Virtual Book Tour & Giveaway: Captive Heart at Brantmar Castle (Mysteries of a Heart, #2) by Celeste Fenton

 

Captive Heart at Brantmar Castle

Mysteries of a Heart Series 

by Celeste Fenton

About Captive Heart at Brantmar Castle

 

Captive Heart at Brantmar Castle: Mysteries of a Heart Series
Cozy Mystery - Romantic Suspense
2nd in Series
Setting - Dost Island (off the coast of Massachusetts) and the Scottish Highlands
Publisher: Independently Published
Publication date: September 22, 2025
Hardcover Print length: 305 pages
ISBN-13: 979-8266642805
Paperback Print length: 389 pages
ISBN-13: 979-8292238829
Digital ASIN: B0FNLY4WXK

Gabby Heart travels to a remote Scottish castle with her best friend, Abe—a bestselling children’s author—expecting misty views, historic charm, and quiet time to plan their next book series. But Brantmar Castle holds more than ghosts of the past. When the women are taken hostage, Gabby must rely on her instincts, her resilience, and the help of men who may not deserve her trust to survive.

Meanwhile, on Dost Island, young residents are vanishing without a trace. As those left behind scramble for answers, unsettling clues emerge—leading to a dark motive no one could have predicted.

From the storm-swept highlands of Scotland to the rocky shores of New England, Captive Heart at Brantmar Castle blends mystery, emotional grit, simmering romance, and humor, in a story where secrets run deep... and time is running out.

Two mysteries. One fight for survival. And danger closing in from both sides of the sea.

A slow-burn romantic suspense with an edgy cozy mystery twist peppered with humor, Captive Heart at Brantmar Castle is perfect for fans of strong women over 40, amateur sleuths, brooding men with buried secrets, and adventure in small seaside towns and exotic locales hiding deadly truths.

Click to Purchase!

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About Celeste Fenton

My writing is fueled by a lifelong love of mystery and a fascination with the complexities of the human heart. As a widow, mother of adult twin sons, proud grandmother, dog lover, and semi-retired educator, I believe I have enough real-world experience to weave imagination with insight to create stories rich with emotion and suspense.

When I'm not writing, reading, or plotting another plot twist, I like to explore small towns across America—setting out solo for month-long adventures much to the awe (and occasional alarm) of family and friends. My latest obsessions include escape rooms, mastering the perfect miter cut for a DIY bathroom remodel, training my cavalier spaniel to do a high five, and making the impossible decision of where to travel next.

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Tour Participants

January 14 – Jody's Bookish Haven – SPOTLIGHT

January 14 – fundinmental – SPOTLIGHT

January 15 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT

January 16 – Sarandipity's – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

January 16 – Books1987 – SPOTLIGHT

January 17 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT

January 18 - Boys' Mom Reads! – AUTHOR GUEST POST

January 18 - StoreyBook Reviews – CHARACTER GUEST POST

January 19 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

January 20 – Christy's Cozy Corners – CHARACTER GUEST POST

January 21 – Salty Inspirations – AUTHOR GUEST POST

January 22 – Maureen's Musings – SPOTLIGHT

January 23 – View from the Birdhouse – REVIEW

January 24 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – SPOTLIGHT

January 25 – Cozy Up With Kathy - REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST

January 26 – Sarah Can't Stop Reading Books – SPOTLIGHT

January 27 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book - REVIEW

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Virtual Book Tour & Giveaway: Lost Heart in King Manor (Mysteries of the Heart, #1) by Celeste Fenton

 

Lost Heart in King Manor

Mysteries of a Heart Series

by Celeste Fenton

About Lost Heart in King Manor

Lost Heart in King Manor: Mysteries of a Heart Series
Romantic Suspense/Edgy Cozy Mystery
1st in Series Setting - Dost Island (fictional) off the coast of Massachusetts
Publisher: Independently Published
Publication date: April 24, 2025
Hardcover Print length: 347 pages
ISBN-13: 979-8280471207
Paperback ISBN-13: 979-8280071773
Digital ASIN: B0F2ZML3M9

LOST HEART IN KING MANOR Book One in the Mysteries of a Heart Series

At 45, Gabby Heart isn’t looking for drama—just quiet days on Dost Island running her village gift shop, teaching art, and keeping her past tucked safely away. But when her mother suffers a sudden health crisis, Gabby is pulled into a storm of family secrets, betrayal, and a dark legacy buried within the walls of the once-grand King Manor. What was supposed to be a safe place for her mother’s recovery becomes the backdrop for a chilling mystery. Strange incidents begin to unfold, and it becomes clear: someone inside King Manor has a deadly agenda. As a hurricane traps Gabby inside the sprawling estate, she’s forced to work alongside two very different men—her maddeningly attractive officemate and a charming new neighbor, both hiding dark secrets. One man may want her heart. The other may want her dead.

But can she trust her instincts before it's too late?

★ A slow-burn romantic suspense with an edgy cozy mystery twist peppered with humor, Lost Heart in King Manor is perfect for fans of strong women over 40, amateur sleuths, brooding men with buried secrets, and small seaside towns hiding deadly truths. ★

Because some secrets are worth killing for. And some hearts don’t break quietly.

 

Companion Guide to Lost Heart in King Manor: An inside look (Mysteries of a Heart Series)

Companion Guide to Lost Heart in King Manor Step deeper into the secrets of Dost Island with this richly illustrated companion to Lost Heart in King Manor, the first book in the Mysteries of a Heart series.

Explore the island’s storm-swept cliffs, charming village life, and shadowy past through exclusive character profiles, behind-the-scenes insights, maps, photographs, and bonus content that brings Gabby Heart’s world to life. Meet the unforgettable residents—from the sharp-witted Jay Laird and enigmatic Rick Payne, to the wise and mysterious women of the Heart family—each with their own stories, scars, and secrets.

This companion is your invitation behind the curtain. But be warned… On Dost Island, even the quietest corners have something to hide.

Click to purchase the book!

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Click to purchase the companion guide!

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Guest Post

Please welcome Celeste Fenton, the author of the featured book, to the blog today!

How Grief and Growth Shaped My Fiction

By Celeste Fenton

 

I didn’t start writing because life was calm. I started writing because life cracked open. 

I had a draft, something I tinkered with now and then, but in 2021 everything changed. That year I became untethered. My beloved husband died unexpectedly. He was my partner, lover, and best friend of nearly thirty years. Both of my cherished dogs passed away. I lost a dear lifelong friend to cancer. And my father faded away from dementia. 

I had to sell the home I thought I’d grow old in together with my husband. And I had recently stepped away from a long career in education, a role that had given me both identity and purpose. Suddenly, the quiet was deafening. The days unfamiliar. I had spent a lifetime helping students, colleagues, and communities. And now, I was supposed to... rest? Retire? Reinvent? Alone? 

That’s when I went back to writing. 

I’ve always loved stories. As a child, I devoured books like lifelines. As an adult, I taught, co-authored an academic text, and ran programs that helped others find their voices. But I hadn’t expected that my own, my creative voice, would emerge from the rubble of grief. And certainly not this late in life. 

And yet, it did. 

It came through Gabby Heart, the heroine of what became my Mysteries of a Heart series. Gabby wasn’t born from a single idea or outline. She emerged from emotion, grief, confusion, resilience. She’s a woman in midlife whose carefully held-together world begins to unravel, piece by piece. She’s a widow, mother, daughter, artist, teacher, who discovers strengths she didn’t know existed. She’s been hurt and betrayed. She’s carrying guilt that won’t let go. But she keeps moving. 

So did I. 

Writing Gabby’s story became more than a creative outlet. I could pour my uncertainty into her journey. The ache of rebuilding. The beauty of second chances. The terror of stepping from the known into the unknown. I didn’t set out to write about grief, but the truth is, every page holds echoes of it. Not always the pain itself, but the process: the slow, nonlinear, deeply human work of finding your footing again. 

Mystery became the perfect genre for this kind of emotional excavation. On the surface, a mystery is about uncovering secrets, solving puzzles, restoring order. For me, beneath that structure is the need to understand. The hope that, even when life shatters, something meaningful can be put back together. That there is justice, internal or external, worth seeking. 

As I wrote, I began to understand something else: fiction doesn’t have to reflect what happened. Sometimes, it gives us a safe place to explore what could happen. What healing might look like. What strength can be, not in the absence of sorrow, but in the face of it. 

That’s why Gabby’s world isn’t tidy. It’s layered. She makes mistakes. She pushes people away. She falls for someone even when she’s afraid of opening her heart again. Yes, her journey has danger but isn’t that thrilling! She’s got family. Humor. Sarcasm. Flawed friendships. Small triumphs. Tender hopes. All the things that make life, even after loss, a treasure. 

I think many women, especially those of us navigating the middle of life and later in life, are craving these kinds of stories. Ones where the heroine isn’t young and invincible, gorgeous and rich. Reading a story about a woman who is wounded, possessing a certain flawed wisdom, and still wildly curious about the world is therapy! Where change isn’t something to fear, but something to examine. Where love, whether the kind found in romance or family or friendship, doesn’t just save the day but gives us a reason to show up for ourselves, and accept new horizons. 

For me, writing has been both anchor and compass. It helped me rediscover not just what I could do, but who I still am. I may no longer lead meetings or write curriculum, but I am still teaching, just in a different way now. Through fiction, I offer what I’ve always believed in: connection, reflection, and a reminder that it’s never too late to shift, transform, and live a life that shimmers with possibilities. 

So many of us carry quiet grief. We lose people. Homes. Roles. Routines. Sometimes all at once. Sometimes gradually. These losses don’t define us, they shape us. They stretch us in ways we never asked to. But if we’re lucky, and a little brave, they can also invite us to live something new, exciting, and unexpected. 

For me, that “something new” is storytelling. It’s Gabby’s world. And mine. So full of possibilities.

About Celeste Fenton

I have an M.Ed. and Ph.D. in education and have worked in higher education for over thirty-years. A former educator and lifelong reader, I began writing seriously at age 60. No one is more surprised than me, that in retirement, I found reward and occupation as an author.

My writing is fueled by a lifelong love of mystery and a fascination with the complexities of the human heart. As a widow, mother of adult twin sons, proud grandmother, dog lover, and semi-retired educator, I believe I have enough real-world experience to weave imagination with insight to create stories rich with emotion and suspense. My work blends romance, mystery, and heart—with healthy doses of humor and hope. I feel passionate about helping others realize that creativity doesn’t have an expiration date.

When I'm not writing, reading, or plotting another plot twist, I like to explore small towns across America—setting out solo for month-long adventures much to the awe (and occasional alarm) of family and friends. My latest obsessions include escape rooms, mastering the perfect miter cut for a DIY bathroom remodel, training my cavalier spaniel to do a high five, and making the impossible decision of where to travel next.

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| Instagram | LinkedIn | X (Twitter) | YouTube |

Tour Participants

August 11 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT

August 11 – fundinmental – SPOTLIGHT

August 12 – Ruff Drafts – AUTHOR GUEST POST

August 12 – Christa Reads and Writes – REVIEW

August 13 – Boys' Mom Reads! – SPOTLIGHT

August 14 – Salty Inspirations – CHARACTER GUEST POST

August 15 – FUONLYKNEW- SPOTLIGHT

August 16 – StoreyBook Reviews – CHARACTER GUEST POST

August 17 – Maureen's Musings – SPOTLIGHT

August 18 – Sarandipity's – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

August 18 – Sapphyria's Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

August 19 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT

August 20 – Novels Alive – REVIEW

August 21 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – AUTHOR GUEST POST

August 22 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST August 23 – Deal Sharing Aunt – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW

August 24 – Salty Inspirations – REVIEW

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Virtual Book Tour & Giveaway: The Honeymoon Homicides: A Provincetown Mystery (Sydney Riley, #10) by Jeannette de Beauvoir

 

The Honeymoon Homicides

A Provincetown Mystery

Sydney Riley Series

by

Jeannette de Beauvoir

Cozy Mystery
10th in Series
Setting – Provincetown, Massachusetts, is a resort town on the tip of Cape Cod.
Publisher: Homeport Press
Publication Date: June 15, 2024
Paperback:‎ 290 pages
ISBN-13: 979-8986865430 / Digital ASIN: B0CYHL3FBH

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SYNOPSIS:

 

Despite an unforeseen disaster ruining her carefully planned wedding reception, hotelier Sydney Riley is undaunted as she and her brand-new husband Ali leave for their honeymoon in the dunes of Cape Cod’s National Seashore. But even in this deserted location, Sydney uncovers clues that might have a bearing on the wedding fiasco. Despite hoping for a new life, she’s drawn into yet another murder investigation—this time to protect Ali, who’s been called away on a secret and dangerous assignment. Can Sydney find the murderer(s) before Ali is harmed, or will a joyous week in the dunes be her only memory of their married life?

CLICK TO PURCHASE!

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REVIEW:

5 stars!

Exciting new addition to the Sydney Riley series! 

The Honeymoon Homicides: A Provincetown Mystery is the tenth book in author Jeannette de Beauvoir’s humorous, cozy mystery series, which features former wedding planner turned hotel owner Sydney Riley. Sydney and her new husband Ali start their married life together with an uninvited guest dropping into their wedding. 

The main character, Sydney, is an absolute magnet for mystery and murder, and this latest book brings both elements to the table in full force. Sydney is just as fun as she can be as she works toward finding answers, even when worried about the threats to Ali’s wellbeing. She is surrounded by a plethora of fine supporting characters that bring the story to life and provide the perfect platform for the author’s signature wit and clever dialogue to shine. 

The plot of this book literally ‘hits the ground’ running, as they say, and the author keenly maintained my interest throughout with twists and added mystery. My pleasure with the story was greatly enhanced by the inclusion of historical tales regarding this part of Cape Cod, such as the German U-boats that roamed the coast during WWII and the actual existence of the dune shacks along the beach outside Provincetown and the related controversy. 

Although this novel is well down the line in this long-running series, it can still be read and enjoyed as a standalone. I recommend THE HONEYMOON HOMICIDES to cozy mystery readers looking for a new series to jump on and fans of the previous books in the series.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jeannette de Beauvoir is an award-winning author of historical and mystery fiction and poetry, whose work has appeared in numerous literary journals and anthologies. Her Provincetown mystery series is now on its 10th book, and she’s a member of the Authors Guild, the Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and the Historical Novels Society. She’s also a local theatre critic and hosts an arts-related program on WOMR, a Pacifica Radio affiliate. She lives and works in a seaside cottage on Cape Cod.

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TOUR PARTICIPANTS:

June 14 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT

June 15 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

June 16 – Cozy Up With Kathy – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

June 17 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read! - REVIEW

June 18 – Christy's Cozy Corners – CHARACTER GUEST POST

June 19 – Celticlady's Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

June 21 – Maureen's Musings – SPOTLIGHT

June 22 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

June 23 – StoreyBook Reviews – AUTHOR GUEST POST

June 24 – Cassidy's Bookshelves – AUTHOR GUEST POST

June 25 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER GUEST POST

June 26 – Sapphyria's Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

June 27 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – AUTHOR GUEST POST

TURN THIS WHO-DUN-IT

INTO

YOU-WON-IT!

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