The Scream Behind Her Smile
Athena Daniels
Publication date: April 12th 2019
Genres: Adult, Psychological Thriller

It’s one thing to discover your husband is not who you believe him to be.
It’s another thing entirely to prove it.
The only question now, is how far he will go to protect his secrets.

From the #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR of the award-winning Beyond the Grave paranormal romance series.

“Athena Daniels has spun a spell-binding story that is sure to seduce fans of suspense… Her compelling writing style coupled with elements of high drama and disturbing characters makes for an emotionally intense read. Athena Daniels has a new fan in me!” Readers Favorite, 5 Stars

“…a contemporary psychological thriller with a solid plot line which had me reading late into the night. I thoroughly enjoyed every word.” 5 Stars, Readers Favorite

***

One lie is enough to question all truths.

As I lie here in my front hallway, in the place where it all began, I wonder what would have happened if I’d never opened the door that afternoon?

Would she have gone somewhere else? Would she have swept off in another direction, an alternative reality where our lives would never have crossed paths?

And now I’m lying here, blood pooling beneath my body, deep crimson smears on cold white tiles, remembering every sordid moment in vivid detail.

There’s a shadow standing over me.

“I want you to die here, slowly and alone.” Her voice is cold, emotionless. “And I want you to use the time to think about what you did. And when you take your last breath, I want you to realize it’s all your fault. All of it!”

I drift in and out of consciousness and wonder if I had my chance to do it over again, if I had the choice, would I choose not to open the door that day?

Even after everything, I know that I would.

I’d go through it all again, and then some, if it meant the chance to be with Zach just one more time…

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EXCERPT:

I drag my gaze from across the room and look at my husband. Really look at him. He has his eyes squeezed shut. Has he always done that?

Was there ever a time we’d looked at each other as we made love?

“Derek?” I whisper. “Derek,” I repeat a little louder when it is clear he hadn’t heard me.

Derek opens his eyes, a slight frown between his brows. “Do you want me to stop?” Is that impatience in his tone?

“No,” I say. “I… I love you.”

“Love you, too.” But he closes his eyes as he says the words. He doesn’t see the tear that escapes between lids I’ve squeezed shut.

He changes the angle of his thrust. It’s only slight, but I recognize it, and I know he is getting close. I can almost tell, to the exact thrust, when he’ll climax.

Then he’ll roll off me and onto his back. I’ll lay my head on his chest and listen to the beat of his heart as it slows. For one minute. Never longer. He’ll then roll over, and I’ll spoon his back.

His eyes are shut, so he doesn’t see the other tear that rolls down my cheek to dampen the hair at the base of my neck. But I’m not even sad.

I don’t feel anything at all.

How can I cry when I feel this empty?

How can I feel empty with my husband inside me in the most intimate way possible?

With the final thrust of his hips, like an orchestra conductor’s last wave of his staff, Derek finishes.

Without a single glance in my direction, he rolls onto his back.

I didn’t even bother to fake an orgasm.

He doesn’t seem to care.

This time I roll over, my back toward him.

He doesn’t move to hold me as his heart slows. Instead, I listen as his breathing turns to a light snore.

I’m not where I belong. But that can’t be right. I’m married. I’m living with my husband. Surely this is where I belong.

Then why do I feel so lost?

And so terribly alone.

Author Bio:

Athena Daniels is the #1 international bestselling author of the award-winning Beyond the Grave paranormal romance series and the romantic thrillers Desperate and The Scream Behind Her Smile. In 2016, Athena was nominated for Author of the Year and Best New Author in AusRom Today's Reader's Choice Awards.

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Absolution
J.V. Speyer
Publication date: April 23rd 2019
Genres: Adult, Romance, Suspense

The would-be highwayman killer’s case is closed, and Luis has been cleared to return to work. He and Donovan are starting their new life together, and while they’re both a little new at this whole “stable relationship” thing they’re determined to make things work. When people start dying at Assonet Ledge, it seems like a typical case for Donovan until one of the victims turns out to be a missing person from out of state, bringing the FBI into one of Donovan’s cases yet again.

The park ranger at the site is everything Donovan isn’t, and Donovan finds himself wondering if his partner isn’t falling into old habits. Luis struggles to understand Donovan’s jealousy, which puts a strain on their relationship and the case. To top things off, there may be forces at work here that go back long before humans showed their faces, forces Luis can’t hope to understand. Will those forces propel the case, and Luis and Donovan’s rekindled romance, off a cliff?

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EXCERPT:

“Well, the alternative was pretty awful, so there’s that.” Luis grimaced. “It’s grim work sometimes, and it’s sure not easy, but it’s worth it. We’re getting our happily ever after, so I’ll do whatever it takes.”

He would, too. He’d always been willing to work for his happiness with Donovan as long as there was hope. He had his concerns about working on a case together again, but they’d get through it. Like the alternative to recovery Donovan had mentioned, the other option was too awful to contemplate.

“So I’ve got to ask,” Donovan said after a few seconds. “Freetown State Forest has a reputation, right?”

“Place is full of ghosts.” Luis chuckled. He didn’t need to ask what Donovan was getting at. “Most of them were kind of static though. I guess the technical term is residual? They weren’t interacting with the modern living world at all. They were just kind of re-creating the past. It was kind of interesting to see that past, but not helpful. Some of them were a little more aware. One chased after the pickup truck the other day, when you first joined in. Or when we first joined in, depending on your point of view. Anyway, he chased after us for a while, yelling at us to ‘Get off his lawn.’ ”

“Wait, what?” Donovan burst out laughing. “You’re joking.”

“Nope. Angry old white guy sitting in an old lawn chair, drinking a beer. If it weren’t for the glow, and the fact that none of you could see him, I’d have thought he was alive. He chucked the beer at the truck, and another one appeared in his hand. If I have to be a ghost when I die, I aspire to that level of badassery.”

Donovan pulled onto the highway. “Luis, you don’t even drink.”

“I’ll throw something else then. Or I’ll start drinking ghost beers just so I can throw them at passersby.” Luis grinned. “I still feel like I’m lost at sea with all this ghost stuff, but I’m getting there.”

Author Bio:

Want to get cocktail recipes, book updates, and craft beer notes from J. V.? Sign up here (http://eepurl.com/dtlwBH)!

J. V. Speyer has lived in upstate New York and rural Catalonia before making the greater Boston, Massachusetts area her permanent home. She has worked in archaeology, security, accountancy, finance, and non-profit management. She currently lives just south of Boston in a house old enough to remember when her town was a tavern community with a farming problem.

J. V. finds most of her inspiration from music. Her tastes run the gamut from traditional to industrial and back again. When not writing she can usually be found enjoying a baseball game or avoiding direct sunlight. She's learning to crochet so she can make blankets to fortify herself against the cold.

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Deadworld
Debbie Cassidy
(Chronicles of Deadworld, #1)
Publication date: April 23rd 2019
Genres: Adult, Post-Apocalyptic, Urban Fantasy

Humans weren’t meant to live underground, but then artificial intelligences weren’t meant to feed off souls. Shit happens.

Being a Potential is an honor. It qualifies me for the mandatory Run, the chance to become a Guardian and wield one of the only weapons that can disable a Genesis scout. It also means I’ll have to leave the safety of my underground home and go topside, where the possibility of death goes up by eighty percent.

Badges of honor mean nothing if you’re dead.

I’d rather steer clear of any place where soul sucking AI roam. I’d rather stay safe in the Hive and hangout with my wolf-shifter co-worker. I’d rather work on the mechanical heart that keeps the Hive running and spend time with my enigmatic nephilim mentor. Heck, I’d rather be doing anything else. But I’ve made a promise to my best friend, a promise to get her to the finish line in time to win a spot as Guardian. How hard can it be, right? We have a plan. So why do I feel as if something is about to go seriously wrong?

It’s a game. Just a game.

Or is it?

First came Chronicles of Midnight, then came Chronicles of Arcana, and now we have Chronicles of Deadworld. Set a hundred years after the events of its predecessors Deadworld takes you into a Post-Apocalyptic Urban fantasy world with a slow burn Whychoose Romance.

You don’t have to read the previous series, but man, if you do the thrill ride will be unlike any other.

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EXCERPT:

“You have a slight concussion. And it’s perfectly natural to be confused after a blow to the head.”

I reached up to touch the back of my head and probed gingerly, wincing when I hit the tender spot.

I hated this fuzzy feeling. This strange, helpless flutter inside me. “I can’t remember what happened. God, I hate this.”

“It may come back to you, it may not.” Emory smiled kindly. “Don’t worry too much about it. All that matters is that you’re all right.”

A lock of his silver-blond hair had fallen across his forehead, and before I could stop myself, I’d reached up and brushed it back. He froze. His pupils dilated and fixed on me, and then he let out a sharp exhalation and quickly stood and put distance between us. His gloved hands hovered at his pockets, but in the end, he settled for clenching them at his sides.

Oh, shit, Emory was a stickler for his personal space, and I’d just violated it. “Sorry, I … I have no idea why I did that.”

“It’s fine.” His tone was easy and smooth, but the clenched fists gave him away. I’d rattled him. “Just get some rest. Danika will give you some pills for the headache. Take the rest of the day off.”

What? “No.”

He canted his head. “No? Echo, you just fell twenty feet into a chasm.”

“I don’t want the others to think I’m getting special treatment.”

His frown was incredulous. “Special treatment? Of course you’re getting special treatment.” He leaned in slightly and enunciated his next words. “You just fell into the chasm.”

Incredulity had morphed into irritation, and although I’d seen him annoyed before, it was usually a flick of the brows, or a twitch of the lips; he never exploded, never raised his voice.

But Finn’s revelation as to why the other guys hadn’t accepted me was prominent in my mind, and maybe it was the fall, maybe it was the damn concussion, but my mouth decided to speak the thoughts running through my mind.

“The heart keepers think you’re favoring me because we’re lovers.” The sentence tumbled out and then sat between us like a bomb waiting to be defused.

Emory went very still. Was he holding his breath? Was I?

I pressed my fingers to my temple, wishing I could take the words back just to wipe the look of horror from his face. A look that was not good for my ego.

Author Bio:

Debbie Cassidy lives in England, Bedfordshire, with her three kids and very supportive husband. Coffee and chocolate biscuits are her writing fuels of choice, and she is still working on getting that perfect tower of solitude built in her back garden. Obsessed with building new worlds and reading about them, she spends her spare time daydreaming and conversing with the characters in her head - in a totally non psychotic way of course. She writes Urban Fantasy, Fantasy and Reverse Harem Fantasy. All her books contain plenty of action, romance and twisty plots.

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Ruin
Nicolina Martin
(Russo Saga, #2)
Published by: Blushing Books Publications
Publication date: May 2nd 2019
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

An innocent coffee. A dazzling stranger. What can go wrong?

Anna Raymond focuses only on her work at a little custom printing company in LA. She’s become a recluse after a traumatic experience that tore her life apart. Then Eric happens, barging into her life one morning at a Starbucks. By the time night falls, she has witnessed a murder, fought for her life, and revealed secrets she meant to keep buried forever.

Eric Reed is a hired killer, well aware of his effect on women and how to use it to his advantage. He’s in LA for one thing only: Finish the contract he’s been assigned. Anna was nothing but a means to an end, but he finds himself reluctantly drawn to the enigmatic woman, a mistake that can cost him everything.

That long, cold night trapped together, changes something fundamental between them. Anna must make a choice, will it be her path to happiness, or will the fervent Eric burn her to ashes?

This is book two in the Russo Saga but can be enjoyed as a standalone.

Publisher’s Note: This dark romance is intended for adults only and may contain triggers. This wild ride contains elements of danger, suspense, action, adventure, sensual scenes, adult language, power exchange and a guaranteed HEA.

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Author Bio:

Nicolina Martin is a Swedish born author who escapes the long, dark winter nights by writing hot contemporary romance/suspense.

She's a mother of three teenage girls, a medical doctor, a quirky loner, and a social human being. She has traveled the globe, has had more lovers than she can count, has loved and hated, succeeded and failed, has gone through marriage and divorce. She has seen darkness and despair, as well as light and happiness.

All these experiences, she pours into her tales, taking her readers for a wild ride while twisting their minds. She loves showing that stories can be different even if the trope is the same.

Nicolina believes that life is too short for regrets and in looking forward, no matter what. She wants to enjoy every moment, and cherish life.

To find out more about Nicolina Martin, visit her official website.

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Pawsitively Poisonous
Melissa Erin Jackson
Publication date: June 10th 2019
Genres: Adult, Cozy Mystery

Every town has its secrets, but no one has a secret like hers.

Amber Blackwood, lifelong resident of Edgehill, Oregon, has earned a reputation for being a semi-reclusive odd duck. Her store, The Quirky Whisker, is full of curiosities, from extremely potent sleepy teas and ever-burning candles to kids’ toys that seem to run endlessly without the aid of batteries. The people of Edgehill think of the Quirky Whisker as an integral part of their feline-obsessed town, but most give Amber herself a wide berth. Amber prefers it that way; it keeps her secret safe. But that secret is thrown into jeopardy when Amber’s friend Melanie is found dead, a vial of headache tonic from Amber’s store clutched in her hand.

Edgehill’s newest police chief has had it out for Amber since he arrived three years before. He can’t possibly know she’s a witch, but his suspicions about her odd store and even odder behavior have shot her to the top of his suspect list. When the Edgehill rumor mill finds out Melanie was poisoned, it’s not only the police chief who looks at Amber differently. Determined to both find justice for her friend and to clear her own name, Amber must use her unique gifts to help track down Melanie’s real killer. A quest that threatens much more than her secret …

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Author Bio:

Melissa has had a love of stories for as long as she can remember, but only started penning her own during her freshman year of college. She majored in Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology at UCDavis. Yet, while she was neck-deep in organic chemistry and physics, she kept finding herself writing stories in the back of the classroom about fairies and trolls and magic. She finished her degree, but it never captured her heart the way writing did.

Now she owns her own dog walking business (that's sort of wildlife related, right?) by day ... and afternoon and night ... and writes whenever she gets a spare moment. The Microsoft Word app is a gift from the gods!

She alternates mostly between fantasy and mystery (often with a paranormal twist). All her books have some element of "other" to them ... witches, ghosts, UFOs. There's no better way to escape the real world than getting lost in a fictional one.

She lives in Northern California with her very patient boyfriend and way too many pets.

The Forgotten Child is her debut, the first in a paranormal mystery series. Her next book, Pawsitively Poisonous, releases June 10th, 2019.

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The Blood Covenant
Emily Bex
(The Medici Warrior Series, #1)
Publication date: April 22nd 2019
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance

When he met her, he knew how it would end.

Shade Medici, a vampire warrior king and sole male heir to the dynasty, is expected to mate and produce an heir to secure the continuation of the Medici coven. He’s waited over 500 years for the right mate, and when he meets Kate Reese, his attraction is more than primal – it’s merciless.

She’s also mortal.

Kate is fresh off a broken engagement and reluctant to open her heart, but her hesitations are no match for the unrelenting pursuits of the vampire King. Their passion for each other is searing… and not everyone is happy about it. Namely the ruling Council.

As they fight against deceit, treachery, and those who aim to see their love fail, Shade also struggles to control his impulses as Kate is immersed into his dark and dangerous world, but it’s imperative he prepare her for the changes that will be demanded of her should she choose to bind herself to him through the blood covenant. All that scorches and glitters isn’t gold, and she quickly learns that falling in love with a vampire King comes at a hefty price.

It may just cost her everything.

“Riveting”, “electric”, and hailed as “the NEXT BIG THING”, The Medici Warrior Series follows the exploits of a vampire dynasty that spans four generations in a multi-genre novel with elements of paranormal, smoldering romance, and historical fiction. Get your copy today!

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EXCERPT:

He feels her hand jerk slightly under his touch and smiles at her. She is timid and sweet, and he likes the feel of her soft white skin, and the contrast of his dark olive tone to her lily white.

“Do you have a wrap, Kate Reese?”

“Wrap? Yes, it’s in, uh….” Oh my God, can I at least stop tripping over my own tongue!

“I believe your wrap is in the study. Allow me?”

He offers her his arm and watches as she hesitantly places her small hand around his elbow. She glides in those stilettos and he slides his eyes behind her and watches that beautiful ass swish and sway on the way to the study. She identifies her green suede coat from the pile and he notices the label inside; Italian…leather from Florence, and he smiles. He holds the coat for her as she slips her arms into the sleeves, then he slides the coat onto her slender shoulders, letting his hands graze her hair and neck. He loves the feel of her, touching her; he loves her petite stature to his height and mass. He watches as she pulls those long crimson locks from the collar of her coat and flings her hair back. He is assailed, once again, by the scent of roses. She turns to him, looking into his eyes again, before quickly looking down.

She is unable to maintain eye contact with him for more than a few seconds. “Do I make you nervous, Kate?”

“No, no, no… I, really, I just need to go. Thank you.” Nervous? Does he make me nervous? He scares the hell out of me! Who looks like this?

Author Bio:

Emily Bex is an avid life-long reader, and a first time writer of the epic six book Medici Warrior Series. As she says, “Why start small?” She worked for over twenty years in marketing, developing ad campaigns, catalogs, product launches and promotional literature. She figured if she could write creatively about products, then surely she could write something about these characters that were rattling around inside her brain. She currently lives in Virginia, but has used her extensive love of travel, both foreign and domestic, to create the backdrop for her characters to play out their story.

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