pass your lips and spill across your tongue. In fact, sometimes you miss the tart, bright taste when the days are long, and the sun tries to remind you that the only thing you should savor is its fingers kissing your spine." -- "Descending Into The Underworld", page 27

"You wonder what they have to talk about, the Colette novels that kiss your collection of fairy tales and hold up your cheesy romances written in Spanish. You wonder, too, if those stories begin to bleed into one another with their covers pressed so tightly against each other. Here no genre is favored, no era, not any one writer. Your leather-bound books, tinted with nostalgia and the heady perfume of history, keep house with beat-up pulp paperbacks...." -- "The Bookshelf", page 62


There is an earthy spirituality literally present in this book, breathing in its sun-splashed, moon-kissed pages. It comes from DeBlassie's own Mexican heritage, and gives the book its palpable energy. It's also very much the spirituality of female power, and the spirituality of the artist, in touch with the living heart of reality. This spirituality warmly embraces me, teaching me that there is value in the tender nurturing that artists give their deepest dreams. 

I am finding myself almost at a loss for words to express how very deeply, and joyfully, this book has touched me. It is a sacred book, a jewel of the heart and soul and mind. It is a book for artists, for poets, a book of inspiration, a book of magical states of mind. It is a book for those who can feel the unfathomable reaches of a reality that is really mystical, all-encompassing, that enthralls the senses, and lifts the mind and spirit. 

Reading this book is an experience in the still, flowing beauty of this universe that breathes us even as we breathe it ourselves. 

This book is, again, a sacred jewel. Thank you, Maria -- mi tocaya (my namesake) -- for gifting it to all of us who know, who understand, who feel.....and who create.


MY RATING:
 







Purchase Links
Moon Books


Reviews and Endorsements  

An insightful collection of short writings that make you look at the everyday in a whole new light. ~ Erin Elliot, The Sword of Lumina  

To build everyday bridges between the magick and the mundane out of the long-sought and hard-won materials of will and wonder is the act of a true Priestess. In this book, DeBlassie offers rich glimpses of daily rituals, miniature spells in their own right that prompt the reader to look for the quiet divinity in their own lives, to see the subtle majesty in their day-to-day routines, and to question their perceived barriers between the modern and the mystical. ~ Danielle Dulsky, author of Woman Most Wild 

Maria DeBlassie has crafted magic within the pages of her new book, Everyday Enchantments. Her eloquent words offer the ‘promise of soul replenishment’ as one traverses the journey of her -and their- metaphorical metamorphosis. Page after page, readers will experience the soothing balm of DeBlassie’s words as they encourage one to open her heart, her mind, her ear, her thoughts and her soul to the unique transpersonal book they hold in their hands. Just as DeBlassie mentions early on in Everyday Enchantments when writing of the unexpected delight of discovering a double yolk, her heartfelt writing is like ‘cradling…gold’ in one’s hands. Reading and absorbing the beauty of Maria DeBlassie’s Everyday Enchantments will have readers conjuring their own magical life. Her words will caress their soul and embrace their heart with inspiration and encouragement. Everyday Enchantments blends together poetic consciousness such as from Maya Angelou and Mary Oliver all while weaving in
powerful and deep inner wisdom such as from Clarissa Pinkola Estes. Yet, Maria DeBlassie beautifully stands out given the uniqueness of
Everyday Enchantments. It’s a must read and a must to be gently and lovingly held in a sacred place of honor in one’s personal library. DeBlassie’s Everyday Enchantments is like a heart song that every woman should feel. ~ Janelle Alex, Ph.D.,The Writer’s Shaman
 

Reading this enchanted collection is so much more than reading a book…it’s an unearthing of things half-remembered and bringing them into the light. Gorgeous and luminous…thank you, Maria, for unwinding this spell for your readers. ~ Laura Bickle, critically-acclaimed author of Nine of Stars, Bewitching Book Tours  

An insightful collection of short writings that make you look at the everyday in a whole new light. Ponder how different life could be if you stop taking everything for granted and find joy in the simplicity of it all. ~ Erin Elliott, author of The Sword of Lumina series, The Editing Hall












Maria DeBlassie, Ph.D. is a native New Mexican mestiza blogger, writer, and award-winning educator living in the Land of Enchantment. Her blogging life started in 2012 as a year-long journey to write her back into happy, healthy, and whole through daily posts about life’s simple pleasures, everyday magic, and radical self-care. That year-long experiment turned into a lifestyle, a book, and her ongoing blog, Enchantment Learning and Living. She is forever looking for magic in her life and somehow always finding more than she thought was there.

Find out more about Maria and conjuring everyday magic at her website and the other links listed below.


Website/Facebook/Google + 
Pinterest/Twitter
Instagram
Moon Books


To access the complete tour schedule, just click on the button below!

https://bewitchingbooktours.blogspot.com/2018/10/now-on-tour-everyday-enchantments-by.html