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The Prince She Kissed in Paris
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo -- DEAR READER Dear Reader, THE PRINCE SHE KISSED IN PARIS is my debut royal romance with Harlequin Romance. Kicking off the story in Paris was a no-brainer; it was my husband’s and my first international trip together. I fell in love with the old architecture, the iconic landmarks, and just the overall feel of the city. It was a lot easier to write the chapters set in Paris than creating the country of Kelna, although I learned so much about world-building throughout this process! Kelna was inspired by the country of Croatia, a stunning setting that is now on my travel bucket list. I also want to give a shout-out to my incredible sister-in-law Rachel, for helping bring Madeline and her passion for architecture to life. Rachel is an architect in the Pacific Northwest and has worked on everything from museums to embassies. She was a wonderful resource on how design processes, site visits, and construction work, and let me get away with some twisting of how an actual timeline would progress! I hope you enjoy Madeline and Nicholai’s romance. Happy reading, and have a wonderful summer! Love, Scarlett -- EXCERPT: Prince Nicholai Adamović braced his arm against the balcony doorframe as the wrought iron beams of the Eiffel Tower lit up with hundreds of sparkling white lights. The display no doubt dazzled the hordes of tourists who, despite the late hour, would be thronging the Pont d’léna and surrounding streets to snap the perfect picture. He’d seen it plenty of times, had frequently dismissed it as nothing more than a cheap trick to attract visitors and romantics. But tonight, he, too, watched the show. When would he have the freedom to be in his own hotel room alone again? Without security guards or press or his family lurking about? Or worse, a wife. The lights performed one last dance before settling into a steady golden glow. A beacon for all of Paris to look to. One of hope, history and love. He snorted. Love was for books, movies and the occasional lucky sap who stumbled upon their soulmate. For people like him, love was not always an option. Especially when the law of his country required that he have a wedding ring on his finger before accepting the crown. 
GIVEAWAY! -- #Book Blitz #Hotheaded Heart by Anna Alkire (Waterfall Canyon, 1) #Romance @Xpresso Book Tours25/6/2024
Hotheaded Heart
-- EXCERPT: A little adrenaline set in when I thought of my underwear getting tossed around for every soul to see—Beau and Mason would be there any minute. I started stuffing garbage bags as fast as I could move in my bedroom, shuddering at how wrinkled and smashed my pretty lingerie would all be. “Raven?” Beau called from the front door. “Yep,” I shouted. “Be out in a sec…” My hands moved faster but my slinky collection of undergarments kept slipping from my fingers and landing on the carpet. “Hey,” Beau said from the door, while I frantically shoved a teddy and garter belt set into the bag. “Good news. I bribed Chuck and AJ into helping out…” “That’s great. I owe you big time for this.” He walked closer. I glanced over my shoulder, hunching forward to hide my naughty bag. Beau crouched over and picked up a red lace G-string. “Dropped this,” he croaked. He bit the knuckle of his other hand. I snatched it away from him, my ears burning. “Give me a damn minute. And scrub that out of your head.” He punched his chest and stumbled backward. “Never.” 
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The Accidental Sereph
-- EXCERPT: [Rome] pulls his phone from his pocket and glances at it. “Bus coming into the Hollow.” Samson and I groan. Buses mean tourists. Obnoxious tourists drag in the demon riff-raff hiding among them, and they aren’t usually the organized kind, but rather the fledgling demons or the deserters attached to the taedae, unsighted humans. “Not it,” Samson says. “How’s that injury?” Rome asks me. “Not an injury,” I repeat. “How many times do I have to say it?” Rome looks me over, eyes narrowed, as if he can see beyond my skin and bones. “Fine,” he relents. “You go into town. Wait for the bus to roll in, see if any demons have hitched a ride.” He points at me. “But don’t engage, not without backup.” I’m already walking over to the cabinet, pulling on my harness, sliding a sharpened dagger into a sheath, along with another into my boot. “Me? Engage?” I glance at my bow but leave it, knowing I probably won’t need it. Those off the bus are rarely difficult to dispatch. I glance at Rome with a smile. “Never.” Samson laughs. I shrug into my black leather jacket and grab my helmet before I’m out the door, headed for the heart of town. After driving past Lowry’s Gas and Sundries, where the bus stops, and seeing the hulking, metal can is already empty, I ride down Main. I park my bike, cross to the other side, and duck into The Hole in the Wall, a small bar sandwiched between a diner called The Getaway, and a witchy souvenir shop that sells Carran Hollow guidebooks. One of these three establishments is often the first stop for tourists, and thereby their parasitic demons, when they reach town. My eyes adjust to the dark. There’s an older guy playing guitar near the door. The shiny wooden bar is on the left and runs the length of the room. There are a few people lined up along the counter, atop barstools. Booths—mostly empty—line the right wall, and in between is a stretch of space big enough to walk between the two. I’ve been here before. I have been in every single shop in Carran Hollow, every single home—though the owners haven’t known I was there. The Hollow is my town. The locals glance at me then look away, giving me a wide berth. They might know me. They might know I’m a Black. If they don’t, they feel it—that sensation skittering across their skin telling them danger is near. That’s all that’s needed. 
GIVEAWAY! -- #Book Blitz #The Rumble and the Glory by JA Huss #Contemporary Romance #Suspense @Xpresso Book Tours24/6/2024
The Rumble and the Glory
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Dark and Lovely Mermaids
-- EXCERPT: “Who should go? Among us, there is a mermaid brave enough, wise enough, and strong enough to do this task? To journey alone. To finish what must be done. To save our kingdom from Poseidon’s spy work. Ellara Merme.” Petra thrust me forward and lifted the hand she still held in a victorious pose. All of Merme erupted in whoops and cries. I plastered a foolish smile upon my cheeks. All this adoration was for me? What a joke. I was a hoax standing here, paraded out to the town, in my new silver hair. They were acting like I was some sort of savior, but in reality I was just a jerk they could blackmail into completing the task. So desperate to become a Fert, I’d risk my life. “Smile,” Petra hissed. “I am smiling.” “Bigger.” A hollow grin pushed up the corners of my lips. I tried to hide the terror behind my eyes. Petra swooped me forward ’til I was side-by-side with Quinn. The leader held up my other arm. I tried not to faint. “Ellara Merme is our courageous warrior, our mighty Merme.” Quinn said. “She brought the terrible merman’s presence to the attention of the Pause. Ellara brought him down in the fight during the storm. She has killed a Portrayan Kingfisher Crab, manipulated human women into becoming her friends, and she has bedded hundreds of men.” How about one. The day after my transition was over. I wanted to vomit in my own mouth. At best, these claims were a wild twisting of the truth. At worst, the city of Merme had just been pacified with lies. And promises that couldn’t come true. Somewhere in the crowd, I imagined Blonde craning her neck, rolling her eyes. Quinn was making me out to be some sort of super woman. It couldn’t have been farther from the truth. But the women of Merme didn’t care. They just wanted to be safe. “Ellara Merme was blessed by Abigailya, the sea witch. In fact, the sorceress bestowed on her the magical third eye.” Which I still didn’t know how to use. “She defeated a clever water nymph. All by herself.” I couldn’t stand it anymore. My eyes searched for Blonde. I started to shake my head, no. Petra’s fingernails dug into my palm. “Play along,” the rainbow-woman hissed. I tightened my smile. “Ellara Merme is the perfect woman for this mission. A vital soldier. A master mermaid. A linchpin in the success of Neptune’s war. And we will win.” A less experienced orator might have shouted that from the rafters and beaches, but Quinn knew better than that. “We will win,” she whispered, it came out like a shiver. An ear-worm in the brain of every young mermaid. “We will win.” She repeated. Then, finally, she brought the mighty point home. “We. Will. Win!” 
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The Maker of Worlds
-- EXCERPT: In the light of pre-dawn, and in my half-awake state, no difference struck me at first, other than the chill waters deeper than expected, soaking the rolls of my trousers. Out of the mist on either side, giant evergreens loomed graceful as usual, rising until their tops blurred. The view so distracted me that several heartbeats passed before I realized the change. Perhaps I was still sleeping in my bed, for where the channel to the west lake should have been, a broad flood plain spread. The water had washed over the banks and crept inland for a hundred paces, leaving the trees the only witness to what once had been dry land. Beyond the trees, nothing. Nowhere a dock or a mooring, not so much as a hint of early morning smoke rising from a chimney. Nowhere the cottages of Queen’s Hill. Nowhere houses at all. As I gaped, the edges of branches shimmered as if undecided whether to remain intangible or become real. In a panic, I realized the folly of this quest. Better to return to a safer, albeit gloomier life, to go back through the portal at once. Behind me, the maelstrom still swirled, a fleeting comfort as it had started to recede. While I stared at the last link to my old world, the orb diminished, shrunk to a size I could cover with my hand, and then to that of the tip of my thumb. Before I sloshed more than two steps closer, it winked out. Now, to the north and the south, nothing showed but water. I stumbled to shore, my movements causing the slightest wake in the surface, which lay so still I could make out my astonished features in the reflection. I’d spent much of my young life with Addy, like a mate sailing across a forever lake. She’d been with me through calm and storm. I’d yearned to find renewed hope on this side of the gateway and return home to a new life, yet now the gateway, like Addy, had vanished. 
-- GIVEAWAY! -- #Book Blitz #Crown of Wings and Thorns by Mary Ting #Fantasy #Romance #@Xpresso Book Tours21/6/2024
Crown of Wings and Thorns
FREE! For a limited time! -- EXCERPT: I’d heard tales that vampires had an uncanny ability to beguile their prey. Their attractive faces and bewitching scent, partnered with their commanding voices entranced victims, making them do whatever was asked of them. He must be using the same supernatural powers to captivate me. Despite his effort, I prevailed and pushed the horrendous thought to the far recesses of my mind. “Never in peace.” He growled, his hot breath fanned the shell of my ear. “You are my enemy.” “Fine. You want to die here, right now?” I gritted the words through my teeth as I slowly released my feathers, my chest rising and falling just as fast as his. He made the mistake of pulling back just enough for his eyes to lock with mine. I pushed off with the strength of my feathers, taking him with me. His back thumped the opposite wall and I trapped him with my body and wings. Victus’s eyes grew wide, stunned. With an ear-piercing snarl, his feet tangled with mine to launch us into a wild spin, and then he pushed me against the wall with such force that all of the air was knocked from my lungs with an oomph. “I loathe your kind,” he hissed, baring his teeth. “And I despise everything about you.” I clenched my jaw. “My hatred for you is greater.” The tendrils under his eyes throbbed. We were thrown into a battle of push and shove, taking turns on who would be on top of our chaotic tumbling until we eventually stopped at the opposite end of the room, panting. With my back to the wall, he took a fistful of my hair and yanked my head to the side, exposing my neck. His hot breath and his sharp fangs grazed down my skin. I shuddered and every vein in my body seared. I wasn’t sure if it was from fear or from the heated tussle and our bodies colliding. “If you believe I’m your enemy, then bite me.” I took a chance by saying the latter. Since he found me revolting, he would likely release me. He gripped my hair tighter and snarled. 
-- GIVEAWAY! --
The Hubble
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GIVEAWAY! Cindy is giving away a copy of The Hubble on Goodreads!
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Every Scar Tells a Story
-- EXCERPT: Summer… I can’t help but smile. This one will be like no other. High school will be over, and I’ll be heading off to college in the fall. I’m so ready to leave this small town behind. It’s not a bad place to live, but I’m psyched to move to an actual city where the downtown is larger than a four-block radius. And I’m eager to get my career started. Working probably isn’t what gets most eighteen-year-olds jacked up, but I know the direction I want to go, and I’m motivated to get there. Hayden walks ahead of me without a backward glance, unlocking his early graduation gift—a shiny, new black Mustang. The jackass is sulking. Reaching for the handle, I happen to look left and catch sight of a herculean figure walking on the sidewalk toward me. His head is down, face mysteriously shadowed by a hooded sweatshirt pulled low over his eyes. Somehow, he must sense me staring because he stops and snaps his head up, then looks around like I’m blocking his path and isn’t sure what to do about it. “Are you coming?” Hayden says over the roof of his car with a tinge of annoyance. “Yeah, sorry.” After opening my door, I glance back. The stranger is walking at a brisk pace across the street. After we’re both seated in the car, he says, “Do you know that guy?” “No, but I think I startled him.” I pull the seatbelt across my chest and secure it. “Well, it seems like you did.” He starts the car with a vroom. “Is there something I should know about?” “No.” My heart races at the aggressive sound of the engine. “I’ve never seen him before.” I’m still plagued with nightmares and struggle with other people driving, all because of the accident I was in with my father when I was thirteen. Hayden knows this. The drive to my house is silent, and I wonder about the sudden awareness I had back at the restaurant. Am I really going to break up with him? I doubt he’s ever been dumped before. The guy is high school royalty. And it’s going to mess up our friend group, not to mention our plans for prom in two months. Maybe I’m being too hasty this time. I mean, aside from occasional insensitivity, the escalating moodiness, and the increase in his drinking, what’s really wrong with him? Yeah, aside from all that, my brain shouts back at me. 
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Return to You
-- EXCERPT: It’s dark inside the tent, and my eyes strain to adjust. A sweet and relaxing scent fills the atmosphere. Oriental-type carpets cover the ground, giving the space a sense of being elsewhere. There’s a chair next to the entrance and a massage table in the center. To the back, there’s the silhouette of a woman busying herself at a small console with lotions. My heart ba-booms at the shape of her shoulders, the tilt of her head. Jesus fucking Christ, she’s thousands of miles away. Not here. And even if she was here, what does it matter? Shake it off, man. But her dark, curly hair stirs something deep inside me, and I hold my breath. Am I hallucinating? It can’t be her, dammit. It’s a trick of my imagination. Shit. It’s been so long. But then she turns around, and my heart hammers in my chest. The last time I saw this woman, she didn’t even have one word for me. After everything we’d shared. After everything she’d told me. She was walking down the aisle, holding some idiot’s arm, a stiff smile fooling only herself, her gaze glazing over me. And she didn’t have one word for me. Not one explanation. Didn’t even bother trying to be my friend. It was like I’d never existed. I’d been on leave, decided four years without coming back to my hometown was enough. I had one week off, and god played a trick on me. It was the weekend she was marrying someone else. She was supposed to be mine. Always was. She said so herself. So many times. But after her wedding, didn’t she move to Texas? She’s not supposed to be here. She does a double take. Her eyes round, her mouth gapes, her breath catches. “Why are you here?” I ask right as she says, “What brings you here?” I clear my throat. “I’m—I’m just visiting.” I should add something generic and half-assed polite, like It’s nice to see you, or How have you been, but the words stay stuck in my throat. She’s supposed to be in fucking Texas. She blinks several times, takes a small breath, shows me a list of services calligraphed on an elegant paper and framed in gold. “I mean, what type of massage would you like?” Oh, really? Not even Hey, Ethan. Not even Wow, it’s been a while. Granted, I’m not good at small talk either. But really? “I dunno. My back is tight. It hurts down to my leg.” I can’t believe we’re talking like we’re two fucking strangers. I glance at the tent opening. I never should have come here. I should just go. It’s only gonna get weirder and weirder. Her voice is melodious with a touch of coldness. Professional. “Strip down to your underwear and get under the sheet. Face down.” She turns around. “Let me know when you’re ready.” Yeah, that’s not gonna work out. “I-I… maybe I should just go.” She whips around. Her eyes are shiny, her bottom lip trembles until she pulls herself together and snaps her mouth in a fine line. Her voice catches when she says, “Yeah, maybe you should.” What the hell? I don’t think so. I pull my T-shirt off my back. Her eyes narrow on my torso, slide down to my abs, and even in the dimness of the tent I can see her cheeks turning a deep red. She catches herself and turns her back to me just as I unbuckle my jeans. I fold my clothes neatly and place them on a stool. My hands don’t shake. My heartbeat doesn’t rattle the tent. Nothing betrays the anger boiling inside me. Then I slide under the cool sheet. Face down. I turn on my belly. I wish I could look at her. Make her squirm under my gaze. Ask her to her face what the hell happened to her. To us. “Ready,” I grunt. 
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