Here be Magic

Monday, December 6, 2021

HERE BE NEWS for Monday December 6, 2021

Posted by: PG Forte

Monday December 6, 2021

Welcome to HERE BE NEWS, where each monday we bring you all the latest from the fantasy romance authors at Here Be Magic:

Friday December 3, 2021: Nicole Luiken looks back at some favorite fantasy series she discovered in 2021

Holiday Kisses

A Sweet, Hot and Christmassy Anthology

Experience the magic of romance this Christmas. Holiday Kisses is a festive collection of eight exclusive Christmas stories that will make you fall head over heels in love. Are you ready to take a journey with us? Get into the Christmas spirit with these swoon-worthy romances this holiday season.

Releases December 7, 2021

Buy Links: https://books2read.com/u/4jo68X

Includes the short story by PG Forte, I'll Be Home for Christmas:

I'll Be Home For Christmas

An Oberon Christmas Story

All Scout wants this holiday season is to get home in time for Christmas. But when your home is in quirky little Oberon, California, nothing is ever that simple. It’s the night before Christmas and Scout Patterson is flying home to Oberon after a business trip to LA when a chance, mid-air meeting with an angel has her dreaming of a weird Christmas—one in which she sees what the town would have been like if she had never returned.

Read an excerpt HERE

TUFFY CLAUS

Book 1

Contemporary Fantasy Holiday Romance
by Linda Mooney

Word Count: 27.8K
$2.99 e / $6.99 p / $6.95 a

Note: This is a sweet romance, but it does contain language and scenes of violence.

It’s another night on the job for Deputy Sheriff Barbara Mero, giving chase to a suspect in a stolen vehicle. But when someone beats her to the perp, she’s not sure whether to step in or not. Before she can stop him, a sledgehammer-wielding bearded biker on a red Harley delivers his own punishment, but with his parting words, Babs isn’t so sure he’s another bad guy.

After further investigation, Babs knows this vigilante “Santa” meant well, but there’s no proof he was even there. And after a few more run-ins with the red-cloaked badass, she’s torn between duty and justice, but in her heart she knows he’s the real deal.

You see, there’s a side of the story of Santa that doesn’t get told, and that’s where Dominik comes in. Being the twin to Kris, Dom’s job isn’t near as merry, though still necessary, answering the letters from the kids who want more than just toys. Those who want a better, safer life, food, and shelter. Basic needs a kid shouldn’t have to wish for on Christmas. Although he’s accepted his own lot in life, Dominik still has one regret. It’s a lonely life.

There’s another side to jolly old Saint Nick, and he ain’t a saint.
Warning! Contains German chocolate cake, a modified red Harley, Sadie, justice served, a child's letter to Santa, a coffee date, and the promise of love when no hope of love had ever existed.

Excerpt and Buy Links

Saturday, December 4, 2021

Bring It Back(List) - TUFFY CLAUS, a Contemporary Fantasy Holiday Romance by Linda Mooney

Posted by: Linda Mooney

Excerpt and Buy Links

Friday, December 3, 2021

Fantasy Series to Discover

Posted by: Nicole Luiken

It’s December so people are already thinking about their Best of the Year Lists. Personally, I plan to read another fifteen to twenty books this month, so I can’t do a Best of yet! There’s also the problem in that my reading is divided roughly in half between recently published books and older books. So I thought instead I’d do a post on series that I personally discovered this year.

1/ Bannon & Clare by Lilith Saintcrow – Steampunk/alternate history Victorian. I gobbled up all three books in this series about sorceress Emma Bannon and mentat (think Sherlock Holmes) Archie Clare early in the year. I love how vivid Saintcrow’s writing is, especially when it comes to magic battles. One caveat: do not expect a romantic relationship between the two main characters, this is a partnership/friendship.

2/ Livi Talbot by Skyla Dawn Cameron – Action-packed urban fantasy series, ongoing. The tagline for these is: Ex-debutante. Single mother. Treasure hunter. Think Indiana Jones but in a world where magic has newly reawakened and old legends are suddenly real. I adore kickass heroines who can also be vulnerable, and slow-burn romantic subplots with broody heroes-with-a-past.

3/ Curseworkers by Holly Black – Teen contemporary fantasy trilogy, complete, soon to be released in an omnibus. Having zoomed through Black’s wonderful Faerie of Light and Air series I went looking for her backlist and found this. Premise: what if people with magic had been put in labor camps and now mostly worked for the mafia? Cool magic, a very twisty plot and a likeable con-man main character.

4/ House of Shadows by Rachel Neumeier – Fantasy duology, complete. A family of poor sisters is forced to sell one of the sisters into a courtesan house, while another becomes apprentice to a mage. Lovely world-building, lots of cool magic, political intrigue and characters to root for.

5/ Romances of Arquitaine by Lilith Saintcrow. – Fantasy romance duology, complete. A world with French Versailles vibes and political upheaval. Book one is first person from the lady-in-waiting heroine, book two is first person from the knight-in-very-tarnished-armor hero, a structure that worked well. I loved how Tristan was totally gone on the oblivious heroine.

6/ Gargoyle Queen by Jennifer Estep – Fantasy series, ongoing. This is a sequel series to her Crown of Shards trilogy, with a new protagonist. Fantasy setting, but with the same strong pacing and first-person voice of Estep’s popular urban fantasy.

7/ Sun Chronicles by Kate Elliott – Science fiction/space opera, ongoing. Pitched as a gender-flipped Alexander the Great in space. Only the first book is out, but I’m looking forward to more. Space battles and political intrigue!

What new series have you discovered this year? Share in the comments.

Tuesday, November 30, 2021

New! DEATH WALKER, a Sensuous Sci-Fi Romance by Linda Mooney

Posted by: Linda Mooney

New!

DEATH WALKER
A Sensuous Sci-Fi Romance
By Linda Mooney
Word Count: 43.8K
$3.99 e / $9.99 p

After traveling through space for eons, hopping from planet to planet mining for the ore needed to fuel their ships, the crew of the North America may have found a world they can finally colonize. A planet that could have everything they need to survive and put down roots. But is Ayn Corin ready to settle down?

After being trapped in an abusive marriage for years, she is freed by her husband’s death in an accident, but Ayn is leery of trusting again. It has taken her months to be able to stand contact with another man, but Blynn Trainer is willing to give her the space and time she needs. He’ll wait for her, however long that takes.

Ayn is chosen to be among the first crew of borers to initiate drilling on the new planet, as well as Blynn and his crew, and an honor it is. Couple that with the fact that she’s finally realized that it’s time to move on and trust again, to trust Blynn, she is finally getting her happy ever after. But when tragedy strikes, she will lose it forever…or will she?

It seems the new planet is not as void of life as they thought, but are the aliens inhabiting it friend or foe, and just waiting to take over the newcomers’ bodies? Ayn discovers just how much her heart is willing to accept.

Warning! Contains pot roast, anamorphous shapes, four-sided hearts, death and near-death, an Earth Ring, and a second chance for a woman to trust her heart with a man who may not be fully human.

Excerpt and Buy Links