Saturday, November 30, 2024

Book Review - Wicked Wish by Alex Gordon



 Wicked Wish

Darkest Wishes Series – Book 1

By

Alex Gordon

 

About the Book:

Genres: YA/NA Paranormal Romance, Coming of Age, Love Triangle

Publisher: Wild Rose Press

Publication Date: July 5, 2023

 

When 18-year-old Regan accidentally kills her father, she discovers some startling truths.

First, she has the power of mind control.

Second, she must use it for evil or else suffer one of two fates: insanity or death. Her solution is
vigilante justice.

To atone for her sins, she vows to protect her classmates from The Three Musketcheers, a vicious
gang of cheerleaders who use lies, brute force, and blackmail as weapons in their quest to
dominate the school.

Unfortunately, every time Regan uses her gift, it develops a persona of its own—one she has
trouble controlling—leaving her to question whether she can save them without destroying
herself.

 

Purchase Links:


Amazon Kindle

Amazon Paperback

Amazon Audible

Goodreads

Barnes & Noble

Kobo

 

Excerpt:



I found a spot in the back corner of the room and hunkered down with crossed arms. I’d made it through my first day unscathed. Then in walked the dark-haired pretty boy, who, for some reason, didn’t seem to like me. Which was fine with me. He pulled a plastic bag out of the pocket of his unbuttoned, gray and black flannel shirt and tossed it on Mr. Clark’s desk. He smiled and said something in a deep, quiet voice, but I didn’t catch it. The teacher’s worn face lit up. Pretty boy stopped and surveyed all the empty spaces. He inhaled, his nostrils flaring, and exhaled for a long time before he strolled nonchalantly over to me. He swung the plastic chair around, its metal legs grating the floor, then straddled it. He stared at my profile, his gaze traveling slowly over me. It was as if I could physically feel his eyes caress my skin. The desire to reach up and brush the foreign feeling from my cheeks was strong. Instead, I concentrated on the paintings hanging above Mr. Clark’s desk. Abstracts. My favorite. I liked the way they invoked emotion without telling what it should be. 

After a full minute of this discomfort, I tilted my head toward him and said, “What?” The overpowering lights matted his bronze skin, but it wasn’t unflattering. He looked like he’d been carved from stone. His eyelashes were so thick and dark I couldn’t tell if he was wearing eyeliner to go with his black nail polish or not. Tiny silver hoop earrings hung from both his earlobes. His silence made me twitchy. I turned my chair so it was facing him. I crossed my legs and folded my hands on my lap, mimicking my previous therapist. “And Johnny? What do you think about this new girl? The one that seems to irritate you?” I blinked my long eyelashes rapidly. He fiddled with a polished arrowhead that hung from a braided leather rope around his neck. “It’s Jude actually,” he said in a deep, smoky voice. I already knew that having had four classes out of seven with him. All advanced placement classes and art. Jude’s eyes were so black that, even in this bright light, I couldn’t differentiate his pupils from his irises. He swiveled his head, trying to see what was behind me, which was weird because the only thing there was a wall. “And I think there’s something wrong with the new girl.”

 



Full 5 Teacups for this awesome book by Alex Gordon. I loved Regan, she's a very strong and intelligent young woman who cares deeply about those around her. Even sacrificing her own worth to protect them. She does what she must and doesn't think twice about it. I could relate to her in many ways. The plot is very well-written and keeps you immersed and wanting to know more. The characters are strong and well rounded and you want to root for them. Gordon's writing is impeccable and draws the reader in, right from the first page. Paranormal romance is generally not my cup of tea; however, Gordon's world-building and way of weaving a tale has made me want to read more!

About the Author:

Alex Gordon is a bit of a wanderer, having lived in Washington, Montana, Germany, Alaska, and Tennessee where she currently resides with her husband and two rescued German Shepherds. When not writing, you can probably find her hiking, or if she's lucky--fishing, though she's not opposed to camping out on the couch with dessert and bingeing murder mysteries.

 

Contact Links:

Website: https://www.alexgordonauthor.com/

Author Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0C4Z658BX/about

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5761429.Alex_Gordon

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088926625113

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexgordonauthor

Tick Tock: https://www.tiktok.com/@alexgordonauthor

 

Giveaways:

First Giveaway


One Paperback Copy of Wicked Wish to One Lucky Winner

Open to US Only

 

Second Giveaway


One eBook Copy of Wicked Wish to One Lucky Winner

Open Internationally

 

Hosted By:


Quill and Ink Book Tours

https://quillandinkbooktours.com/

 

 

 

 

Thursday, November 14, 2024

Book Tour & Giveaway ~ Yule Tide by Brian Anderson

 

 

About the Book:

Publication Date: November 4, 2024

Publisher: Wild Rose Press

Genre: Mystery. A hardboiled PI novel with a fallen angel protagonist

 

Following the death of Kris Kringle, the operation of Christmas is taken over by a shadowy organization known as the Company who shutter the toy line at the North Pole and reestablish their base in the newly minted city of Yule Tide. Suspecting their motives, the Archangelic Council recalls its liaison to Christmas—an angel named Harold. When Harold refuses to return to Heaven, he is stripped of his wings and is grounded on Earth. His influence gone, Harold is fired by the Company and becomes a none-too-successful private investigator. But when he is hired by the beautiful wife of a Company executive to locate her missing husband, Harold sees a chance at redemption.

Searching for the missing man, Harold uncovers secrets that the Company will protect at all costs. He must also balance his growing attraction to his client with a renewed hope of regaining his wings.

 

Purchase Links:

Amazon Kindle

Amazon Paperback

Barnes & Noble Paperback

 

Excerpt:


“I have come to understand more than I once did about the nature of truth. Truth is, dare I say it, ‘fungible.’ Different versions are traded like tchotchkes as if none have any meaning except to distract… I’ve also found that people believe most ardently in what they wish were the truth. Whereas the actual truth, like the cry of a trapped miner, is but a muffled echo sounding from a cavern of the damned.”

 

Billy shuddered. “Anyway, you ain’t told me how the meeting with Elvin went.”

“You mean Santa?”

Billy wrinkled his nose. “I remember him as Elvin. And I told you, I can’t believe they couldn’t have come up with a better candidate for Claus than him.”

“You sound jealous.”

Billy’s eyes went wide with innocence. “Who me? Nah. You kidding? I mean, I do remember some years back when Elvin and I was both up for a promotion to line foreman. So, he plays the corporate game better than me. I got pride is what I got.”

“You definitely have something,” Angel agreed.

 Billy ignored him. “That Elvin? Always so smart, so perfect. Always working out. Always in tip-top shape. What’s with that anyhow? And his wife. She’s the same. All defined muscles, long legs, and those shoulders? Yowsa! I’ll bet she could clean and jerk a Buick.”

“Careful, Billy.”

“I mean, what’s it do to Kringle’s memory to have his successor and his wife on the cover of Shape magazine?”

“I think they are a very attractive couple.”

“The real Santa and Mrs. Claus was an attractive couple. They had natural beauty.”

“Kringle was morbidly obese and had a perpetually red nose.”

“Yeah, but he did it with class. Didn’t have to work out every day to impress everyone.”

“I don’t think the new Santa works out to impress everyone,” Angel said. “I think he does it for his health. Could be if Kringle had taken better care of himself, we’d still have him with us.”

Billy shook his head sadly. “I miss him, Boss. I really do. I mean, he fired me and all. But I miss him.”

“I do too, Billy.”

 

“The truth,” Angel answered, “does not depend on whether one believes it. The truth is the truth.”

Scratch chuckled. “You continue to surprise me, Angel. The truth is this. When presented with facts that are unsettling, most people prefer to believe in a comforting lie. Events of the last several years have proven that. The real truth is that believing in alternative, unsubstantiated facts is empowering. To claim without doubt that a lie is the truth both sets a person apart from the conforming crowd and binds them with others that profess to believe likewise. The lie makes them tribal. Powerful. It produces a kind of gleeful association. Believing in lies is a sort of alchemy—changing something, or someone, base into gold.”

 

About the Author:

Brian Anderson is a graduate of the University of Minnesota whose Dinkytown neighborhood provides the setting for his mystery series featuring private investigator Lyle Dahms. The Dahms novels spring from his lifelong love of mystery fiction, especially the works of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, as well as more contemporary masters like Robert B. Parker and G.M. Ford. He is a three-time finalist in the Pacific Northwest Writers Association mystery and suspense contest.

Brian spent much of his professional career working to alleviate domestic hunger serving as the operations director of the Emergency Feeding Program of Seattle & King County as well as the manager of the Pike Market Food Bank in downtown Seattle. Married with three beautiful daughters, he now lives and writes in Ocean Shores, a small city on the Washington coast.

 

Contact Links:

Website: www.brianandersonmysteries.com

Author Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/brianandersonmysteries

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22749823.Brian_Anderson

Facebook: www.facebook.com/brianandersonmysteries

Instagram: www.instagram.com/brianandersonmysteries

X: www.x.com/RedmondBrian

 

Giveaway:


The author is offering an eBook copy of Yule Tide to one lucky winner.


Hosted By:


Quill and Ink Book Tours

https://quillandinkbooktours.com/