Tag: Adult

Fire of the Forebears
by L.A. Buck
(Heritor’s Helm, #1)
Publication date: February 22nd 2022
Genres: Adult, Fantasy

Pitted against one another, with the people and country they love in jeopardy, the daughter of a deserter and the son of the king have a chance to fulfill their forebears’ legacy—or destroy it entirely.

Twisted monsters called saja lurk in the shadows of the mountains. Rumors say the Fidelis, human wielders of an ancient elemental magic, again walk the plains. Not all in Avaron believe, and not all welcome the return of legend.

Kura’s a skeptic. But, she’ll cross and befriend centaurs, talking animals, and worse to save her family after the rebellion mistakes her for the land’s prophesied savior. And, while he’d rather negotiate with rebels than fight them, Triston can’t ignore prophecy. That was the sham his father used to steal the crown in the first place.

Over a century ago, their ancestors sailed the oceans in search of peace and died as heroes fighting for it. But heroes—and villains—aren’t always what they seem to be.

Inspired by Brandon Sanderson’s grounded characters and JRR Tolkien’s sense of wonder, Fire of the Forebears is a fantasy for fans who think a dual perspective adventure about the fate of one nation might still be pretty epic.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

EXCERPT:

The woman smiled. She almost seemed friendly; she was the only one in this forsaken place to understand it. Pain shot through Kura’s arm and she cried out, grasping her saja wound. Her own pulse beat beneath her hand.

“The more you resist, the more it will hurt.”

Kura locked eyes with the woman, her voice a whispered breath. “What?”

The woman’s blood-red lips twisted into a wide grin. “Have they really taught you nothing? There was a time when men quaked in fear at the sight of me.”

Kura grit her teeth against the pain. “Am I dead?”

“Oh no, pet, you are very much alive.” The woman lifted a slender hand, and the campfire fell to mere coals; the searing heat leapt into Kura’s veins. She screamed.

“Give me the sword, girl.” The woman seemed so calm, but her simple command carried the force of a storm.

Kura shook her head, limbs trembling.

“The sword!” the woman repeated, flinging up her hand.

Fire surged through Kura’s veins, fracturing her natural wall of stubbornness, and she clamped down on another scream. What did she care about the sword?

The pain vanished. Kura fell onto her hands and knees in the dirt, coughing as she drew in ragged breaths. A bird called overhead.

Just a bird? Of all things? She almost laughed.

The fog swirling among the spires receded to reveal a scraggly dead tree a short distance away, with a bird perched on the top branch. It was the size and color of a raven, except for the spots of white—like stars in a dark sky—scattered across its chest. The bird gave another call, the sound a harsh chatter, and flapped its wings to reveal the golden feathers on its underside. It was a flicker.

The woman hissed. “Out of so many, you come for her?”

Kura struggled to her knees, but her limbs didn’t support her own weight. The woman turned back to her, brushing aside her displeasure with a grin. “Go on. Fight.”

Kura tried to stand, but her feet slid on the dry dirt.

“Fight with all the strength you have.”

Kura fell back, chest heaving for air. The woman held a staff, a long wooden pole that held a single-edged blade—one straight and the other curved—at each end.

“That way my victory will be all the more sweet.”

With a shout, Kura ripped her sword from its scabbard and met the woman’s advance. That rusted blade clashed with the sharpened staff, the impact reverberating through the stone spires as a flash of white sparks lit up the darkness. For just that moment the woman’s face was illuminated, and for just that moment her smile faltered.

Author Bio:

A goat farmer, engineering graduate, first degree black belt, and medical student, the one thing Lauren Buck always knew she wanted to be was an author. The first stories she ever wrote, as a grade-schooler, were about super heroes. But, raised on a steady diet of Lewis, Tolkien, and Sanderson, it was only a matter of time before she set her sights on epic fantasy.

When not writing, working, or studying, she enjoys drawing, playing the guitar, traveling, as well as outdoor activities such as hiking, fishing, and kayaking. Sometimes you can find her hanging out on Twitter, probably with a German shepherd or two sleeping at her side.

According to Myers-Briggs Lauren is an INTJ, and country roads will always take her home to wild and wonderful West Virginia.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Bookbub

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hosted by:

What Lies Beyond the Veil
by Harper L. Woods
(Of Flesh & Bone, #1)
Publication date: February 22nd 2022
Genres: Adult, Fantasy

Once, we’d worshipped them as Gods.

For nearly 400 years, the Veil has protected us from the Fae of Alfheimr. In their absence, our lives have shifted from decadence and sin to survival and virtue under the guidance of the New Gods. I’ve spent my entire life tending to the gardens next to the boundary between our worlds, drawn to the shimmering magic like a moth to the flame.

Then, we died on their swords.

All of that changes the day the Veil shatters, unleashing the fae upon our world once again. The magic of faerie marks those of us they mean to take, but the Mist Guard protecting Nothrek will kill us all before they let the fae have us. There’s no choice but to flee everything I’ve ever known, not if I want to live to see my twenty-first birthday as a free woman.

Now, they’ll claim what’s theirs.

But before they capture me, Caelum saves me from the Wild Hunt. Fae-marked and on the run, he is able to fight back in ways I only dream of. From tentative alliance to all-consuming passion, our bond strengthens as the fae close in and evil lurks ever nearer. With my life on the line, he is everything I shouldn’t dare to want and a distraction I can’t afford. I can’t seem to stay away, not even with something greater on the line.

My heart.

Author’s Note: This book is intended for readers who are 18 and older. It contains mature language, graphic violence, and explicit content with darker elements. This is book one in a series and ends in a cliffhanger.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

EXCERPT:

I lifted the first bite of cake to my mouth, flavors of vanilla and cinnamon on my tongue as I chewed. There was nothing hidden within it, just the sweetness of the cake itself as I watched the others around me chew theirs.

I was through my second bite before something struck my tooth and I raised a hand to my mouth to pull it out. The ring glimmered in bronze against my palm, a sign of the shackle I’d spent my entire life knowing was coming.

Death or prostitution were the only escapes from marriage in the Kingdom of Nothrek. Still, the clear symbol in my palm felt like a noose around my neck, like a death all its own.

“Congratulations are in order; I see?” Adelphia said, her voice tentative. There was no joy on my face at the prospect of my pending nuptials. It didn’t matter that I had no knowledge of who my husband might be.

Men were almost all the same, in the end. Looking for a warm place to stick their cock and a trophy to sow their seed.

“It would seem so,” I said, smiling and trying to shrug off the dread coursing through my veins. I’d never believed in the fortune tellers who worked at the market every week, predicting which of the thirteen lives a person found themselves on in the cycle of reincarnation before the true death. I’d never put any stock in the magical items a person could purchase if they spoke the right words at the right stands.

I wouldn’t start believing in prophecy just because it predicted something I’d always known was coming anyway.

There was a soft thump behind us, the group going still as they looked over my shoulder at the circle. I turned slowly, following their gazes to where a single candle had fallen off its stone and extinguished the moment it touched the grass, as if by an unseen force.

I swallowed, working out the placement for a moment before I turned back to the group with a shaky breath. The silence between them as they watched me rise to my feet spoke volumes about their belief in their Samhain traditions and the clairvoyance they brought.

“I should get home,” I said, looking at the sun just cresting the horizon through the trees.

Adelphia nodded, not even bothering to argue with me. There was nothing left to say.

The only candle that had fallen was mine.

Author Bio:

Enraptured by love. Captivated by fantasy. USA Today Bestselling author Adelaide Forrest writing spicy fantasy romance as Harper L. Woods.

Facebook / Instagram

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hosted by: