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BTW: By The Way (After Oscar Book 3) by Lucy Lennox and Molly Maddox: Exclusive Excerpt, RDB and Giveaway

May 12, 2020 by Denise

James:
My assignment is simple: go to the Cape and seal the real estate deal for my most important client. No problem. I’m good at my job, I know how to close a sale, and this time won’t be any different.

Until I meet Sawyer, the sexy young bartender I accidentally kiss in the broom closet. Turns out, he’s one of the owners I’m here to negotiate with.

Okay, so that complicates things. As does the fact that he doesn’t want to sell. Or that we can’t keep our hands off each other despite being on opposite sides. And most of all… that I might be falling for him even though I know better. I’ve made the mistake of falling for a younger man before and I won’t do it again.

Sawyer:
For me, family is everything, and nothing represents ours more than the Sea Sprite, the motel that’s been in my family for eighty years. Sure, others (cough*James*cough) may describe it as rundown or derelict or in desperate need of a wrecking ball. But I call it our legacy.

I’ve got plans — big plans to renovate the motel back to its vintage glory. The only thing standing in my way is James Allen, the fancy-shmancy lawyer from New York with his adorable smile, jaw dropping assets, and his client’s millions of dollars.

James seems hellbent on destroying my future.
But maybe there’s a way for us to build a new one together…

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Goodreads

Even as mad as I was at the man, I still wanted him. Which made me even angrier.

“You lied to me,” I hissed.

“I didn’t lie,” he said.

I started to argue, but he held up a hand. “But I wasn’t honest with you either. I’m sorry.”

The fact that he’d admitted that point took a little bit of the wind out of my sails. I opened my mouth to respond, but I didn’t know what to say. I’d come out here prepared for a fight, and here he was capitulating. “What the hell?” I asked, letting out a loud breath and dropping onto one of the wooden benches overlooking the wide strip of lawn leading to the dunes. The sea was calm today, which didn’t match my mood in the least.

I passed a hand down my face, trying to collect myself and rein in my rage. “Were you specifically keeping it from me in hopes of—”

“No!” He cut me off as if he didn’t want to hear me ask if he’d been using me. He sat next to me, close enough that I could feel his nearness, but far enough away that we weren’t quite touching. “I’m sorry, I… I just…” James’s eyes bounced from me to the green-blue waves in the distance and back. “I’m sorry.” He looked down at his clasped hands in his lap for a moment before chuckling softly and meeting my eyes.

There was an intensity in the way that he looked at me, as if I was the only thing that existed in the world at that moment. “I didn’t know who you were until you said your name at the end. I… I wasn’t expecting you.”

I let out a breath. While the sea was calm, my heart was anything but. It felt like the current was picking up, causing little breakers to crash here and there in my chest. Talk about unexpected.

And I almost fell for it. Almost let myself lean forward, drawn by those eyes and the smell of him that cut through the briny ocean breeze. Something warm and woodsy and inviting.

But he wasn’t here to flirt with me or fall prey to my seduction fantasies, I reminded myself. He was here to rip my family’s legacy out from under me. I didn’t have much time to change my uncles’ minds. There wasn’t a moment to spare, and I sure as hell couldn’t let this lawyer distract me.

I cleared my throat and stood, putting distance between us. Because otherwise I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to keep myself from reaching for him. From running my fingers up the column of his throat and into his hair and pulling him closer until I could feel his ragged breaths against my lips and—

I took a step back. Then another. Shoved my hands into my pockets for good measure. “Um, same. So… I’ve gotta…” I looked around, desperate to come up with an excuse. I had a million chores on my day’s to-do list, and at the moment I couldn’t think of a single one. “A thing. That I have to do. Now. So… See ya.”

James called out for me, but I straight-up pretended like I didn’t hear him and bolted for the parking lot. It wasn’t until I was in my jeep and halfway to town before I realized that all of my stuff was still back at the inn. I slammed my hand on the steering wheel before turning onto Skaket Way and pulling to the side of the gravelly road. I leaned my forehead onto the steering wheel and blew out a trembling breath.

Focus.

About Lucy:

After enjoying creative writing as a child, Lucy didn’t write her first novel until she was over 40 years old. Her debut novel, Borrowing Blue, was published in the autumn of 2016. Lucy has an English Literature degree from Vanderbilt University, but that doesn’t hold a candle to the years and years of staying up all night reading tantalizing novels on her own. She has three children, plays tennis, and hates folding laundry. While her husband is no shmoopy romance hero, he is very good at math, cooks a mean lasagne, has gorgeous eyes, looks hot in his business clothes, and makes her laugh every single day.

Lucy hopes you enjoy sexy heroes as much as she does. Happy reading!

About Molly:

Molly Maddox is the pen name for a New York Times bestselling author who started writing at an early age because her older sister, Lucy Lennox, was a writer and Molly wanted to be like Lucy in all ways (she still does). When she’s not writing, Molly likes to cook, read, take pictures of her dog and cat cuddling, and finds an odd satisfaction in folding sheets so that the top sheet is indistinguishable from the bottom sheet.

She loves all things romance and is grateful every day she gets to write for a living.

Connect with Molly:
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To celebrate Lucy & Molly’s release, we are giving away 3 eBooks copies of BTW

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The Deeper You Go (Heartbelt Records Book 1) by Logan Grey: Exclusive Excerpt, Blog Tour, Release Day Review and Giveaway

May 7, 2020 by Denise

Travis Cherry’s record label disowned him in almost every way, shape, and form when he was outed in the media.
The thing that sucked?

He still owed them an entire album. But that didn’t meant he’d make it easy on them.
They were the reason he was there, in that nightclub—the gay nightclub— shaking his ass and making a complete fool of himself.
They were also the reason he met Bailey.
And this is their story.

Amazon

Goodreads

It seemed so fucking real, Travis groaned and shifted closer, placing one palm against the side of his head to hold him still. But then it all flipped, and Travis was staring up at Bay, and he was the one being held in place as Bay lowered his head. Travis tipped his head up and parted his lips as they kissed, their mouths slotting together in a messy, eager pairing.

Greedy for whatever happened, Travis palmed his shoulders, all his smooth, hard muscle moving like waves beneath his warm skin. Trailing his hands down his sides, Travis gripped his waist and ground up into him at the same time he ground down. Sweet friction. Their matching groans were lost in the kiss, and Travis opened his mouth more, making room to deepen the kiss. Their tongues twined, and as they gasped for air between kisses, Travis trailed his hand around to the front of Bay’s jeans to unbutton them. He teased his fingers just inside the waistband, his heart pounding as he prepared himself for whatever came next. Whatever it was, he wanted it. He wanted Bay.

Bay lifted his head and stared down at him, and they shared a glance that said a thousand words without either of them parting their lips for anything other than a breath.

Travis gripped the waistband of his jeans and shimmied them down his hips. Bay’s skin was hot to the touch as he slowly skimmed his fingers along his abs, and then lower, until he could wrap his fingers tight around his hard—

Travis jerked awake, blinking into the darkness of his room, papers rustling under him as he sat up.

“God dammit,” he cursed. Dream.

If only he could go right back to sleep and pick up where that damned dream had left off.

With a sigh, he collapsed back into the pillows and laid his arm over his face. His cock throbbed beneath his sweats, and he shuffled to adjust himself. Running a palm over his face, he grunted in annoyance.

Well, shit. Travis guessed he’d finally found his muse.

A new to me author. But I am a sucker for rock stars. I don’t know why. Maybe it goes back to my crush on John Taylor from Duran Duran. Or Jon Bon Jovi. Whatever it is, rock stars are yummy.

We start off with the cliche paparazzi pics outing the main character Travis. But since he is in contract for another album, he does everything he can to get the label to fire him. Effective. But this whole beginning part was kind of meh for me. I plodded on.

So the record label fires him, he fires his agent, he only has one real friend (who also isn’t in the business), so he plans to hide out in a small town near where he played one of his favorite shows.

Off to Pennsylvania he goes! Kind of funny because I don’t recall the book saying Pennsylvania until toward the end. Before that, the area is made out to be the frozen tundra of Montana or something. It’s referred to as “up here” and “up north” and apparently snow lasts until April or May. Ok then.

His alone time is thwarted a bit by the owner of the B&B who is playing matchmaker with her son. The son who had a serious crush on Travis when he was 16. Now he is 21 and basically living in the same house.

There’s a decent story there with Travis helping Bailey out with the music class he runs at an LGBT+ center. They obviously grow closer as two young gay men in close proximity are wont to do.

Bailey had a bit of martyr syndrome with insisting he stay in the small town to help his mother run the B&B instead of pursuing the music career he longs for. But he isn’t a jerk about it. He just kind of accepts it as his lot in life.

There is a small sub plot of an ex coming back, but that was pretty much a mess and did nothing except exposing where Travis was holed up. He pops up again at the end of the story (fodder for another book?) but again, it was pretty sloppy.

The book ends with a cliff hanger, so if that isn’t your cup of tea, you’ve been warned. If the second book lands in my lap, I will read it. But I don;t know that I will seek it out.

3 pieces of eye candy

Logan resides in Tennessee, convinced her southern twang is part of her charm. With two cats and a dog, her hands are full, and not just of treats like her pets would like to believe. As a full time author, she dedicates all of her time bringing to life different characters and developing new worlds for her readers to lose themselves in. And more often than not, she loses herself in them, which is her favorite place to be: with a cat in her lap, a snack in hand, and voices in her head.

Connect with Logan:
Newsletter Sign Up: https://mailchi.mp/4f317aa57804/logangreynewsletter
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To celebrate Logan’s new release, we are giving you a chance to win a $20 Amazon Gift Card

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Charlie Sunshine (Close Proximity Book 2) by Lily Morton: Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt, New Release Review and Giveaway

April 30, 2020 by Denise

Sometimes love is a lot closer to home than you think.

Charlie Burroughs can’t keep a man. All he wants is a good relationship like the ones he sees his friends having, but none of the men he picks ever work out. Despite him trying to be the perfect boyfriend, the men are either threatened by his looks or his epilepsy or a combination of the two. It’s lucky that he has his best friend Misha to turn to. The two of them are closer than peas in a pod and fiercely loyal to each other. He can’t imagine his life without Misha in it.

Misha Lebedinsky is the complete opposite of his best friend. Being the support system for his mum and twin sisters leaves Misha with neither the time nor the inclination for a relationship. Quick and frequent hook-ups are his favourite means of communication and any other pesky emotional needs he has are met by Charlie, who he’s devoted to. He lives a life of happy compartmentalization with no intention of ever changing.

All of this changes when the two best friends move in together. Being in close proximity means that they suddenly start to see each other in a very different light. But Charlie struggles when his drive to be the perfect partner clashes with the fact that he’s in love with a man who knows every little thing about him. And even if he can get past that, can a relationship ever work with a man who’d need a dictionary to tell him what love means?

From bestselling author Lily Morton comes a love story about a sunny librarian who has relationship written all over him and a cynical banker who doesn’t even have it in his blurb.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Goodreads

Misha comes to stand next to me and looks at his own family home, which is a mirror image of mine. He sighs, and there’s something weary in the sound. He’s always like this when a family meeting is called. Probably because he feels a lot of responsibility for his mum and the girls since his dad died. I rub his arm, feeling how tight the muscles are.

“You okay?” I ask, concerned.

He scrubs his hand down his face. “Just mentally preparing myself for what’s coming.”

“They’re teenage girls,” I say consolingly. “How bad could it be?”

He looks at me incredulously. “I’m sorry, have you met them? The trouble could be anything on a scale between staging a sit-in outside the council buildings or robbing a mail train.”

“When did they become cowboys? Surely I should have been told about these developments?”

He snorts and shakes his head. Then he bounces on his toes for a few seconds, shaking out his arms like a boxer readying himself for a fight. It looks rather odd in a man wearing a three-piece suit. He finishes and nods. “Okay, I’m ready.” I go to walk towards his front door and he grabs my arm. “Wait,” he says. I look at him enquiringly. “Have you got any alcohol on you?”

I start to laugh. “No, of course I haven’t. Because I’m a librarian and not Colin Farrell.”

“More’s the pity.”

From the moment that I discovered my first Lily Morton book, she has never let me down. Quirky, fun characters who can laugh at themselves and are just fun. Even the grumpy ones end up being fun.

Charlie is the perennially happy guy. Even after a freak accident that left him with epilepsy, he still won’t be anything but happy. In front of people. He is always that “I’m fine!” guy. But his best friend since he was 6 years old can see through it.

Misha is the opposite of Charlie. Hedge fund manager, snappy suits, fancy car, the right address. But together, they are perfect. How could they not be after 20 something years of friendship?

Charlie loses his last roommate and instead of looking for another, Misha invites him to be HIS roommate. No big deal, right? HA! HA I say! Since they each have crushes on each other but won’t do anything about it because 1. best friends and 2. they want different things. Charlie is the settle down, white picket fence with a chocolate lab kind of guy. But Misha is only about the one night stand.

Plus Charlie has a boyfriend, who works with Misha and they hate each other. And he really doesn’t treat Charlie well. The last straw was when Charlie started having a seizure and the evil boyfriend didn’t catch him before he fell. In fact, he moved away. Bastard.

Now everyone is single and tip toeing around each other’s hot selves and ignoring the giant condom shaped elephant in the room.

Of course they end up together! It is a romance with a happily ever after. But watching them discover the love they have that is beyond best friend love is wonderful. And it isn’t just Charlie who changes Misha from a one off guy to a happily in love buy. But Misha also changes Charlie. From always having a happy face on to finally asking for help when he needs it and letting people know that sometimes he isn’t great.

They were just super adorable and I LOVED Charlie’s parents- mom, step dad, father and step father. Do the math.

If you are a Lily Morton fan, don’t miss this one.

4 Pieces of Candy

Lily writes contemporary romance novels, and specialises in hot love stories with a good dose of humour.

Lily lives in sunny England with her husband and two children, all of whom claim that they haven’t had a proper conversation with her since she bought her first Kindle.

She has spent her life with her head full of daydreams and decided one day to just sit down and start writing about them. In the process she discovered that she actually loved writing, because how else could she get to spend her time with hot, funny men!

She loves chocolate and Baileys and the best of all creations – chocolate Baileys! Her lifetime’s ambition is to have a bath in peace without being shouted by one of her family.

To celebrate Lily’s new release, we are giving you the chance to win 1 of 3 copies of a book of your choice from Lily’s Backlist!
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Lucien: A Dark Mafia Romance (The Marchesi Family Book 1) by Silvia Violet: Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt, New Release Review and Giveaway

April 29, 2020 by Denise

I never imagined the protector I longed for would be a mob boss who demanded complete control.
I shouldn’t have gone to Lucien’s office.
Once I looked into his eyes, I couldn’t leave.
He commanded me to kneel.
Beg.
Obey.
I couldn’t help myself.
One taste, and I craved more.
Lucien vowed to protect me from his enemies…
But who’s going to protect my heart from him?

This MM mafia romance is the first book in the Marchesi Family series.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

“Yeah. You’re all danger and power, and you fit so well here, among all this.” He gestured around, indicating the balcony and my room.

If he thought this house was extravagant, I couldn’t wait until I could take him to our house in Weston. “There’s no point in doing what we do if you’re not going to enjoy the spoils.”

“I guess not, but there’s always someone wanting to kill you, isn’t there?”

“Or kill my family or take everything I’ve worked for or all of the above.” I took another long pull on the cigar and blew out the smoke.

“And it’s still worth it?”

“You name anything you want, and I’ll get it for you.”

“I want to know you’re safe.”

I shook my head. “You know that’s not what I mean. No one, not even a nondescript accountant who’s never done anything more criminal than drive sixty in a fifty-five can promise you nothing will happen to them. Any of us could get hit by a car tomorrow.”

Peter scowled at me, and I smiled. I loved that he wanted to protect me too. “If you don’t tell me what you want, I’ll just keep buying you gifts until I find something that wows you.”

“You think I’m not wowed by everything you’ve done. I’m sure this robe cost more than the nicest outfit I’ve ever owned. I’ve never had clothes like the ones you gave me, and my bedroom here is about the size of my whole apartment. But I… I don’t need those things.”

“I want you to have them.”

Peter sighed. I know and… thank you.”

I nodded. “Better. And I will keep giving you gifts because I want to.” And it’s a way I can show you what I might not ever be able to say.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I enjoy suspending reality for things like the mob, and people getting murdered because of some wrong done by them. What I didn’t really like is how quickly Peter literally kneeled for Lucien. And totally accepted it, even though he had never done anything like that before. Lucien didn’t take the time to explain anything. Just “I own you now”. Uh, ok.

The blurb doesn’t SAY BDSM, but you would assume that. If you did, you assumed wrong. It was less BDSM and more Lucien is a control freak. Ok, fine. But with that, Peter just seemed like a wet noodle.

Peter. Poor Peter. His parents died, he works as a temp, and one of his cousins skirts the wrong edge of the law. But he has his uncle, who raised him after his parents died and still looks out for him. Although maybe not very well if he doesn’t realize that Peter moved out of his crappy apartment and in with Lucien like IMMEDIATELY.

The mob stuff was kind of twisty turny and fun to read. I wanted to smack Devil more than once (a cousin and underling of Lucien the boss). But the main focus was heavily on Lucien and Peter and their relationship. Such as it was.

Ok, no, I didn’t love it. I rolled my eyes a few times. It was still fun and readable. And yes, I probably, definitely, will read the next installment. Especially since it moves to a new couple and doesn’t continue the Lucien show.

3 Pieces of Candy

Silvia writes erotic romance in a variety of genres including contemporary, paranormal, and historical. She can often be found haunting coffee shops looking for the darkest, strongest cup of coffee she can find. Once equipped with the needed fuel, she can happily sit for hours pounding away at her laptop. Silvia typically leaves home disguised as a suburban stay-at-home-mom, and other coffee shop patrons tend to ask her hilarious questions like “Do you write children’s books?” She loves watching the looks on their faces when they learn what she’s actually up to. When not writing, Silvia enjoys baking sinful chocolate treats, exploring new styles of cooking, and reading children’s books to her wickedly smart offspring.

You can email Silvia at silviaviolet@gmail.com

Silvia enjoys chatting with fans in her Facebook group, Silvia’s Salon and on her Facebook timeline: http://facebook.com/silvia.violet.

For a chance to win a $10 Amazon Gift Card, simply follow @Silvia.Violet on Instagram & Comment on any of the host photos lists here with the hashtag #Lucien.
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Thief in the Light by Jaime Samms: New Release Review and Giveaway

April 23, 2020 by Denise

Lucky Denver has wandering feet, sticky fingers and an unreliable moral compass—he’s never had a home and he’s not so sure he cares about what he’s missing.

Arnold Kreed who runs a small-town B&B knows what a home should be. So does his home, The Oaks—aka Mildred—and she has some very definite opinions on who should stay and who should go.

Mildred wants Lucky to stay—and while Kreed is surprised, he can’t really blame the old girl. He’s getting sort of attached himself. Lucky might be fine with the house’s eccentricities, but he’s not so sure Kreed will be fine with the man attached to Lucky’s real name. When Kreed falls ill, Lucky needs to make a decision—wander away like he’s always done or stay and be his better self. Kreed’s hoping he’ll stay—and so is The Oaks, and Mildred has a way of getting what she wants.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

This was fun with quirky characters- including a picky house. As seems to happen too often lately, I had time line issues. But they are fairly easily overlooked.

Lucky is walking along a lonely stretch of highway when he has to take a dive into a ditch to avoid a SUV. The SUV driver has her nose in the air, but she does help him out. She gets him into the SUV and drives him to a B&B that she knows of. Not before he swipes her purse.

The B&B owner is that guy that you totally wouldn’t expect to own and B&B but at the same time it fits him perfectly. Lucky takes a room for three nights, giving up half his money. But the bed, shower and food are too hard to resist.

And then the temperamental, quirky house gives involved by knocking a picture off of the wall. Which would have seriously hurt Lucky had he been in the bed. But when Kreed checks on him, he sees the pink purse.

The next morning there is a note next to the pink purse. An offer to work for room and board, or take the money for the two nights he didn’t stay yet and disappear. Against his better judgement, he stays.

Lucky is happy to do any of the work that Kreed gives him. They get along fine, even with the town taking the time to stop in and get a look see at the new guy. Besides being a B&B, Kreed serves breakfast and lunch daily.

Kreed has a friend with benefits show up, with his husband, which gets sticky. Because Kreed and Lucky are definitely interested in each other. Which kind of makes Kreed realize he is worth more than a friend with benefits deal. Plus Lucky isn’t so subtle with his dislike of this guy.

When Kreed gets ill and winds up in the hospital, Lucky does everything he can to keep the B&B afloat. Not by renting rooms and doing big meals, but opening every morning for coffee service and breakfast sandwiches.

He has help from a trio of siblings who own the bookstore across the street, and surprisingly, from the woman who knocked him off the road to being with.

There are secrets that get out, which risk not only Lucky, but Kreed and his B&B. Lucky is ready to bail, but realizes that all of a sudden he has people- friends- in his corner willing to help him and fight for him. Including Mildred. The house.

Seeing Lucky open up and realize that people actually care for him was so sweet. The relationship between Kreed and Lucky is a suuuuuuuuuuuuuper slow burn. In fact, there is only one sex act (I’m pretty sure) and it didn’t even happen in a bed.

Shows that a decent story doesn’t need sex to keep you invested. Even a romance.

3.5 Pieces of Candy

Jaime has generously offered an ebook copy of any of her backlist for one commenter on this post. Leave a comment for Jaime!

A Vigil in the Mourning (Soulbound IV) by Hailey Turner: Exclusive Guest Post, Blog Tour, Release Day Review and Giveaway

April 6, 2020 by Denise

I’m so incredibly excited to have Hailey Turner here today to give us a little bit extra about her newest release in the Soulbound series, A Vigil in the Mourning. As you will see below, I absolutely love this series (I try to contain my enthusiasm online, so Hailey doesn’t get creeped out, but I might stalk her IG a little bit, because she is also a huge cat lover like me :)) Anyway, when I asked for a guest post from Hailey I knew it had to be on her worldbuilding, which is so amazing, so well done, you can see these things that you’ve never seen, and understand what they are there for. I can’t think of any other authors who create worlds as well as she does! Anyway, check out her guest post on it, as well as the excerpt and a giveaway at the end!

The devil you know is never the one you should trust.

Special Agent Patrick Collins is dispatched to Chicago, chasing a lead on the Morrígan’s staff for the joint task force. Needing a cover for his presence in the Windy City, Patrick is ordered to investigate a politician running for mayor. In the lead up to election day, not everything is what it seems in a city where playing to win means appeasing the gods first and the electorate second.

But Chicago brings its own set of problems outside the case: a stand-offish local god pack, a missing immortal, and Patrick’s twin sister. Fighting Hannah and the Dominion Sect provides Patrick with a sinister reminder that some blood ties can never be cut.

Left behind in New York City, Jonothon de Vere finds himself targeted by hunters who will go through anyone to kill him—including the packs under his protection. With a bounty on his head, Jono is forced to make a choice that Patrick would never approve of. Doing so risks breaking the trust he’s built with the man he loves, but not acting will give the rival New York City god pack leverage Jono can’t afford to give up.

When Patrick and Jono reunite in Chicago, Patrick must confront the fraying of a relationship he’s come to rely on for his own sanity. But fixing their personal problems will have to wait—because Niflheim is clawing at the shores of Lake Michigan and the dead are hungry.

A Vigil in the Mourning is a 102k word m/m urban fantasy with a gay romantic subplot and a HFN ending. It is a direct sequel to A Crown of Iron & Silver. Reading the first book in the series would be helpful in enjoying this one.

A Vigil in the Mourning by Hailey Turner

Series: Soulbound IV

Publisher: Self-Published

Release Date (Print & Ebook): April 6, 2020

Length (Print & Ebook): 102,951

Subgenre: LGBTQ Urban Fantasy

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Author Site

Worldbuilding – Constraints and Freedom

If you read any of my books, I think it’s pretty obvious that I am fanatic in my love of worldbuilding. In science fiction and fantasy, you need a good foundation to build on if you want your story to thrive.

The fun thing about writing in SFF is that you can do anything—so long as that anything works within the rules you’ve built your world on. Which is a lot harder than it sounds, especially if you’re writing a long series that requires a lot of details, many of which may never make it on page. If they do, it might only be a throwaway line. But you, the writer, will know them, know what rule they help support, and that helps guide the worldbuilding.

When writing, the best way to build a world is to do it organically. Which means your most favorite world fact you created might never see the light of day. I have pages of notes on the science behind the werevirus or genes that carry magic in my series, but I’m never going to drop that long explanation into a book for fear of messing up the pacing and boring a reader.

With worldbuilding, you have a lot of freedom, but I personally believe that doesn’t equate to free rein. You want the world your characters exist in to be believable in a fantastical way for a reader, but actions within the world will still have consequences. Take Patrick and Jono. In my Soulbound world, messing with a person’s soul is a capital offense in the United States. Patrick accidentally tied their souls together, and that’s a crime they have to hide. I need to write the story around that law and the consequences of Patrick’s actions. Sometimes it’s not easy, but I still find it fun.

When you write a long series, you get to flesh out the world more, which I love. Maybe you get to introduce a new country, or a new world, maybe a new moment of first contact. As a writer, figuring out your world and how it works is a labor of love, but readers will always appreciate everything you know, even if they never read all of the pillars that help prop up your story.

“Where are you?” Patrick said when Wade picked up.

“Uh, why? Are you in trouble?” Wade asked.

“Not yet, but I’m being followed.”

“Werecreatures? I saw a couple this morning before I lost them.”

Patrick scowled and drummed his fingers against the steering wheel. “And you didn’t think you should go back to the hotel once you identified them?”

Wade snorted. “The hotel doesn’t have good snacks. I’m at Target getting better ones.”

“Of course you are.”

“It’s not like I can’t tell what they are, and I’m good at ditching people in a crowd. I’m not being followed right now. Trust me, I’d know if I was.”

“Get back to the hotel, Wade.”

“After I get snacks. And maybe another hot dog.”

“Wade.”

“Food first, fight later, bye.”

Wade ended the call, and Patrick swore. “Fucking teenagers.”

Okay, I am going to admit that I only started this series a few months back. I started listening to it on Audible, because I was like “well, I don’t read this stuff…” blah blah, whatever cr*p I told myself. I then got sucked in COMPLETELY!!! And after I finished this series, I moved over to Hailey’s Metahuman series, which is also fantastic. After all that, I figured I better stop trying to tell myself “I don’t read paranormal”. 🙂 This is a fantastic series, and I was totally on board with reading this ASAP. (And yes, I will be grabbing the Audible as soon as I see it drop.)

One of my favorite things about this series is Patrick, and his absolutely snarky, don’t give an f* attitude. Meanwhile Jono is the calming influence in their family, aka pack. Also, Wade and his food adventures never fail to crack me up. However, it is also just the way they all work together so well, after Patrick had years of working alone. They all just fit right.

I don’t want to give anything away, because if you love this series as much as I do, you are going to want to experience all the twists and turns. Just know you see those we have seen before in all their evil glory, some we haven’t seen much of before (think gods), and Patrick and Jono should never be allowed to be apart from each other ever again. lol They work so well together, and I loved how when they were apart, everyone kept asking Jono where Patrick was, even the people they hate. They just know they are made for each other. 🙂

Enjoy this one. I know I did…but please, please, please make sure you read books I-III first. You could read this as a stand alone if you really wanted…but you will enjoy it so much more if you have the background. Besides, you will want to just to enjoy the worldbuilding that is so much Hailey Turner’s specialty.

4 pieces of eye candy

Hailey Turner is big city girl who spoils her cats rotten and has a demanding day job that she loves, but not as much as she loves writing. She’s been writing since she was a young child and enjoys reading almost as much as creating a new story.

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