New Releases: 12/18-12/24

Tue. Dec. 20th

 One Fell Sweep (Innkeeper Chronicles #3) by Ilona Andrews 

Happy Reading!

Promo + Giveaway: Rulers of Darkness Box Set by Amanda J. Greene

Purchased the Rulers of Darkness Box Set from now to Jan 20th for $0.99 (a $7 savings)!!

Caressed by Moonlight
Rulers of Darkness #1

Dorian Vlakhos is no ordinary aristocrat. He is a vampire king, who will do anything to save his clan from complete annihilation, before an ancient curse can claim his immortal life.

Penniless and orphaned, Victoria Kingston has nothing to bring to a marriage, yet she must shackle an unsuspecting gentleman into marriage by the end of the month or forfeit her rights as guardian of her younger sister. With the help of her dearest friend, Victoria begins her hunt, and vows to stay far away from the dark, mysterious, Dorian Vlakhos.

After meeting the beautifully innocent Miss Kingston, Dorian had to have her. He would do absolutely anything to make Victoria his. One sweet stolen kiss would bring them together while a force, more powerful than any vampire would bind them for all eternity. But treachery, war, and death rule Dorian’s dark world and Victoria would be fortunate to survive.

Excerpt:

He made her mindless with his ever-demanding kiss, his tongue playing and dueling with her own. His hand had slipped from her neck and was now massaging her shoulder. His strong fingers branded her soft flesh and, when they began to knead her breast, she groaned in pleasure. Dorian’s lips left hers and blazed a fiery trail down her throat pausing a moment to run his velvet tongue over her enticing pulse. She gripped his massive shoulders as he bent her slowly over his arm and sprinkled feather light kisses over the tops of her breasts.

            She was helpless against his prowess and was utterly seduced. She was ready and willing to do whatever it was he wanted. Dorian smiled with satisfaction. He lifted her and set her on the desk just behind them. His thumbs hooked in the small sleeves of her dress and he nipped at her shoulder as he dragged the material down.

            Victoria clutched at his shirt wanting to tear it to shreds. She needed to feel his hard body against hers. 

“Miss Kingston,” Rogers called as he tried the knob of the locked door.

Dorian cursed. He could kill that man. He reluctantly pulled away and straightened her sleeves. He set Victoria back on her feet, her eyes still closed, lips still parted, and cheeks flushed. She was beautiful and he could only imagine what she would look like in his bed, beneath him. He smiled to himself when her eyes finally fluttered open; she hadn’t heard Rogers at the door. She gazed up at him confused. Then, as she regained her elegant composure, her emerald eyes narrowed and impaled him. If he were a mortal man her intense stare would have set him aflame.

            He saw her hand rise and felt the hard slap she delivered. He smiled and fingered his jaw.

“I suppose that means we will be finishing this later.”

            She raised her hand again but he caught her wrist. “I deserved one but I won’t allow you a second.”

            Victoria snatched her hand away and pushed him aside so she could pass. “There will never be later,” she snapped, her voice low and threatening.

She turned on her heel and headed to the doors. Releasing the lock, she threw the door wide open. Rogers stood smiling like a schoolboy and Victoria roughly took his arm and practically dragged the man down the hall. Dorian watched amused. Her temper was glorious and he loved it. It had been hundreds of years since anyone had been so open with him. He appreciated her honest anger. He idly rubbed his jaw and grinned. His kitten really did have claws. 

Caressed by Night
Rulers of Darkness #2

Dimitri Arsov, the last remaining pure vampire, was thought to be dead for the past four hundred years. Now, he is back and has a score to settle with the traitor that had tried to kill him centuries ago. But as he waits for his prey to blindly step into his carefully laid trap, his overwhelming hunger for blood is triggered when he saves a beautiful art historian.

Kerstyn Ingmar’s life was normal and straight up boring until the night she is rescued by the dangerously sexy, powerfully mesmerizing, Dimitri. Unable to resist his diamond blue eyes and intense kisses, she is drawn into his world of darkness and closer to her impending doom.

While their desire consumes them, Dimitri is haunted by images of a bloody and deadly future. As his enemies draw near, he must find a way to save his mate from her destiny before fate destroys them both.

Excerpt:

Calm was the furthest thing from her savior’s mind.

Dimitri had heard the vampires’ thoughts as they followed the woman from Dark. He knew he had to protect her from the depraved creatures. They’d planned to rape her and drain her, leaving her body in a dumpster. It was filth like them that tarnished the vampire race.

When he materialized in the alley, the weaker vampires caught his scent and fled, leaving him alone with the woman. Instead of feeling anger as he expected, an entirely different emotion settled over him.

Lust.

It was no ordinary lust, but a heart racing, blood raging, sexual yearning, and it turned his body into a blazing inferno of need. Then hunger like he had never known slammed into him, mixing with the unexplainable, unmerciful lust. The torturous combination attacked both his body and mind. He’d never wanted any woman with this kind of intensity. Who was she?

His body had been dead for so long. It had been centuries since he felt sexual stimulus or blood-thirst. The desire and necessity for blood had abandoned him as he aged. But that didn’t seem to matter at the moment. His fangs sprang free as his pants grew tight around his throbbing shaft. This woman’s blood sang to him, beckoned him to have a taste. And, God, she felt good in his arms.

Dimitri ruthlessly fought the temptation to seize control of her mind and take what he wanted. The dread of not being able to pull away terrified him. With her, he’d show he was no better than a new fledgling.

Realizing what precious little control he had, he shut down his senses, driving away her intoxicating scent and the warmth of her soft body against his. Dimitri forced the color from his sight, only seeing in black and white with shades of gray. Though he knew he would never forget the light fragrance of her strawberry blonde hair, the feel of her, or the sapphire color of her eyes. He had to protect her from himself.

He took in deep breaths and focused on the cool bite of the air. It washed over his body, rinsing away his desire leaving him as always, cold and unfeeling, like death. He was death: a true, pureblood vampire.

“I was being followed,” she panted.

He peered over her head, his eyes scanning the alley. “I see no one.” The vampires were long gone.

Nausea twisted her insides as she thought of what almost happened. Thank god, this man was here. If it weren’t for him–

“Do not think about it,” he said, his arms tightening around her. “You are safe now.”

She nodded, rubbing her cheek against his chest. He smelled absolutely wonderful, like dark spices. His voice felt like velvet brushing along her skin. She shivered and sighed in contentment.

“Do you need help with anything?”

His last question snapped her back into action. She stepped away, reluctantly breaking the circle of his arms.

“I need a taxi.”

“A simple enough task,” he said with a shrug.

Kerstyn scoffed. If it were simple, she would have been half way home by now. She turned her head up intending to meet his gaze. His broad shoulder filled her vision. She’d assumed he was tall, but he towered over her. She was forced to take another step back in order to get a proper look at him.

He was huge. Thick. Stacked.

He must be seven feet, she thought as her eyes traveled up and down.

 Her heart stopped when their eyes met. They were a near colorless shade of blue. Like diamonds. His gaze was sharp, hard, filled with wisdom and strength. Intense. Warrior eyes. Yet, he could not be much older than her, around twenty-six. His golden hair glittered from the light of the neon signs and came to his shoulders. His face was chiseled and impossibly perfect. His lips were full and curled in a seductive smile. Kerstyn   herself from imagining how they would feel.

 She stood, rooted to the cement, captivated by the Norse god before her.

Damn, he’s incredibly yummy.

Dimitri forced himself to remain still while she studied him. Again, he struggled against his urges, his heart thundering from the force of the shock of desire that still echoed in his mind.

Clarity crashed into him. He knew one day he would meet his mate, but he had underestimated the force of her seductiveness. He never expected his mate would spark such yearning deep within his soul. He wondered how Dorian had dealt with such overwhelming need when he had found his intended. Dorian had been the first and, until now, only vampire king to find his other half.

Dimitri’s breath caught as her small, pink tongue wet her lips and her sensual thoughts invaded his mind.

She had to go.

He escorted her down the ally and waved his hand in the air and a cab promptly came to a stop at the curb outside the ally. He opened the door and Kerstyn slipped inside, her eyes never leaving his face.

“Goodnight, miss,” he said.

Kerstyn was unable to speak.

This was it. Their brief meeting was at a close.

 Caressed by a Crimson Moon 

Rulers of Darkness #3

Consumed by madness and tormented by dark memories of blood and death, Hadrian Lucretius, King of the Validus Clan, has returned after living in self-imposed exile for nearly three hundred and fifty years.

To maintain peace with the vampires, Eva Maldonado is offered as a sacrifice to the crazed vampire king by her father, the alpha of the Silveria Shifter Pack. Hadrian’s reputation is both legendary and lethal; he is ruthless, bloodthirsty, lusty, and soulless. When Eva arrives at the ancient fortress high in the Carpathian Mountains, she is shocked to find a ravaged man with dark burning eyes filled with loneliness and dangerous desire.

Would she be his lover…or his prey? His savior…or his victim? Would Hadrian lure her into madness or would their perilous passion be their redemption?

Excerpt:

The hall was lined with wood paneling decorated by sharply detailed paintings. Each featured a portrait of a man and was accompanied by a gold placard with his name. These were the kings of the Validus Clan.

The name of the last painting read Hadrian Lucretius, but the image had been savagely shredded. Stepping closer, Eva reached up, trying to place the pieces back together, wanting to get a look at the vampire.

A cool hand clamped over her mouth, stifling her scream as she was hauled back. Eva fought for freedom, twisting around, she jabbed her elbow in her attacker’s side then kicked back, connecting with his shin. He growled in response and spun her about, trapping her with his body. His hands slammed into the wall, cracking the wood, on either side of her head.

“Little girls should not wander alone in the dark.”

She closed her eyes and swallowed hard. His voice, it was dark, threatening—pure sex. He leaned his head down, his lips brushed her ear and, God help her, she shivered. Whether it was from fear or something entirely sexual, she did not know. Confusion, terror, and desire fought for control of her brain, as she remained pinned between the large, solid male and the wall.

“Bad things prowl in the dark,” he whispered against her ear and Eva’s knees went weak. His words were heavily accented, his voice deep. It echoed with evil and was laced with lust. “Bad things, like me.”

Eva tried to speak, knowing she should demand he release her, or scream, but nothing came.

One of his hands dropped from the wall to encircle her wrist, the pad of his thumb gently brushed over her erratically beating pulse.

“Your scent,” he said, his voice rough, the sound sending waves of need crashing over her.

His fingers lightly traced up her arm to cup her nape, tickling her sensitive flesh.

Eva’s breathing grew shallow as her body began to burn.

Desire?

Yes. Oh, god, yes.

The menacing male drew closer, his second hand dropping to her shoulder, pressing her firmly against the wall. Danger, it radiated from him, yet desire flickered in his cold, black eyes. Instinct took hold of her. Eva wrapped her arms around his waist. Her hands pressed flat against his lower back, urging him closer. She arched her back trying in vain to close the space between them.

“Sweet…warm vanilla.” His cool breath caressed the tender flesh of her throat, sending chills all the way down to her toes.

Was he going to bite her?

God, what was she doing? She had no idea who this man was let alone what he was doing to her. She should shove him away. She should bring her knee up and hit him where it counts. But she could not move. Her heart beat frantically, her blood rushed like lava through her veins as her body responded to this aggressive male.

“My king!”

Eva’s sigh was a mix of relief and disappointment when she heard Falcon’s voice.

“Release her.”

The vampire’s mystifying obsidian gaze held her captive as he asked, “Do you want to be rescued?”

No, but her self-preservation cried yes.

The vampire gently brushed her bottom lip with his thumb and Eva shuttered.

“My king,” Falcon bellowed.

The stranger lifted his head and glared at Falcon for a long breathless moment. She could sense the tension that coiled in his body. Pure lethal power flowed from him like tidal waves.

Finally, he turned his attention back to her. Framing her jaw with his large hands, he bent his head down. Was he going to kiss her? Another rush of heat coursed through her and pooled at her core. She wished she could see his face. The shadows hid his features. All she could see were his dark as midnight eyes, which burned in the darkness, full of violence and lust.

He leaned into her, his solid chest brushing her breasts, causing them to ache as he sank his lower body against her. Surrounded. Hot, aggressive male surrounded her and—wild, she was wild with need.

His cool lips brushed against hers as he whispered, “Until we meet again, little one.” He disappeared.

__________________________________

Amanda J. Greene creates paranormal romance for ravenous readers. She lives in Southern California, where she enjoys escaping the rewarding but hectic world of writing by spending time in the sun and sand with her military husband and their two dogs.


 
Find Amanda and her books
Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

__________________________________

International

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Week in Review: 12/11-12/17

Books Received for Review

The Turn by Kim Harrison
Phantom Kiss by Chloe Neill
Dating the Undead by Juliet lyons
White Hot by Ilona Andrews

Books I've Read

Hunted by Megan Spooner
Blood Shadows by Lindsay J. Pryor
The Flame Never Dies by Rachel Vincent
Queen Heir by Jaymin Eve and Leia Stone
The Turn by Kim Harrison
Phantom Kiss by Chloe Neill

Reviews Posted

Pamela by Shannon Mayer

  ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

* New Releases for the week. Was there anything you were looking forward to reading?

* Monday- Promo + Giveaway for Nice Guys Bite by Jennifer Estep

* Wednesday- Promo + Giveaway for The Forbidden Series by Samantha Sommersby; Promo + Giveaway for Blood Freed by Traci Douglass

* Thursday- Giveaway for Dark Faerie —by E.J. Stevens— Prize Pack Giveaway!

* Friday- Promo + Giveaway for The Heartbeat Thief by AJ Krafton

 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

* Did you know you can follow UFI on these other sites?

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You can also add me (as in Stacy) to your friends on these sites if you're on them.

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 * I love comments so if you see something you like (or not) please comment away and let me know.

Promo + Giveaway: The Heartbeat Thief by AJ Krafton

No matter which holiday you observe at year's end, they all share something in common: traditions. 

I grew up in the four seasons of northeast Pennsylvania, where Decembers were snowy and cheer-filled. We wore skiddoos and went sleigh-riding and came in the door pink-nose and snow-crusted. 

On Thanksgiving night, the borough would light the holiday street decorations for the first time. We'd sit at the front windows, cheeks against the glass, straining to see down the block to the main street, waiting for the moment the bells and candy canes would light up. 

Those lights meant one thing:  Christmas was almost here!

Some of my fondest memories are from our family Christmases, which were brimming full of special traditions. 

Many of them came from my Polish grandparents, involving the crèche and the special Christmas Eve dinner. I think that I will forever see Christmas through the lens of my dad's old 8mm camera, sounds of laughter and singing replaced by the whir of the projection reels and the occasional comment about our early-seventies fashion sense. 

Holidays have always held sentimental value, a sense of community and family and simple togetherness—not just for my Pennsylvania family in the plaid-stricken seventies, but for so many people and places, across the span of centuries.  

In my voracious research of the Victorian era (while writing my historical fantasy THE HEARTBEAT THIEF), I encountered an entirely new world of Yuletide traditions. 

Some are still widely celebrated (thanks to Doctor Who Christmas specials, my kids adopted a love for crackers) while some have largely fallen out of practice (such as a parlour game called Snapdragon, which seems like a good way to get a burned finger! Talk about dangerous drinking games…) 

One Victorian tradition that has always appealed to me is Wassail. A verb, to wassail means to go singing door to door, after which one is invited to drink punch from the family's Wassail bowl. 

A noun, wassail is the punch itself—and every family had their own recipe (kind of like Boilo recipes here in northeast PA). The punch was served in a wassailing bowl. A greeting, "wassail" was a wish for good health to those we cherish. 

Everyone would drink the hot spiced cider together, fostering a lovely sense of community and togetherness, which is the truest spirit of the holidays. Since immersing myself in the culture and traditions of THE HEARTBEAT THIEF, I wanted to find a recipe for my own family and promptly found about six million different versions (thanks, Google). 

They all seem to have a few elements in common, though: apples, spices, and warmth. Some contain ale or wine while others are more kid-friendly; some involve baking whole apples and placing them in the punch bowl; some even contain a whipped egg mixture (like this one from Alton Brown. Considering he is the Einstein of food, I would NEVER refute his wisdom.) 

I like this one the best, though—the tanginess of orange juice and the lemony zing of fresh ginger make my mouth water just thinking of it. 

Plus, the convenience of a slow cooker is a must with my crazy schedule…not to mention that it's like potpourri you can drink while warming your hands! All wonderful things, especially when the weather turns chilly and grown-ups are stuck in the house, too old to go sleigh-riding or playing outside in the snow. 

Recipe from A Spicy Perspective

Ingredients: 

• 1 gallon Musselman's Apple Cider

• 4 cups orange juice 
• 4 hibiscus tea bags 

• 10 cinnamon sticks 

• 1 tsp. whole cloves 

• 1 Tb. juniper berries 

• 1 1/2 inch piece of fresh ginger, cut into slices 

• 1 apple, sliced into rounds 

• 1 orange, sliced into rounds 

Directions: 

1. Place all the ingredients in a slow cooker and cover. 

2. Turn the slow cooker on high heat and cook for 3-4 hours, until the color has darkened and the fruit is soft. 

Remove the tea bags and serve hot. 

Maybe when my kids are older, I'll adjust the recipe to a more adult version. For now, I'd like to make something the whole family can enjoy. It's tradition, after all, and where's the fun in a tradition that excludes some of us? Happy holidays, everyone. Be sure to raise a glass to your loved ones!

Wassail...Drink Hale!

Learn more about wassailing!

My Victorian fantasy THE HEARTBEAT THIEF follows the journey of the Forever Girl, Senza Fyne. Terrified of death, of growing old, of being forced into an arranged marriage, she makes a deal with the mysterious Mr. Knell and learns the secret of eternal youth and beauty… I can picture Senza at a Christmas ball, in high London society, her hair upswept in a pile of curls the color of winter fire, her forever 18-year old figure trimmed out in a luscious gown of emerald silk and taffeta. 

She'd be the girl with whom every gentleman must dance, the one with whom everyone sought introduction. If you were lucky enough to speak with her, she might treat you a glimpse of her wit and wisdom, far beyond her years…to the sound of her charming laugh…and perhaps she'd touch your hand in a personal gesture.

 One touch, and your heart might skip a beat. An entire dance and you just may be left reeling, your senses spinning. Senza Fyne tends to have that effect on a person… 

Soon it would be time to gather around the wassail bowl, the spicy sweet scents of apple warming the air, reminding us all of the bounty of harvest and fortune, the cheer of friends gathered for Yuletide. 

You might be tempted to raise a glass to her in particular…but your wish for good health would be better spent on someone else. Senza Fyne had no need for wishes, not when her immortal youth, beauty, and perfection were secured by the strongest of magicks. 

 But you wouldn't know that because it's a secret she'd never tell. If she did, the heartbeat thief would be caught.

Seek out THE HEARTBEAT THIEF

Haunted by a crushing fear of death, a young Victorian woman discovers the secret of eternal youth—she must surrender her life to attain it, and steal heartbeats to keep it.

In 1860 Surrey, a young woman has only one occupation: to marry. Senza Fyne is beautiful, intelligent, and lacks neither wealth nor connections. Finding a husband shouldn’t be difficult, not when she has her entire life before her. But it’s not life that preoccupies her thoughts. It’s death—and that shadowy spectre haunts her every step.

So does Mr. Knell. Heart-thumpingly attractive, obviously eligible—he’d be her perfect match if only he wasn’t so macabre. All his talk about death, all that teasing about knowing how to avoid it…

When her mother arranges a courtship with another man, Senza is desperate for escape from a dull prescripted destiny. Impulsively, she takes Knell up on his offer. He casts a spell that frees her from the cruelty of time and the threat of death—but at a steep price. In order to maintain eternal youth, she must feed on the heartbeats of others.

It’s a little bit Jane Austen, a little bit Edgar Allan Poe, and a whole lot of stealing heartbeats in order to stay young and beautiful forever. From the posh London season to the back alleys of Whitechapel, across the Channel, across the Pond, across the seas of Time…

How far will Senza Fyne go to avoid Death?

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About the Author:

AJ (Ash) Krafton writes because if she doesn't, her kids will…and NOBODY wants that. A speculative fiction girl through and through, Ash writes paranormal romance and urban fantasy novels as well as poetry and short fiction. Her work has won a bunch of awards and was even nominated for a Pushcart Prize. When she's not writing, she's practicing Tai Chi, listening to loud rock and metal, or crushing on supervillains.

Most recently, she's re-released her urban fantasy trilogy THE BOOKS OF THE DEMIMONDE because she never really left the world of Sophie and her Demivamps.

Find out more when you visit www.ashkrafton.com

Blog: http://ash-krafton.blogspot.com/

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Giveaway: Dark Faerie —by E.J. Stevens— Prize Pack Giveaway!

Let's celebrate the holidays and ring in the new year with fabulous prizes.  Today we are giving away a HUGE dark faerie themed prize pack.

Dark Faerie Prize Pack

We are giving away a Dark Faerie Prize Pack, including a coloring book, faerie necklace, book, earbuds, and more!

• Gothic Dark Fantasy Coloring Book
• Faerie Necklace
• Amy Brown Faerie Greeting Card
• Ivy Granger LED Keychain Flashlight
• Ivy Granger Button
• Shadow Sight (Ivy Granger #1) Ebook
• Signed Ivy Granger Postcard
• Custom Purple Earbuds

To enter, please use the Rafflecopter form below.  This giveaway is open to the US, UK, and Canada.  Giveaway begins December 15, 2016 and ends December 31, 2016.

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What is your favorite creature from folklore?

(Faeries, Banshees, Unicorns, Trolls, Pixies, Goblins, Kelpies...)

Promo + Giveaway: The Forbidden Series by Samantha Sommersby

The Sacrifice
Forbidden #1
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There's a fine line between mysticism and madness. . . one they must cross to win.

London psychiatrist Wesley Atherton is a man of science. He doesn't believe in love at first sight, but he’s inexplicably drawn to a green-eyed American beauty he bumps into on the Tube. Just his luck that Katherine, a fashion design intern, has an engagement ring on her finger.

Wes knows a thing or two about people, though. Instinct tells him there's something more than irresistible temptation behind their attraction. She doesn't love her fiancé, he's sure of it—now if only he can convince her they're meant to be together.

Surviving a deadly train wreck is the first sign his intuition is spot on. The second: a psychic who warns them the Reaper doesn't like to be cheated out of its quarry. The situation defies all logic, but a string of strange and lethal events convinces Wes that he and Katherine are living on borrowed time. Pitted in a battle against death itself, Wes will do anything, make any sacrifice, to protect the woman he loves.

Promo + Giveaway: Blood Freed by Traci Douglass

Blood Freed
Blood Ravagers #2
Amazon BN I-Books Kobo
Tule Publishing

Elizabeth "Liz" Frost has always been the wild one. But now, with a niece or nephew on the way and her promise to become half of the new psychic Oracle team for the Blood Ravagers Biker Gang, she's ready to turn over a new leaf. And what better way to start than by answering the call when gang leader Dante needs help? Her mission: to travel cross-country to get the information the gang needs to complete the Oracle Binding Ceremony. Should be easy, right? Except for the incredibly tempting lone-wolf shifter named Dex who'll be her riding partner and protector on the journey.

Dexter "Dex" MacCallahan is tasked with guarding Liz Frost, one of the gang's beautiful and bewildering new psychics. Dex can't refuse the mission, but there's one small problem. The time of his Rut is approaching, a rare occurrence where male wolf-shifters must physically bond with their chosen mate or face certain insanity and death. It could cost him not only the new life he's built, but also his battered, scarred heart.

Together, Dex and Liz must search for the information they need before his old nemesis and a rival gang annihilates all they hold dear. But when the simmering chemistry between them boils over into searing hot passion, will they risk losing their hearts to save the ones they love?

The Blood Ravagers Series
Book 1: Blood Bound
Book 2: Blood Freed
Book 3: Blood Vowed - coming soon