Book Blitz & Excerpt: Heartstone Queen + Giveaway

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Hearthstone Queen
by A.C. Melody
(Midgard Úlfrinn, #2)
Publication date: March 15th 2023
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance

Corbyn’s worst fears come true when they strike at his mate from the one place he never saw coming. Fearing for Reyna’s life, he rushes her to the Elders, only to end up on their healing table next. After back-to-back horrors, Reyna knows she has to make a crucial decision that will change their lives forever… and possibly save them.

But fate immediately puts that to the test, drawing them right into enemy territory, where Reyna finally learns what’s become of Jesse and gets an unexpected audience with Úlfrinn Royalty. Just when they’ve found hope, their world gets shaken by a terrifying homecoming of bloodshed and betrayal. As they face off with the evidence of Fenrisúlfr’s return—and a living Nightmare—they can no longer deny the truth.

War has already begun.

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EXCERPT:

“Corbyn Bruschard, you get your ass back in here.”

“Sorry, babe, can’t do that right this second,” he called back.

Oooh, he sounds so freaking smug!

Glaring holes into the wall between them, Reyna crawled off the bed and found that her thigh muscles were attached to the weakness keeping her miserably needy. She’d just had an explosive, albeit interesting, orgasm. So, why did her body feel like it was still hanging on the brink?

Reyna chalked it up to lingering effects that would eventually fade and began searching for her clothes. She ground her teeth every time she moved wrong and sent more tingling pulses of yearning through her core.

Once she slipped her panties on, she felt a little better. Then, she slid into Corbyn’s dress shirt and buried her nose in the collar for a deep inhale as she left the room.

Wandering into the kitchen, she pushed on one of the refrigerated drawers and smiled when it turned out to be the right one. Bypassing the beer, Reyna grabbed a bottle of water, impressed to find it was glass rather than plastic. Corbyn was an Eco-conscience architect. The man never stopped surprising her, and she was beginning to look forward to that.

Reyna turned and jumped to find him standing at the end of the island counter watching her, his hands tucked into the pockets of gray, drawstring pajama pants.

“Do you have to do that?” she complained with a hand over her racing heart.

Her gaze traced Corbyn’s inked muscles and the mouthwatering cut of his hips that disappeared into the low ride of his pants. The only hair on his torso was the faint dusting of dark gold starting just under his navel, and her mouth flooded because she knew precisely where it led. The ache between her legs intensified. He was so damn yummy.

“Yes,” he answered, a slight smile playing at the corners of his sexy mouth.

Her observation had been a quick sweep. Corbyn’s gaze seduced her. That was the only way to describe the slow, nearly tangible study he took of her entire body. Reyna’s skin shivered, and her nipples beaded under the crisp fabric of his shirt.

“Enjoying yourself?” she asked, attempting haughtiness.

“Immensely.” He smiled. “I’m certainly enjoying the way you look in my shirt. Then again, I doubt there’s anything you couldn’t make appear inappropriate. Like it came from a sex shop instead of a tailor.”

Reyna’s neck and cheeks heated. Damn him.

Corbyn stepped closer, invading her space while daring her to move away.

“Ever been inside of a sex shop, Reyna?”

Her face blushed even brighter.

Fold, girl, give up. You’re no match.

“No.”

His hands remained in his pockets, yet she felt the tease of him, nonetheless. “They’re remarkably enlightening.”

“I bet.”

Corbyn grinned, running his bottom lip through his teeth as he studied her with something close to smugness in his eyes.

“How are you feeling?”

Reyna shouldn’t have been surprised to hear him admit to leaving her needy on purpose, but she almost narrowed her eyes and demanded that he fix it. Instead, she shrugged, not wanting to give him the satisfaction.

“Fine,” she lied, taking a sip of her water. Reyna tilted the bottle toward him since he’d watched her movements. “Thirsty?”

Accepting it, Corbyn downed half the contents without taking his eyes off her.

“Mmm, thanks,” he said, licking and sucking on his lips as if it had been liquid ambrosia instead. Handing it back to Reyna, he kissed her on the forehead. “I’m starving.”

Reyna’s vision blurred as he stalked past her. She imagined strangling him and kissing him, but not necessarily in that order.

“Hungry?” he asked.

Yes. “Not really.”

The hollow ache between her legs was almost unbearable, causing her thigh muscles to flex. If she could just squeeze her legs together really tight… Reyna almost gave in to that idea until she realized how ridiculous it would look, on top of giving Corbyn exactly what he was watching for. And he was watching.

I’m going to kill him. Wait, I’ll jump him first, then I’ll kill him.

The thought brought a smile to her face.

“Something you’d like to share?”

“Nope.” She quirked a brow at him in amusement, and that’s when she noticed what he was dishing up. “Ooh, ice cream?”

“You said you weren’t hungry—”

“I’m always hungry for ice cream,” she cut him off, her tone mildly chastising as if he should already know that.

With a chuckle, he shook his head. “So, I heard,” he said, moving to the cupboard to get another bowl. “Though, we should discuss your habit of stealing others’—”

“Thanks.” She flashed a sweet smile over her shoulder as she left the kitchen with the bowl he’d already dished up for himself.

Reyna had to swallow her laughter at his shocked expression as he looked from her to the counter where his bowl had just been.

 

Author Bio:

A.C. Melody is an author of all things Erotic Romance who doesn’t believe in skimping on the dirty details. A mass consumer of coffee and books, she prefers one a little darker than the other. She has a weakness for hard ass Alphas and the strong women who capture their hearts, without damaging their rough edges.

Hailing from the Pacific Northwest, A.C. is the mother of two young men, and honorary mom for more young adults than she can count. Outside of writing, she enjoys gaming, binge-watching Netflix, and pretending she has a green thumb.

Website / Goodreads / Twitter

 

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Book Blitz & Excerpt: Castelon + Giveaway

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Castelon
by Alyssa Roat
(The Wraithwood Trilogy, #3)
Publication date: March 15th 2023
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

Fifteen hundred years of Arthurian legend come to a head in the final installment of The Wraithwood Trilogy.

The sword of legend, ancient magic, and a dead man’s secrets-together they could save Brinnie’s world or end it forever.

Brinnie barely escaped Mordizan with her life. Battered and broken in body and soul, she knows she’s running out of time. And though she has discovered the identity of Mordred’s bane, no one knows where to find the legendary weapon.

To discover the truth, she and Marcus must journey to Castelon and seek the aid of the Council. However, their actions at Mordizan brand them as enemies and war criminals. Between Mordred’s armies engaged in full-scale war and the political machinations of the Council, Brinnie struggles to balance the battlefield and the courtroom while estates fall before Mordred’s wrath.

As magic ravages her own body, threatening her survival, the allure of ancient, forbidden power grows brighter. And only one man holds the knowledge of the weapon that could destroy Mordred once and for all-a man they buried in the gardens of Wraithwood.

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EXCERPT:

“A portal. Anything. I’ll take a bicycle at this point.”

Dad frowned, leaning on his hands on the oval table, and barely looked up from the maps. “You’re not ready.”

She clenched her fists and resisted the urge to lean against the opposite side of the table. That would just prove his point.

A few wizards circled the work surface along with Dad, moving pieces, making notes. Most likely advisors or military leaders—probably not people she should be questioning his judgment in front of, but what choice did she have?

“I’m walking, I’m standing—”

“You’re hobbling and wobbling.” He straightened and waved a hand at a young man standing at attention along the wall of the office-like space. “Take her back to her room, please.” He gave her a stern look, accentuating the dark circles under his eyes, no doubt caused by the weight of bad news no one would tell her. “I’ll come see you in an hour. Where’s Marcus?”

“I don’t know.” Her tongue took over with more impertinence than she’d ever leveled at him before. “I imagine he has better things to do in the middle of this war than make sure I don’t leave my room.”

A few of the wizards shot each other uncomfortable looks. Dad sighed. “One hour, Brin. You can survive that long.”

She followed the stiff young man back to her room, trying not to pant too much from the simple exertion of walking through the halls.

Two days of consciousness had made for two days of monotonous pain heightened by the urgency stirring in her gut. She had to get back to Wraithwood. She had to find Excalibur. She had to stop this war, this slaughter, the destruction she had caused.

When Marcus wasn’t hovering over her like an anxious mother hen, he’d been spending every moment in Dirklon’s—admittedly limited—library. Finding nothing. But Dad banned her from accompanying Marcus even there.

“You go book crazy,” Dad had said. “I’ll find you climbing some shelf or forgetting to eat for a whole day in a research frenzy.”

She wanted to protest that she didn’t do that. Except that she definitely did, and had, done that. More than once.

So instead of book crazy, she went stir crazy, with nothing to think about but pain.

Sometimes the magic in her veins ran hot, sometimes cold. Sometimes it seemed to push against her skin, threatening to explode. She dared not explore the deep, roiling mass within her like an acidic sea.

“Here you are, my lady.” The young man gave a jerky bow.

She focused, only now realizing they had stopped. “Thank you.” She pushed open the wooden door and shut it behind her, slumping against the surface, her scant muscles feeling like gelatin.

“I thought we agreed you wouldn’t wander.”

She scowled at Marcus where he leaned against the bedpost, arms crossed.

He pushed to his feet and scanned her face. Unlike Dad’s, his expression was soft. “Brinnie. Please. There’s nothing we can do right now.”

“So much for agreeing to a road trip.” She winced at her own sharp tone.

“I’m still on board.” His tone remained even, unaffected by hers. “After you take time to rest and heal.”

Tears formed in the corners of her eyes. She blinked them away. “I need to do something. Something to keep my mind—” She didn’t finish. To keep my mind out of that dark place. To keep it from returning to the dungeon, the battlefields, the screams…

He placed gentle hands on her shoulders. “I know.”

She took a shuddering breath. His unexplained voice in her mind, another mystery, should have concerned her, but it soothed her thoughts. She sighed and leaned against him for support.

“Should I tell her?”

Her head snapped up, almost knocking him in the chin. “Tell me what?”

“Whoa.” He steadied her, expression sheepish. “You weren’t supposed to hear that. How about you sit down first?”

She eased herself into the bedside chair. If she sat on the bed, she would be sucked into sleep. And she didn’t have time for that. “What do you know?”

He sighed. “Things aren’t…great at Wraithwood.”

 

Author Bio:

Alyssa Roat has worked in a wide variety of roles within the publishing industry as an agent, editor, writer, and publicist. She is the managing editor at Mountain Brook Fire. She has held positions as the publicity manager for publisher Mountain Brook Ink, an associate literary agent at Cyle Young Literary Elite, an editor with Sherpa Editing Services, and a freelance writer with hundreds of bylines in local, national, and international publications. She holds a B.S. in Professional Writing from Taylor University. She would love to connect on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram as well @alyssawrote.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram


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