Promo + Giveaway: The Trouble With Vampires by Lynsay Sands (@puretextuality, @avonbooks, @LynsaySands)

 The Trouble with Vampires 
Argeneau #29
Amazon  |  Avon Romance  |  BN  |  Google Play  |  iBooks

Irresistible desire and thrilling suspense combine in this electrifying new Argeneau novel from New York Times bestselling author Lynsay Sands.

For close to three thousand years the imposing, impossibly handsome Santo Notte has fought in armies across the world and battled his own, more personal enemies. Of all the places he might expect to encounter his life mate, a quiet corner of upstate New York doesn’t seem likely. But as soon as he makes contact with history professor Petronella Stone, while hunting down a suspected rogue immortal, he knows that she will be the greatest adventure of his eternal life.

He expects her to be surprised, confused, even overwhelmed. What he doesn’t expect is that Pet has a secret history of her own. There’s no mistaking the mind-blowing, mutual pleasure they share. But as Pet struggles to protect her nephew from a danger lurking too close to home, Santo realizes there’s another threat to her safety—him. And claiming their passionate future will be impossible until he leaves his past behind, forever…

Excerpt:

Prologue
“911. What’s your emergency?”
“Hi . . . um . . . I’m not sure if I should be calling you or the police.”
“Is this an emergency?”
“It might be. I’m not sure . . .”
“Just tell me what’s happening, son. Is someone there sick or injured?” When the boy didn’t respond at once, the operator asked, “Are your parents arguing and it’s scaring you? Are they getting violent?”
“No! No. It’s our neighbor. Well, not really our neighbor, but his cousin who’s visiting. He . . . er . . . he’s sick . . . I think.”
“You think?”
“No. He is. He’s sick. And I think he may be dangerous. I’m afraid he’ll hurt Mr. Purdy.”
“Mr. Purdy?”
“My neighbor.”
“Right. And you think this cousin who is visiting him is sick and dangerous?” the operator asked, doubt obvious in her voice. “If so, why hasn’t this Mr. Purdy called instead of you?”
“I’m worried maybe his cousin won’t let him.”
There was a long pause, and then the operator sighed and asked, “What kind of sick is dangerous, son?”
“He . . . er . . . I think he might be suffering from Renfield syndrome.”
“From what?”
“Renfield syndrome,” the young voice repeated reluctantly.
“What’s that?”
“It’s . . . er . . .” The boy paused, and when he continued, there was a grimace in his voice. “It’s a sort of vampire personality disorder. The—”
“Vampire!” the 911 operator squawked. “You think your neighbor’s a vampire?”
“No! No, I think his visiting cousin thinks he’s a vampire. That’s what Renfield syndrome is and—”
“Honey, there is no such thing as vampires,” the 911 operator said over the boy’s explanation.
“But he—”
“There’re no buts here, kiddo. You need to cut the nonsense and get off the phone. You can get in a lot of trouble for crank calling 911. There are real people out there who need help and calls like this might prevent them getting through. Someone could be dying while you’re wasting our time with this prank.”
“This isn’t a prank,” the boy said earnestly. “I really think he thinks he’s a vampire. He has fangs and—”
“And I really think you need to stop watching horror movies and take yourself to bed. I’m writing down your number, boy, and if you call again, the police will be dispatched to your house and they could arrest you for this. Don’t call again.”
A sharp click sounded. It was followed by a dial tone.

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LYNSAY SANDS is the nationally bestselling author of the Argeneau/Rogue Hunter vampire series, as well as numerous historicals and anthologies. She’s been writing stories since grade school and considers herself incredibly lucky to be able to make a career out of it. Her hope is that readers can get away from their everyday stress through her stories, and if there’s occasional uncontrollable fits of laughter, that’s just a big bonus. Please visit her on the web at http://www.lynsaysands.net.

Find Lynsay and her books

Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads  |  Amazon

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Tour Wide

To celebrate the release of THE TROUBLE WITH VAMPIRES by Lynsay Sands, we’re giving away a paperback copy of Vampires Like It Hot!

GIVEAWAY TERMS + CONDITIONS:  Open to US shipping addresses only. One winner will receive a paperback copy of Vampires Like It Hot by Lynsay Sands.  This giveaway is administered by Pure Textuality PR on behalf of Avon Romance. Giveaway ends 5/5/2019 @ 11:59pm EST. Avon Romance will send the winning copies out to the winner directly. Limit one entry per reader and mailing address.  Duplicates will be deleted.  

CLICK HERE TO ENTER!

This promotion is brought to you by Pure Textuality PR.

Week in Review: 4/21-4/27

Books Received for Review

The Girl in Red by Christina Henry
A Treason of Thorns by Laura E. Weymouth
Verify by Joelle Charbonneau

Books I've Read

Pack of Vows and Tears by Olivia Wildenstein
Mimic by C.L. Denault
Marked Paradox by Heather Renee
Prime by Carrie Whitethorne

Reviews Posted

Deadworld by Debbie Cassidy (@amoscassidy)
The Devil's Own by K.A. Fox (@PublishingAcorn)

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

* Monday- Guest Blog: Unhuman Light by Chris Stoneheart (@RoxanneRhoads)

* Thursday- Cover Reveal: Blood of a Huntsman by May Sage (@XpressoTours)

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

BlogLovin

Networked Blogs

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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.

Review: The Devil's Own by K.A. Fox (@PublishingAcorn)

The Devil's Own

Author: K.A. Fox

Release Date: October 14, 2019

Publisher: Acorn Publishing

Murphy's Law Book #1

ISBN13: 9781947392489

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Review Copy Source: NetGalley

Delaney Murphy has always known she's the Devil’s daughter. And although the title itself is a burden, she never expects to inherit all her father's infernal abilities. When her newfound magic begins to poison the people closest to her, Laney must make a choice. To protect the world from the worst she can do, she leaves everyone she loves behind and builds a new life for herself, alone, in a place where she can control the urge to give in to the magic living within her.

But when she recognizes a familiar pattern in a string of murders, Laney leaves her peaceful, isolated life behind and goes on the hunt, unleashing a threat she never dreamed possible. Confronting this menacing specter could mean giving in to temptation and becoming the one thing she fears most. Will she use her magic to do the right thing, even if it means hurting the ones she loves?

I'm a little on the fence about this one. On one hand I liked it, but then again, it didn't blow me away.

I think THE DEVIL'S OWN started off strong, but didn't really keep me in the zone. The heroine starts off as a bad ass which was great, but we don't get a lot of badass moments for her to really shine through. The story had a really interesting premise, but it felt rushed to me. I would have liked a little more development of the story, world and characters.

THE DEVIL'S OWN was a bit on the short side, so I think I will give book two a chance to blow me away like book one didn't do.

I gave it 3/5 stars

* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Cover Reveal: Blood of a Huntsman by May Sage (@XpressoTours)

Blood of a Huntsman
After Darkness Falls #2
Publication date: May 23rd 2019

The vampires have always feared the first of their kind and his descendants. Now all immortals know there’s a new Eirikrson threatening their way of life.
And they don’t intend to let her.

Catherine Stormhale has spent decades trying to crawl out of her family’s shadow. Now they’re calling her back home, to serve their clan against her new friends, and she has a choice to make.

Bash used to know who he was. A protector. A provider. A huntsman.
After being bitten by a feral vampire and turned into a blood-craving thing, he’s lost everything. Family, purpose, honor.

When students are attacked outside of the Institute, all warriors are called to help secure their borders.
Bash and Cat sign up for the same schedule. He’s a newborn vampire with no control over his thirst and she, a princess born to this life.
Neither knows what they’re in for.

Add to Goodreads

Sequel to:

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May is a USA Today Bestselling Author living in Windsor, Berkshire, with a german shepherd, a moggy and two savannahs. She writes every sub genre of romance, from fantasy to contemporary. You're signing up for strong, sassy, kick-ass women and swoon-worthy male protagonists. Enjoy the ride!

Find May and her books

Website / Goodreads / Facebook

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Review: Deadworld by Debbie Cassidy (@amoscassidy)

Deadworld

Author: Debbie Cassidy

Release Date: April 23, 2019

Publisher: Self-Published

Chronicles of Deadworld Book #1

ASIN:  B07N8K555W

Genre: RH Fantasy

Review Copy Source: Author

Humans weren’t meant to live underground, but then artificial intelligences weren’t meant to feed off souls. Shit happens.

Being a Potential is an honor. It qualifies me for the mandatory Run, the chance to become a Guardian and wield one of the only weapons that can disable a Genesis scout. It also means I’ll have to leave the safety of my underground home and go topside, where the possibility of death goes up by eighty percent.

Badges of honor mean nothing if you’re dead.

I’d rather steer clear of any place where soul sucking AI roam. I’d rather stay safe in the Hive and hangout with my wolf-shifter co-worker. I’d rather work on the mechanical heart that keeps the Hive running and spend time with my enigmatic nephilim mentor. Heck, I’d rather be doing anything else. But I’ve made a promise to my best friend, a promise to get her to the finish line in time to win a spot as Guardian. How hard can it be, right? We have a plan. So why do I feel as if something is about to go seriously wrong?

It’s a game. Just a game.

Or is it?

First came Chronicles of Midnight, then came Chronicles of Arcana, and now we have Chronicles of Deadworld. Set a hundred years after the events of its predecessors Deadworld takes you into a Post-Apocalyptic Urban fantasy world with a slow burn Whychoose Romance.

You don’t have to read the previous series, but man, if you do the thrill ride will be unlike any other.

Debbie Cassidy fast forwards into the future of the Chronicles of Midnight and Chronicles of Arcana worlds with Chronicles of Deadworld.

I enjoyed both the previous series in this world, but I must say I am liking Deadworld a tad bit more after reading just the first book. Now, you don't have to read the past series to jump into this one. You won't be confused or feel lost, but there are some name drops and it's nice to have the history behind the world and some of the characters that are introduced.

DEADWORLD was pretty character driven so I will take a moment to talk about them. Echo is our main character and she is easy to like. She doesn't like what fate has in store for her, but goes along with it anyways and ends up being a pretty big deal in the end. I wish there would have been a little more focus on her siblings and her role as their caregiver as they are a pretty huge part of her life. Maybe they will be more featured in the future.

From what we know about the men so far, I am happy with all of them. They are all likable and mesh well with our heroine. Don't expect much romance in DEADWORLD—or maybe even book two—as Debbie REALLY takes joy in the agony a slow-burn romance brings her readers.

The world was very interesting. We get to see both the new world the author brings us with the underground portion of the story and the future of a world we already know, but have to relearn on the surface. 

There's still a lot of mystery about the main character and the world after finishing DEADWORLD. DEAD CITY is due out at the end of May and I already have it on my wishlist.

I gave it 4/5 stars

* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

New Releases: 4/21-4/27

Tue. Apr. 23rd

 A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C.A. Fletcher
 Alien Minds (Dimension Drift #1) by Christina Bauer
 Storm of Locusts (The Sixth World #2) by Rebecca Roanhorse
 The Tiger at Midnight (The Tiger at Midnight Trilogy #1) by Swati Teerdhala
 The Trouble With Vampires (Argeneau #29) by Lynsay Sands

Happy Reading!!

Guest Blog: Unhuman Light by Chris Stoneheart (@RoxanneRhoads)

UFI welcomes Author Chris Stoneheart. Thanks for Joining us!!

Thanks so much for having me on the blog today!

I’m so excited the third book in the Chronicles of the Light is releasing, and I’m here to talk about the world this series is set in. It’s our world, except most humans don’t know about all the supernaturals who might be our neighbors, our coworkers, or our daughter’s boyfriend. (And if you have a teenage daughter, that last bit probably sent chills up your spine.)

This world and story has been in my head for decades, in one form or another. When you look at the old mythologies, sometimes you can see how old stories from different civilizations are the same story as seen from a different culture. Jupiter and Zeus are the easiest example, but there are a thousand others. If the old gods are still around, and you ask one of them who he is, and he’s been named something different by a dozen or more cultures, would he give you a list? Doubtful, right? He’ll probably have renamed himself and won’t tell you anything about his history or abilities.

By contrast, some mythologies appear contradictive. The vampire myths, for example. To me, it seems as if there are multiple types of vampire, else the mythologies don’t work. So, my story has three species of vampire. Two of the species “die” at dawn, the other can choose when to sleep or be awake but can’t handle direct sunlight. All of them drink blood, of course. One species is evil — the changing process turns them into a monster. The other two can decide whether to be good, evil, or somewhere in between.

What challenges must the modern day be bringing to vampires, shapeshifters, and other not-so-mythological beings? Nearly every human has a camera phone, and there are security cameras all over the place, and moving every decade or so (before people notice you aren’t aging) isn’t as easy as traveling to another country and buying a house with your suitcase of gold. Today, one needs a birth certificate and social security number at a minimum in the U.S., and other developed countries have identity requirements, as well.

Security cameras, social media, and even satellite images have to be considered at all times. Vampires can’t just pull someone into an alley and drink anymore. Shapeshifters can’t change just because they don’t hear a heartbeat. Even during a huge battle, the participants have to make sure humans can’t obtain proof of the supernatural. No one wants to be questioned by the council responsible for making sure the secret is kept.

The nucleus of the story is Kaitlin, a human who went a little overboard with the whole finding herself thing as a young adult. Now in her thirties, she can  levitate, and has a few other tricks humans aren’t supposed to be able to do. She’s close friends with one of the few remaining dragon shifters, which is fortunate, because when she gets tossed into the world of the supernaturals, it means she has a powerful friend to help keep her alive. But, in the end, Kaitlin has to keep herself alive.

The Chronicles of the Light is urban fantasy, but if you enjoy fantasy of any kind, I hope you’ll take a chance and dive into my world.

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Chris Stoneheart lives in a fifty-year-old house smack dab in the middle of The South, with what promises to soon be a full-fledged herd of retired racing greyhounds. Chris read The Hobbit in elementary school, and The Lord of the Rings in middle school, and has been addicted to fantasy ever since. (It’s probably best we don’t talk about what Chris read in high school.)

Chronicles of the Light gives us a world where weredragons, werewolves, werelions, three different species of vampires, and a variety of other mythological beings exist.

Stay up to date on new releases by joining Chris’s mailing list at http://eepurl.com/gcNe7v

ARE YOU STALKING ME? You should be! Come find me!

CHRONICLES OF THE LIGHT DISCUSSION GROUP ➔  https://www.facebook.com/groups/708444462889798/

Find Chris

Website / Goodreads / Amazon / Facebook

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Unhuman Light
Chronicles of the Light #1
Books2Read Amazon Kobo iTunes
BN Smashwords Goodreads BookBub

Chronicles of the Light, book one…

Bodies keep piling up, but Kaitlin O'Malley refuses to back down, even when threatened by someone once worshipped as a god. Training for a battle between good and evil, she teams up with the Dragon King and a powerful lion, and finds herself protected by a Master Vampire who wants her in his bed.

With a vile enemy ready to destroy her, the men in her life lock her up to keep her safe, but Kaitlin will never let other people fight her battles. She’ll have to break free and venture out on her own, wielding a powerful weapon to protect herself — a weapon her enemies would kill for. To face the enemy alone, Kaitlin must view the world in an Unhuman Light.

In a supernatural battle of magic and strength, can an unlikely human prevail?

Excerpt:

“Aery, I need a shot!” I screamed, holding back the energy pulsing at my fingertips until he was out of the way. The instant he maneuvered to give me a clear path, I unleashed the fiery red energy and watched it streak through the air and slice into the grotesque monster who’d been holding his own in a fight with Aaron Drake.
My power drained from me as it hit our foe in the chest, melting through skin, bone, and more. I lifted my arm a few inches and the caustic light streaking from my hand rose like a laser. When it reached the hideous creature’s throat, I moved my hand right and left until he was decapitated, and then watched in horrified fascination while the body seemed to evaporate before my eyes.
My gaze swung to my friend, and I checked to be sure he was okay. I was used to Aaron totally dominating, no matter the species he was fighting, and the fact he’d maneuvered to give me a clear shot told me the ancient dragonshifter wasn’t sure he could’ve won. My heart settled when I saw he seemed okay. He’s hard to kill, but I had no idea what we’d just fought.
As far as I know, I’m the only person who can get away with a cute nickname for the sexy, tough-as-nails, bad-assed owner of Drake Security, but I never do it around other people. I wouldn’t have said it today while battling an unknown monster, but it slipped out. No problem though, the bad guy seemed to evaporate and turn to smoke once the life force left his body. I usually want to cry after a kill — even when it’s a really bad guy — but not having to look at a body made it easier. Either way, I couldn’t give into the guilt and soul searching until the op was over.
“What was that?” I asked Aaron.
“Not sure,” he said, barely out of breath. “I used to see things kind of like him a few thousand years ago, but not since we entered the Common Era. I’ll send a sketch to a few friends and see if they have any ideas. I was about to shift into dragon form and see if my fire would work, but your laser did the trick.”
I took a breath and pulled energy in from the forest around us. I’d used almost all my reserves with that one shot, and I’d be useless if something else came along. I leaned against a tree and tried to relax in the crisp, autumn air. It’s easier to absorb energy when you’re at peace.
Aaron, of course, noticed. “I can top you up. You know I have plenty.”
I shook my head. “I’m not up for pain right now. Just give me five minutes with a few trees.” I could almost always find an old tree willing to give me energy. It might take a little time, but not as long as gathering it from the air around me. A waterfall would be faster, or even a creek or stream, but I didn’t hear running water.
“I won’t push more in than you can take, not during a mission.” Aaron said. “You used it to save me, the least I can do is top you back up.”
“Okay,” I relented, “but into my hands. I’ll route it to the right chakras.”
He didn’t argue, thank goodness, and held his hands out for me to grasp. I dropped my shields enough to let his energy flow out of his palms and into mine, and as it streamed up my arms and into my body, my heart seemed to need less energy to pump my blood.
I initially routed the power he gifted me to my first two chakras, since I primarily pull from those for my weapon, and then filled the rest. He truly does have plenty, but I never want to get used to depending on him.
During the few minutes Aaron’s energy filled me, I was at one with everything around me — totally at peace with the world, the universe, and perhaps even God. All energy is magic, but Aaron’s is a special kind of magic.
If we were romantically compatible, I’d be madly in love with him, but since we aren’t, he’s one of my best friends. I love him, but it isn’t the girlfriend kind of love.
When I was as full as I could get without feeling pain, I gently let go of his hands. When we do this as an exercise and he’s expanding the volume I can hold, he forces it in long past when I would choose to let go. This hurts about as much as I imagine a lightning strike would, and there’s a lot of screaming and crying involved on my part. I hate acting like a girly-girl, but he assures me he screamed and begged when his reserves were being stretched, too. Of course, that was thousands of years ago, so who could say how much he remembered of the pain?
Today, though, I felt warm and full and loved.
“Thanks,” I told him. Words couldn’t adequately thank him, so the single word would have to do. Besides, we were still on our mission and needed to focus, so I asked, “Do we circle back around and try the mystery cave, or try my idea?” I already knew venturing into the unknown cave wasn’t an option, but hoped he’d consider my Plan B. Aaron hadn’t liked it when I’d proposed it a few hours earlier, but we were running out of options.
He lifted his chin in agreement but showed no emotion. Aaron Drake totally rocks bad-ass. “Let’s pull Nathan in to help,” he answered. “I’m not comfortable using you as human bait with just me as your backup.”
I nodded and leaned against a tree, closed my eyes, and made Aaron’s energy my own while he texted Nathan our coordinates. Nathan wasn’t too far away, but was acting as lookout and would need to put someone in his spot before joining us.
We knew women were being kidnapped and taken to these woods just outside the boundaries of Prentice Cooper State Forest. Aaron is a weredragon and has an exceptionally good sense of smell, which had helped him find the women’s scents, but the trail had ended around ten feet from the cave’s entrance. I’d found narrow wheel marks leading towards the cave, and Aaron scented a few non-human male scents in the same area. Aaron couldn’t identify the species of the non-humans by smell, and wasn’t sure about them now that he’d seen one of them, either.
I theorized they might be putting the women into some sort of cart to get them into the cave, but Aaron didn’t want to go in without knowing what we were walking into. I understood the logic, even if it frustrated me. Still, Aaron was thousands of years old and hadn’t made it this far by being stupid, so I generally listened to his advice. Not always, but usually.
My Plan B had been to send me into the staging area as a bumbling, helpless female making a lot of noise, and hope someone showed up so Aaron could interrogate them and find out what was going on.
However, if we happened upon more of whatever we’d been fighting earlier, I wasn’t sure how we’d question it. Aaron and Nathan in human form and working together could probably subdue one of the creatures, but if more appeared they’d likely be forced to shift into their animal forms. Not a problem for Nathan, who shifted into a lion, but Aaron’s gigantic dragon form was hard to hide, as he tended to knock trees down and create a huge disturbance even when he didn’t take flight. He might’ve gotten away with it a hundred years ago, but with practically every American owning a camera phone today, he wouldn’t risk it.
The creature I’d killed had looked like an amalgamation of goat, ape, and the Incredible Hulk — minus the green. It’d been tan and brown, with long curved horns and vertical slitted eyes with flaming red irises where they should’ve been black. Creepy was an understatement, and he’d scared the bejeebers out of me even before I knew he was almost too much for Aaron to take on in human form.
As a human who can’t magically heal like the shapeshifters, I only use my metaphysical laser to kill from a distance. Attempting to wound a powerful supernatural creature would likely only get me killed, once they saw I was a serious danger. I could cut limbs off with my laser, or deliver a kill shot, but couldn’t do much else. However, we’d need to capture the next one so it could be questioned, which meant I could only act if I thought there was no other choice.
I was full of energy now though, and if I portioned it out I could probably kill two with what Aaron had given me.
Nathan, as always, startled me when he appeared in front of me. He walks as quietly in human form as when he’s a lion, and he’s just as ill-behaved, arrogant, and stubborn as any grumpy house-cat, so we didn’t exactly get along. I trusted him with my life on a mission, I just didn’t like being around him. Too bad he’s gorgeous.
Ignoring the fact he’d startled me, I told the men, “I need to hand off my gun and mags to one of you. The goat monsters will probably be able to smell them, and I’ll lose my helpless female vibe.”
Nathan held his hand out, choosing to remain nonverbal as usual when around me. I held my tongue, pulled my nine millimeter from the bellyband and handed it off, then the three extra magazines. He put my weapon in a zippered pocket on the side of his thigh, and slid my mags into slots on the inside of his military style tech-vest.
No matter how much of an ass he might be, he’s still built like my ideal man and I always have to work to keep from lusting after his more-than-perfect human body. He can smell emotions and physical reactions, and I endeavored to give him nothing. It was more likely he didn’t care what I thought or felt, but just in case he did, I wanted to keep as much feedback from him as possible.
We were about a half mile from the staging area Aaron had found, and I started walking to it, knowing Aaron would map out a plan with Nathan and they’d both be in position long before I arrived.
Walking away from them, through the woods, towards danger without my gun was terrifying, but I breathed through my fear and tried to keep my physiological reactions to a minimum. Both for my own pride, to keep Aaron and Nathan from smelling my fear, but also because it wouldn’t do for the goat-people to know I was terrified before I saw them. A lost human can be expected to smell a little scared, but not out-of-her-mind frightened.

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