Book Review: Narcissi by Babette Fraser Hale

NARCISSI: A Novel by Babette Fraser Hale
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Compelling story, immersive storytelling!

Narcissi by Babette Fraser Hale is a novel about a charming Texas travel writer and blocked novelist who finds himself adrift after the 'cut and run' dissolution of his second marriage. Cole Burnett loves people and learning their stories, but he is especially drawn to women, and they're drawn to him. Told as a thread of connected stories beginning in 1980, they trace his wanderings across Texas in search of his next column and through life, connecting with friends, some of them women, who become his lovers.

Cole is a magnet for interesting people, which serves him well as a writer but also distracts him from his career needs and goals. He writes a popular travel column for a statewide magazine, connecting with folks from all walks of life and circumstances. When he finds himself 'cut loose' midlife, he has a wide net of acquaintances to turn to. Still, he is an unsettled wanderer trying to fill an emptiness inside that his steadfast dedication to his career and craft doesn't. Many of his encounters with friends, readers, and subjects of a current project are women who respond to Cole unlike anyone else they've ever met. For the most part, he is not the pursuer but the pursued, and he willingly drifts into relationships, casual in his mind but inspiring unsubstantiated hope in many of his partners. Each one leaves an indelible mark on their beings.

Author Babette Fraser Hale crafts a mesmerizing, immersive story about these lonely people seeking connection, and I couldn't look away from the choices they make. I was completely caught up in Cole's life and the lives of the women in it, thirsty for each new vignette when someone from his past was revisited. The title and the narcissus flowering at the homestead near his country place with Julia felt absolutely perfect.

I recommend NARCISSI to readers of contemporary fiction.

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Book Review: Vacancy (The Dust, #2) by Jann Alexander

Vacancy: Secrets and Second Chances in Small-Town Texas by Jann Alexander
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Secrets and second chances exact a price.

Vacancy is the second book in Jann Alexander’s West Texas-set women’s fiction series, The Dust, and in this novel two women at different points in their lives face tragedy and second chances, finding common ground in their losses. Keep a box of tissues at hand as these characters quickly wedge their way into your heart.

Helen McCabe, the middle-aged, widowed kindergarten teacher, is shocked by her husband’s sudden death, suffering the uncertainties and questions it prompts. In her grief, she becomes entangled in the life of one of her small students, a winsome, shy girl named Jillie, and concerns herself well beyond the boundaries she’d normally recognize. Charlene Simpson, Jillie’s mother, has been trapped in an abusive relationship with Jillie’s deadbeat, drunk of a father, and a new pregnancy is the last thing she needs. Not only is he in no position to welcome another child into her tenuous living situation, but her boyfriend, Ray, who didn’t want Jillie or Mick, his young teenage son from an earlier marriage, is going to take out his displeasure on her with his fists. Both women have drifted through their lives up to this point, and their conflict over Helen’s excessive interest in Jillie motivates both to seek a better way. A terrible accident reveals they have more in common than they ever thought.

Alexander’s characters are strong and vividly crafted, and their choices drive the plot. I was immediately drawn into these two women’s lives, waiting for the next shoe to drop because of the ominous foreshadowing from the beginning of the book. The descriptions of the struggling, dusty West Texas town of Hartless are cinematic, and the harsh extremes of the High Plains weather add another layer of challenge to everyone’s daily existence. The town’s name itself hints at what the besieged young single mother may find there when the dust settles.

I recommend VACANCY to readers of women’s fiction, especially those who want strong female protagonists and character-driven stories.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy from the author through Lone Star Literary Life Book Campaigns.

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Universe Tour & Giveaway: The Fractured Arcana by Steven J. Morris

Two series, one shattered universe: 
an ancient war that forged magic, 
and the modern invasion that it made possible.

Mother of Trees

Thaumatropic Roots Book 1

Part of the Fractured Arcana Universe

by

Steven J. Morris

Genre: Epic Fantasy

A dying goddess. A fractured prophecy. A magicless elf who shouldn't exist.

Elliah has spent her entire life being told what she is—bereft, wrong, a mistake the world would prefer to correct. Drifting from town to town with a mother who won't explain why they keep running, she has no magic, no place, and no future. Then a single misstep draws the attention of those who've been looking for her, and everything her mother was hiding comes apart.

She isn't ready for what she learns. But ready was never an option.

Mother of Trees is the thrilling first book in the Thaumatropic Roots epic fantasy series. Enter a world of dangerous magic, ancient powers, and one impossible girl who refuses to stay down.

 

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Elliah ~ 1

My mother told me many times that all adolescents feel like they don't belong, but… I really didn't. So I spent my free time away from other elves, on my own but for the animals… they didn't understand how broken I was. And I was quite pleased with my current find, so I snarled when a noise behind me scared away the drakeling that had settled in my hands. Black with a pattern of red scales along its spine, its body the thickness of my finger, it took flight with a flurry of thin leathery wings and disappeared behind a massive brown trunk.

"The real ones are much more intimidating," said an unfamiliar voice.

Time slowed as I tensed to run, shocked that I'd let my guard down so much that anyone had gotten that close. How many lurked behind me? On the outskirts of town, in the thick of the woods near the river, I had expected solitude.

"Stay, Bereft. I am not afraid," said the voice. His words provoked me.

"No one's afraid of me," I blurted. Bitterness stained my words as surely as the pollen of the bloodcups had stained my ragged clothes.

I turned away from the vanished drakeling to focus on the intruder who'd scared it away. A man. No, I corrected myself, someone my age. Someone not quite old enough for adults to consider one of their own, but too old to call a child.

But not Bereft. No other elf shared that with me.

The newcomer was slightly taller than me with a thin frame, his light hair hanging long, wild, and tangled. He was new to the village—I would have noticed an elf with skin so light. I'd heard whispers of him at school. Kethryllia had called him Salt-kissed, and I'd wondered what that meant, but his light skin answered that question. He'd undoubtedly caught whispers about me, heard of my… condition. Bereft. Yet at that moment, I thought only of the hours of coaxing I'd spent to draw the little drakeling into my grasp, and that the stupid elf had scared it away. I wanted to punch him.

"Maybe they should be," he said, taking a step back, though it would have taken me two leaps to get to him, and he'd have me pinned in one, if he had any skill with magic at all. But I'd prepared a leap already, only not in his direction. As I sprung away, he continued, raising his voice, "And you're right, they're not afraid of you."

I landed with a tree between us. His magic wouldn't be able to snag me there. Unless he was very good at it.

"They're afraid of what you represent."

Continue the Thaumatropic Roots Series

Magic is as natural as breathing in Elliah's world — except to her. Born without a single spark in a war that runs on it, she has nothing but her will and her refusal to accept the limits everyone else has already decided for her. This is what happens when the world writes you out of the story, and you refuse to leave.

 

Get them:

Mother of Trees

Bones of Cenaedth

Secrets of Deara

Shepherds of Truth

The Guardian of the Palace

The Guardian League Book 1

Part of the Fractured Arcana Universe

by

Steven J. Morris

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Magic isn’t real.
Red Hernandez is very sure of that.

She wants a quiet life after Special Forces—just a steady security job at a half-finished Manhattan skyscraper.

But then a sister tower implodes in a way physics can’t explain.
Witnesses report creatures in the smoke.
And something hunts her in the tunnels beneath.

Red wants answers. What she gets instead is an elf with a sword, a troll with a wry sense of humor, and a dwarf who believes every battle requires an audience. They insist an ancient enemy has crossed into our world—and Red becomes an accidental gatekeeper simply because she’s standing on the fault line when it cracks open.

As a hidden war erupts in the shadows of New York City, Red must decide: run from the past that nearly destroyed her… or fight for a world she’s only just beginning to believe in.

A veteran with nothing left to lose.
A threat born of magic and shadow.
A team she never saw coming.

The Guardian of the Palace launches the action-packed Guardian League series—perfect for fans of urban fantasy, modern-world magic, found family, and heroines who refuse to back down.

 

Amazon * BookBub * Goodreads

Prologue

Corpses patterned the ground as far as my eye could see, a patchwork quilt of death.

I stood atop a skeletal tower, overlooking the broken ruins of an ancient civilization, so very far from home. I envisioned the beauty that the soaring arches once held, the bridges between the constructs reaching out with broken arms, buildings leaning against one another like ancient lovers in a final embrace. Crumbled remains powdered the bases of former statues, and, everywhere, all of it was littered with the dead.

Like a phoenix, I stood, bathed in fire. An Angel of Death. Not the Angel of Death—he was an ass.

A part of me wanted to go down and see for myself. Maybe just to make sure… to make sure I had done my job… and killed everyone that used to inhabit that world. The magic I was wielding should have destroyed them all—something inside of me could feel that it had—but I wanted to see it.

Yet I knew that was unrealistic. I didn't have the time. There were other worlds that needed my infection, and Earth was on my shortlist.

  

Chapter 1

Red - Day 20, Sunday, the day after the attack

"Ms. Hernandez?" a muffled voice called from a distance, accompanied by a gentle rapping on a door. My consciousness registered the interruption as a nuisance and pulled me back under.

What seemed like seconds later, the rapping came again, more insistent. "Ms. Hernandez."

Ms. Hernandez was my mom… why were they bothering me?

Then a scraping sound, and an alarmed voice. "Ms. Hernandez! Are you okay?"

Some scrambling, some grunts, more scraping… shit, I was going to have to wake up. Why couldn't they just let me sleep?

I tried to answer, but my throat was dry and nothing came out. Coughing, I attempted to sit up, not wholly returned from my trip to dreamland. "I'm here. I'm okay." Was I though? I wasn't sure.

I was in my flat. Not the desert. My door was partway open, and a slightly overweight man had paused in the act of pushing his way in. I recognized him, but his name escaped me. Swinging my legs off my cot, I did a quick modesty check. I was fully dressed, though rather tragically, in some semblance of civilian fatigues—muddied, disheveled, and a little bloody.

The reason came screaming back to me. There had been creatures, unearthly monsters, in The Palace. They'd done things I could not explain by any of the rules I knew. And they'd beaten the hell out of me and then patched me back up in a matter of seconds. I'd blown the head clean off of one of them and fled the scene.

Not my smartest move.

Continue The Guardian League Series!

Earth, through its technological advances, supports nearly eight billion souls; from a cosmic perspective, that makes it ripe for the picking. 'Red' Hernandez, trying to put a questionable military life behind her, finds herself caught in the middle of stopping an apocalyptic invasion of Earth. But to do that, she has to figure out who the good guys are, and how she can combat forces in which she does not believe.

 

Get them:

The Guardian of the Palace

Stars in the Sand

We’re Going On An Elf Hunt

The Song Unsung

Get the Box Set Here

Steven J. Morris writes fantasy where magic runs deep and the consequences run deeper. By day he's an engineer and father of three in Austin, Texas. He's the author of eight novels across two completed series — the epic Thaumatropic Roots and the urban Guardian League — both set in the shared Fractured Arcana universe. Find him at sjmorriswrites.com.

 

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Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

Enter The Fractured Arcana Giveaway Here

Book Review: The Bone Nest by Shanessa Gluhm

The Bone Nest by Shanessa Gluhm
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It was their final summer together, and nothing would ever be the same.

The Bone Nest is a suspenseful and cleverly plotted murder mystery by Shanessa Gluhm and set in Blusummer, Texas, where almost 40 years earlier, a serial killer had committed a string of murders of young local women, strangled and photographed, the bodies of the first three never found. That summer was the last one that Hayes Sheridan, Chantilly Price, Troy Terrell, and Greer Collins would have together before the four split up to follow their post-graduation college and work plans. But the 4th of July would see the group destroyed as one would die and another would be accused of murder.

Fast-forward to 2024, where a young criminal defense attorney, Joaquin Ramos, out to enervate his new practice and make a name for himself, would take on the death sentence case of Troy Terrell, the convicted serial killer known as "The Songbird Strangler," whose punishment was scheduled to be carried out after the New Year. Working to overturn Troy’s conviction at the behest of the Death Penalty Abolition Program, Joaquin and his team have an uphill battle as the previous petitions on Troy’s behalf have failed.

The story unfolds in dual timelines (1986 and 2024) and from multiple points of view, giving readers a front-row seat to the events of both the past and the present, and personal insight into the characters involved. Because we know Troy Terrell is on death row, with his time running, and that he was there for the murder of his friend, Tilly, the buildup to the night of July 4, 1986, is breath-stealingly suspenseful. There are secrets among all the friends, which develop later into several plausible motives for Tilly’s murder. I was completely certain I knew who the killer was SEVERAL times, only to have one theory after another kicked to the curb by the plot, which would take spectacular turn after spectacular turn.

The resulting tale is full of missed connections and choices that led to unfulfilled dreams and futures that never lived up to expectations. The main female character, Greer Collins Sheridan, one of the four teenagers in 1986, had loved Hayes Sheridan all her life but only got him by default. She gets the life she dreamed of, only to face tragedy and the knowledge that she was always his second choice. Hayes follows his parents’ plans for his future rather than his dream of becoming a farmer. Troy, who just wanted to get out of Blusummer, gets his wish, but life on death row for a murder he swears he didn’t commit was a devastatingly cruel plot twist. Even the attorney, Joaquin, who dreams of winning big in court and is not afraid to put in the work to achieve it, faces a personal roadblock. His attraction to Melrose Reed, the paralegal on Troy’s defense team, feels wrong, and as her boss, it is inappropriate as long as they work together. But he hopes with all his heart that after the case is settled, he can finally approach her as a regular man interested in a legitimate romantic relationship.

With its strong and interesting character development and clever, twisty plot, I recommend THE BONE NEST to readers of suspense, mysteries, and thrillers.

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Book Review: The Brothers and Sisters Eatery by Gabe Reaume

The Brothers and Sisters Eatery by Gabe Reaume
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Captivating tale of culinary collaboration and kinship in 1920s Chicago.

The Brothers and Sisters Eatery by Gabe Reaume is a warm and captivating tale of two disparate families in 1920s Chicago, drawn together by the fathers' love of cooking and sharing their special family dishes with others. Samson, the head of the Sanders family, is a former slave from Sugar Land, Texas, with a gift for creating mouthwatering barbeque. His wife, Sandra, is an equally gifted baker of hard-to-resist fruit hand pies. Massimo "Mass" Messina is an immigrant from Sicily, brought to the U.S. after years of coaxing by his wife's older brother, Carmine Basile, a Chicago businessman with ties to the Sicilian mafia. Mass's life revolves around the dishes he's grown up with and perfected, and he plans to bring them to his new home by opening a restaurant on his own, without his brother-in-law's help. Both men require capital to keep their families afloat while pursuing their dreams, and the unlikely pair meets when their lunch pails are swapped on the first day of their new jobs at the Chicago Armour plant.

Two passionate, determined men and two loving, supportive families form the foundation of this inspirational, satisfying historical fiction story about immigrant experiences in 1920s Chicago. The two fathers' love of cooking is the common thread that draws them together, but it is their kindness, humanity, shared experiences, and like-mindedness that cement their enduring friendship. I liked that the families shared these qualities and meshed so well as they worked toward their common goal.

The author presents a vivid picture of life in Chicago and the social climate at that time. The attitudes towards Blacks and immigrants are a reminder of the past and, for some, a mirror of current relations. The two men drew the former slaughterhouse workers' particular ire because they were hired as replacements for the strikers. The descriptions of the work, practices, and conditions at the plant were eye-opening.

However, the plot is not just about the two families' paths to collaboration as chefs and, eventually, restaurateurs. The descriptions of their meals, mains, sides, and breads all had me watering at the mouth and wishing the author had included recipes at the end of the book! Also, suspenseful twists involving individuals from both men's pasts threaten not only their dreams but also their lives and those of their families!

The fathers' shared love of cooking and their willingness and determination to persevere, doing whatever it took to keep their families afloat while they worked toward a better life and future, is a tribute to fathers everywhere who are quietly and persistently doing the same: the perfect story as Father's Day approaches.

I recommend THE BROTHERS AND SISTERS EATERY to readers of historical fiction, especially those with an affinity for immigrant stories, men overcoming great odds, or early Chicago settings.

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Book Review: Hunted by Proxy (Proxy Legal Thriller, #2) by Manning Wolfe

Hunted By Proxy: A Lawyer On The Run Action Suspense Thriller by Manning Wolfe
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This series just keeps getting better!

Hunted by Proxy is the second book in author Manning Wolfe’s excellent Proxy Legal Thriller series, featuring the hiding-in-plain-sight criminal defense attorney Quinton Bell, and what a fabulous follow-up to its debut it is! From its heart-wrenching opening to its dazzling surprise of a conclusion, I was riveted by this exciting and absorbing story.

Quinton Bell is a complex character, to say the least. Living a lie to escape his past, he’s endured a lot and is feeling the stress of maintaining his masquerade as a dead man. The author gets us right inside Quinton’s head, and you can almost feel the pressure he’s under, especially with the knowledge that someone out there knows his secret and is using it to toy with him. His legal work is fascinating to read, even the requisite administrative hearings, and the author clearly knows her way around a courtroom and how to convey that to the layperson reader.

Soon into the story, it is revealed that someone knows who Quinton Bell really is, and naturally, he’s spooked. But as days passed and things began to happen, such as the odd sightings of people that quickly disappeared, I, too, started to get the willies. When Quinton said he felt like he was being watched, I knew exactly how he felt. The reader is privy to the thoughts and actions of this stalker but not who is pulling his strings, and when that big reveal happened, I was fully and completely surprised. The story sets up for a next book, and I, for one, am already waiting.

I have to mention the opening sequence, a massive traffic accident on the I-10 between Houston and Katy, was horrifyingly real – a slow-motion rendering of certain death, critical injuries, and destruction. The author gives the perfect introduction to the main characters involved, so I was immediately engaged and already cared about these people when the scene unfolded.

I recommend HUNTED BY PROXY to mystery and thriller readers who enjoy legal dramas, secret identities, and mob-related stories.

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Book Campaign: Frantic by Brent Bradley

 

FRANTIC

by

Brent Bradley

Techno Thriller/ Conspiracy Thriller
Publisher: BCS Publishing
Publication Date: March 7, 2025

SYNOPSIS

A delusional prison patient warns Dr. Brian Heiser, Marriage and Family Therapist, of enormous impending disaster. Dr. Heiser and his best friend, a lauded Forensic Psychologist, find themselves entangled in a 72-hour deadly race to stop an AI bill being fast-tracked through the Texas state legislature.

Patricia Reigns, an elite developer of artificial intelligence, teams with them, thus cementing the trio as a viable threat.

Unbeknownst to Fred, however, Brian and Patricia had a secret past. That past soon rekindled feelings in Patricia towards Brian, and vice versa. And this woman was not one to play coy.

The more they uncover, the more the deadly power of Artificial Intelligence is unleashed on them at every turn from unseen top tech billionaires all vying for the same AI state contract.

What follows is a three-day frantic sprint toward truth that none of them could have possibly fathomed: a secret plot funded by the world’s wealthiest tech giants, an AI bill touted as a massive “progressive” leap forward for Texas, assassins funded to the gills in blood money, politicians bought and paid for, and a media that couldn’t care less.

Last, buckle up for an intense final stretch that’s simply impossible to foresee.

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Book Trailer

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Brent Bradley is a well-known couples therapist. He’s treated over a thousand couples in therapy and supervision of therapists. His books and articles are read internationally. He holds a PhD in Marriage and Family Therapy, an MA in Christian Theology, and a BA in English Literature.

Brent brings an expert focus and depth to emotion and relationship dynamics in his fictional writing. His style radiates with intelligent plots, suspense, romance, and mystery - all delivered within a relentless pace.

Brent is married with one twin daughter (and one that passed away in the womb). They live in League City, TX. He is an avid fan of the Astros and Texas A&M baseball.

He is a follower of Christ.

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ENTER TO WIN!

To learn more about the book, look for #LSLLFrantic on your preferred social media platform.

 

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Virtual Book Tour & Giveaway: Stone of Destiny (Stones of Iona, #7) by Margaret Izard

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by

Goddess Fish Promotions.

Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

SCROLL DOWN FOR GIVEAWAY!

SYNOPSIS:

Bound by destiny, torn by fate—their love stood unbroken, victorious over all.

Kat MacArthur still feels the loss of her brother to another time. Seeking solace, she stumbles upon Ceallach, a Fae warrior, she’s had feelings for ever since she met him. The emotion grows stronger whenever they are together. Yet he warns her to stay away from the upcoming gathering for the Iona Stones. Kat refuses—she needs to be there to help her family and Ceallach.

Ceallach is torn between duty, magic, and the ache for mortal love. His Fae soul is sworn to protect the Iona Stones during the Gathering, but his heart is lost to Kat. With the prophecy looming, he cannot promise her forever—no matter how much he longs to. The maiden of the Iona Stones now faces sacrifice, and he fears if his beloved gets too close, he cannot save her.

When dark forces rise to take the Iona Stones along with their powers, Ceallach is forced into an impossible decision—to defy destiny or surrender to love?

CLICK TO PURCHASE!

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ENJOY AN EXCERPT:

Still wearing a grin, he strode forward with confidence, and a sensuality Kat had not forgotten. The man still took her breath away with one look. Ceallach arrived before her, a smile playing on his lips. As his eyes swept across her face, the expression faltered. His brows knitted together in a frown, shadowing the sudden tension in his gaze. Reaching with his finger, he lifted a tear from her cheek, gripped his fist hard, and when opened, a small, clear teardrop-shaped gemstone sat in his palm.

“Dry yer tears, sweet Kat. Yer face is much prettier without them.” He took her hand and, with his other placed the gemstone in her palm. “When ye hold the gem, yer tears will fade, and happy thoughts shall fill yer heart.” When the stone touched her skin, her mind cleared, and a sense of ease washed over her.

Ceallach released her hand and strode past her to the doors.

Kat turned, calling after him. “Wait, why are ye here?”

The attractive Fae stopped and turned. “Dagda sent me. I’ve come to meet with the guardian of the stones. All the stones have returned. The gathering and battle of good vs evil is upon us. The gods have called, and we must answer.”

He opened the heavy oak doors without effort and strode through. The doors weight closed them, leaving Kat in the shadows again. She blinked, almost not believing her eyes and the truth before her. Her secret love had just casually strolled back into her life. Gripping the gem, he’d shaped from her tears, warmth washed over her. Ceallach was here. A smile crossed her face.

Ceallach was here.

AUTHOR GUEST POST:

Please welcome Margaret Izard, the author of today's featured book to the blog.

The End in Sight—and the Beginning Beyond

by Margaret Izard

Ending a long-running series means more than tying off plot threads—it means honoring the emotional truth readers trusted you with from the very first book to the nineth. By the time I reached Stone of Destiny, these characters had lived with me for years. I knew their histories, their wounds, their quiet hopes, and the promises I had made to them on the page. Saying goodbye required restraint as much as imagination. I couldn’t give everyone the ending that felt kind or comforting simply because I loved them. I had to give them the ending that fit who they had become.

Stone of Destiny forced me to decide which promises mattered most. Some promises demanded fulfillment. Others required breaking in order to remain honest. Love, sacrifice, and destiny don’t always align neatly, and pretending they do would have betrayed the emotional spine of the series. I leaned hard into the idea that absence can hurt as much as loss, and that choosing duty can wound just as deeply as choosing love. Those choices shaped the final book more than any single plot twist.

Letting go of these characters wasn’t clean or easy, and I didn’t want it to be. Endings should leave an echo. My goal with Stone of Destiny was to close the saga in a way that felt earned—one that respected the journey, honored the cost of every choice along the way, and trusted readers to sit with the complexity rather than be spared from it.

From the very first book, Stone of Love, I knew how this series would end. The final destination was always there, (I even hinted at it in the first book) guiding every story choice, every moment of loss and gain, every sacrifice and victory along the way. And if you’ve read all the books, breadcrumbs trailed the way to this end.

Each character’s journey—what they loved, what they lost, what they were willing to give up—quietly steered the series toward this place. I never truly believed I’d get the chance to see it through to the end, and reaching it now feels both surreal and deeply personal. While there’s so much to celebrate in finishing this series, letting it go is bittersweet. I’m honored to have been able to tell it, and even more honored to share the ending with the readers who walked this road with me.

While Stone of Destiny closes one series, it also opens the door to what comes next. The ending naturally leads into the Dragons of Tantallon, where threads left quietly waiting begin to stir and a new kind of magic takes flight. The world continues, the legacy deepens, and the dragons—long hinted at, long restrained—are ready to rise. One story ends, but another begins, and soon, dragons will fly.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Margaret Izard is an award-winning author of historical fantasy and paranormal romance novels. Her latest awards are 2024 Reader’s Favorite Honorable Mention for Stone of Love and 2024 Spring BookFest Silver Award for the same title. She spent her early years through college to adulthood dedicated to dance, theater, and performing. Over the years, she developed a love for great storytelling in different mediums. She does not waste a good story, be it movement, the spoken, or the written word. She discovered historical romance novels in middle school, which combined her desire for romance, drama, and fantasy. She writes exciting plot lines, steamy love scenes and always falls for a strong male with a soft heart. She lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband and adult triplets.

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GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!

Margaret Izard will be awarding a Stone of Destiny Swag Box to a randomly drawn winner. 

Book Blitz & Giveaway: Had Me at Howdy (Hillside High * Spring Creek, #1) by Mary Karlik

Had Me At Howdy

by

Mary Karlik

(A Hillside * Spring Creek Novel)
Publication date: November 22, 2025
Genres: Comedy, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult

SCROLL DOWN FOR GIVEAWAY!

SYNOPSIS:

Platinum credit card? Deactivated. 
New car? Sold. 
Best life ever? Canceled.

Thanks to my dad losing his job, we’ve ditched Chicago for Fumbuck, Texas—population: redneck. Now I’m living on a rundown farm, scrubbing dishes, and driving a rusty pickup. Worst of all? I’m stuck working alongside a cowboy.

But this Cinderella isn’t giving up.

I’ll claw my way back to the luxe life I left behind—and no one, not even infuriatingly chill, stupidly handsome Austin McCoy is going to stop me. Even if he does make feeding the chickens weirdly… enjoyable.

She thinks she’s just passing through. I’m hoping she stays.

I kind of feel for the Quinn sisters. City girls don’t belong in Spring Creek—but Kelsey? There’s more to her than designer labels and eye rolls. When she forgets to be angry, I see it—like the way her eyes light up when she feeds the chickens.

Now all I have to do is convince her the guy she really wants is me, not some rich dude taking her to a ball in Chicago.

Content Warning: This work contains a subplot involving death, grief, and an off-page instance of date rape. While these events are not depicted directly, they are referenced and may be distressing to some readers.

Goodreads / Amazon

EXCERPT:

The universe had completely crapped on Kelsey Quinn’s life.

She dabbed at her eyes, blew her nose, and wadded up the tissue before dropping it to the pile on the seat next to her. Pressing her forehead against the car window, she watched the scenery fly by at seventy miles per hour. They passed Bob’s Stay and Go combination gas station—fast food restaurant—hotel, followed by some weird concrete starship-shaped pizza parlor. Next, three-foot fluorescent letters screamed about redemption across a junkyard fence surrounding rusted pieces of mangled metal. The few words of scripture painted there weren’t going change her fate. Her dad was in the driver’s seat and they were heading straight for the armpit of Texas.

With a sigh she slumped against the seat and tried not to think about the boyfriend who’d been ripped from her life, or the best friend she’d been forced to leave behind. But it wasn’t just her forced exile from Drew and Zoe. She’d lost her identity. At St. Monica’s, she knew who she was and where she fit in. It was her senior year, the year she’d looked forward to for as long as she was in school. They had taken it away with less thought than the car they’d sold one afternoon while she and Zoe were shopping. None of it was her fault. She was a victim of her dad’s incompetence on one hand and her sister’s immorality on the other.

Her dad exited onto a two-lane highway where they were greeted by a faded, Welcome to Hillside Texas, Population 5000, sign. They slowed to a crawl as they entered the town. At a four-way stop her mom screeched, “Oh my God Tom, look at the cute little diner. We’re all starving, let’s stop before we go to the house.”

“Sounds good to me. Jack’s not expecting us for another couple of hours anyway.” Dad angled the Infinity between two pickup trucks and turned off the engine.

The diner was nestled in the center of a row of dilapidated two story buildings. Early Bird Café was painted in bright blue letters across the glass. Kelsey pulled her compact mirror from her purse and studied her reflection. She’d been crying for two days, no amount of makeup magic would fix her swollen red eyes. It didn’t matter. She didn’t care about this place or these people. She sure as heck didn’t care what they thought about her. She shoved the mirror back into her purse.

Her younger sister, Ryan, looked all wide-eyed and curious. And worse, she actually looked excited to investigate this hick little town. Why not? It was her fault they were in this mess in the first place. Her parents would have been justified to ship Ryan off to some kind of school for troubled kids. But no—Quinns don’t give up on their own. Everybody had to suffer because Ryan couldn’t say no to drugs or boys.

Mackenzie, Kelsey’s youngest sister, flipped her compact gymnast’s body from the third seat to the back seat nailing Ryan in the shoulder with her foot.

“Watch it!” Ryan drew her fist back, but before she could get the hit off Mackenzie flashed a cherub smile and released a powder sugar apology. Yeah. That wasn’t an accident. Kelsey almost smiled when she saw foot impact with shoulder. Mackenzie had been fairly silent about the ruin Ryan’s exploits had done to her life. Apparently, she had her limits too.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Mary Karlik (also writing as Mary J. Wilson) combines her Texas roots with her Scottish heritage to write happily-ever-afters from Texas to Scotland.

Mary has five indie-published contemporary young adult romance novels and two fantasy novels.

Mary earned her MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University, has a B.S. degree from Texas A&M University, and is currently studying Scottish Gaelic at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig in Skye, Scotland. She is also a certified, professional ski instructor and a Registered Nurse.

Mary is an active member of Contemporary Romance Writers, Romance Writers of America, and Dallas Area Romance Authors. Married to a Scott, Mary lives in both and Scotland and Texas.

 

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Book Blitz: Borderland by T.A. Barnes

Borderland

by

T.A. Barnes

Literary Thriller

Publication Date: December 6, 2025

Page count: 460 pages

Hope is born where love defies hatred.

In a land torn by suspicion and violence, two young people from opposing worlds discover a love powerful enough to defy everything around them.

BORDERLAND is a sweeping sociopolitical thriller about devotion under fire, cultural conflict, and the courage it takes to love when love is forbidden. As tensions rise and families and communities close ranks, the couple’s relationship becomes dangerous—not only to themselves, but to everyone who stands in the path of their hearts.

Blending emotional tenderness with creeping suspense, this beautifully written novel explores what happens when human connection dares to cross the lines of fear and tradition.

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About the Author

T.A. Barnes is a former American journalist and author of six novels.

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