Thursday, 1 June 2023

Cover Reveal - Deliciously Enchanted (D’Vaire, Book 37) by Jessamyn Kingley

COVER REVEAL

Book Title: Deliciously Enchanted (D’Vaire, Book 37)

Author and Publisher: Jessamyn Kingley

Cover Artist: LJ Anderson of Mayhem Cover Creations

Release Date: June 15, 2023

Genres: MM Fantasy/Paranormal Romance

Tropes: Fated mates

Themes: Love

Heat Rating:  3 flames

Length:  91 500

It is not a standalone story, but does not end on a cliffhanger.

Goodreads Series Link 

Amazon Series Link 

Mixing friendship and devotion, two mates perfect an enchanting recipe for eternal love.

Blurb

Henry Gennevios is an enchanter with little magic, but his lack of sorcery doesn’t bother him. Growing up in the chaos of his parents’ matebond, Henry escaped into his passion for food. Now, Henry is a famous chef with dozens of restaurants, best-selling cookbooks, and a successful line of kitchen products with his name slapped on them. 

Seristyn Cith-Oridi was raised in his father’s elf tribe, but he’s a hybrid with no friends and a father who dictates every aspect of his life. His family life is tumultuous, but Seristyn has quietly rebelled since he was a child. He devotes his ample energy to dance classes and chasing his dreams.

On an otherwise ordinary morning, Seristyn and Henry meet. Instantly infatuated, they follow elven tradition and are mated within a few days. Despite the challenges Fate soon throws in their path, Henry and Seristyn are equally determined to build a matebond full of love and friendship.

Excerpt

The hybrid’s beautiful mouth curved into a welcoming smile with a hint of sultriness. His jaw was squared off, and those remarkable eyes were charmingly tilted upward. Henry wasn’t sure what he’d done to please Fate, but he could not fault her taste, and he thanked the goddess for not forgetting to give the magicless Gennevios a mate.

“Hi,” the gorgeous vision said to Henry. “I’m Seristyn.”

“Salut, Seristyn. Enchanté. Je suis Henri,” Henry said, then shook his head swiftly. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I chose French. I’m Henry. It’s lovely to meet you.”

“You have a bit of an accent, is French your first language?”

“It is. I detect a hint of something in your voice too, is Elvish your native tongue?”

“Yeah, it’s what I speak at home. But I don’t use it anywhere else.”

Henry nodded and tried to ignore the color creeping up his neck. The idea that he might have a mate had occurred to him, but Henry hadn’t known how to handle the thought. Yes, Henry had wanted the other half of his soul. However, he didn’t have social skills outside of business, and he hated being uncomfortable or embarrassed. 

“It’s lovely to meet you.”

“You said that already,” Seristyn replied with a small grin. “I’m glad I’m not the only nervous one. Meeting my mate is scarier than I imagined.”

Relieved that he wasn’t alone in his discomfort, Henry returned Seristyn’s smile. “I’m unsure what we do next.”

“Exchange phone numbers, maybe?”

“Excellent idea,” Henry said, then grimaced. His mind was still spinning. “I can’t remember my number right now.”

“You don’t have to,” Seristyn assured him. “Get out your phone, and you can text me.”

“Merci,” Henry replied, too frazzled to translate his thoughts into English.

“I have a dance class now, but I could skip it if you wanted to talk or whatever we’re supposed to do right now.”

Henry shook his head and tried desperately to get his bearings, but his hands were sweaty, and he remained completely flummoxed. “Non. I mean, no, I have a meeting to get to. Go to your dance class.”

“Great, can I talk to you later?”

“Of course. Anytime, Seristyn.”

“I just wanted to say before I go that today’s the best day of my life.”

Honored and pleased, Henry nearly sighed aloud as warmth flowed into him and his heart. “Mine too.”

“I’ll talk to you later, Henry.”

“Oui. Yes, I look forward to it.”

Henry waved awkwardly as Seristyn passed him, with his smile still in place, to attend his dance class. His eyes fell closed as the smell of pain au chocolat faded with each step Seristyn took away from him. Then a thought occurred to Henry that had him stomping a foot.

“Seristyn. You’re an elf.”

With a chuckle, Seristyn turned around in the quiet hall. 

“I know,” he called out.

“We have seventy-two hours to combine our souls.”

“If we follow elven tradition.”

Feeling foolish and hoping he hadn’t offended Seristyn, Henry internally berated himself for his suddenly sluggish brain. “I should have asked. You’re a hybrid, a shifter? What kind?”

“Griffin, but no beast.”

There was a sadness in Seristyn’s voice that told Henry his mate would’ve preferred otherwise. “Do you want to follow elven tradition?”

“You’re a sorcerer, what kind?”

“Enchanteur, but I have no magic.” 

“Would it be okay if we followed elven tradition?”

Henry nodded quickly. His thoughts were finally kicking into gear, though his heart continued to thud heavily in his chest. “I would like very much to honor your people. And I vow to do my part to build a matebond with you.”

Seristyn’s gorgeous smile flashed again, and Henry unconsciously mirrored it. “I’m happy I met you, Henry, and I’ll do my part too.”

“Should we discuss the details and everything later?” Henry asked with a quick glance at his watch. His meeting was scheduled for five minutes ago, but Seristyn was the other half of his soul. The dean of Starlight University would have to wait.

“Yeah, I don’t even know where to begin.”

Planning and organizing were Henry’s strengths. “Leave it to me, I can handle whatever arrangements are necessary. I’ll put together a list of questions and be ready to get to work once we have a chance to talk later.”

“Great, I’ll talk to you then.”

“Get to your class before you’re any later.”

“I met my mate, they’ll understand,” Seristyn assured him but turned to leave again. “Oh, Henry, did I mention how beautiful you are?”

His cheeks on fire, Henry swallowed. “Thank you. I’ve never seen anyone as gorgeous as you. Fate has blessed me.”

“I feel the same way. Have a great day, Henry, I can’t wait to talk to you later.”

“You too, Seristyn,” Henry said and watched his mate walk away.

About the Author 

Jessamyn Kingley has published over thirty titles and refuses to pick a favorite among them. With an extraordinary passion for her characters, she enthusiastically adds tales to her D’Vaire series and avidly re-reads them whenever her schedule allows. After decades living in the Washington, DC area, she now resides in Nevada with her husband and their three spoiled cats. When she is not writing or adding new ideas to her beloved notebooks, she is gaming with family and friends. 

Visit her website 

Join her Facebook group, Jessamyn's Ruffian's

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The Scars of Life by David Blyth #kindleunlimited #giveaway

RELEASE BLITZ

Book Title: The Scars of Life

Author and Publisher: David Blyth

Cover Artist: David Blyth

Release Date:  June 1, 2023

Genre: Contemporary Romance/Literary Fiction, mystery/suspense

Tropes: Sexual identity, bisexuality, forbidden love

Themes: Psychological twist, mystery, family drama

Trigger Warning: Supplementary themes involve sexual identity and a teenage incestuous occurrence: neither are covered in detail, or described graphically, as they were ‘incidents’ rather than relationships, though they have an impact on the development of the narrative.

Heat Rating:  2 - 3 flames

Length: 95 000 words/362 pages 

It is a standalone story and does not end on a cliffhanger.

It has a HEA of sorts - it fits vaguely into the romance genre with a lot of psychological suspense and mystery interwoven.

Goodreads

Buy Links - Available in Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US  |  Amazon UK

Paperback also available from Barnes and Noble 

A troubled mind, a dysfunctional love story, a psychological twist….

Blurb 

Paul Somerfield, a young journalist for Planet Earth magazine, shares a brief friendship with the enigmatic Mike Stokes during an assignment in Devon. It leads to a disruptive fascination and a reluctant complicity in events that evolve from Mike’s tragic past.

 On a journey where emotions influence his brittle control, Paul pursues the truth. But the truth has many disguises which disrupt his relationships, his rationality and his life.

A reminder of how fragile the stability of love and trust can be: a journey that follows fear and doubt as they steer lives into a downward spiral of destruction. 

Excerpt 

(To place in context: Paul (the main character) has just taken a trip over the moors (Dartmoor, Devon, UK) with Mike (the mysterious second character) who he met just a few days ago and befriended).

After a few minutes, with the sun transferring energy to untanned skin, Paul plunged forward to swim towards the opposite bank. Standing up in the shallow water, his gaze rested on his friend still stretched out below him. Mike’s eyes remained closed, the gentle rise and fall of breath the only movement in his body. He could almost have been asleep, but Paul knew he was not, and equally certain of Mike’s awareness of a close observer, perhaps another gift to them both from the custodian of the paradise who chose to share it. Paul was neither embarrassed nor aroused by the hedonic posture, which perfectly balanced the equilibrium, complimenting the setting. He only felt gratitude.

Time slowed to allow appreciation of the scene. Eventually, with reluctance lest the spell be broken, Paul spoke again, “You need another cold dip, mate.” The words were an intrusion. He strained to speak at all. An atmosphere of expectancy subdued his responses.

Mike remained silent. As he turned his head, his eyes filled with a remote but compelling vision. Paul was a prisoner to that gaze. The surroundings drifted out of focus as the man held out a hand in an undeniable gesture of reception.

The sensual element formed a command. With water lapping knees, he leaned as fingers enclosed one arm in a soft grip. Mike’s eyes held a silent appeal. It defied refusal. Legs felt weak, folded, he fell forward, his free hand placed near Mike’s shoulder.

“Mike....” Words came like sobs from his lips, “I … I don’t ... I can’t....” He took shattered breaths, which formed around, “I’m sorry….”

Steady hands cradled his bowed head in a gentle caress. Wet hair supplemented the tears that unmanned him. The softest touches of Mike’s fingers smoothed them from his cheeks.

“Get out of the water, Paul.” Words almost whispered, close to his ear, with barely disguised authority.

Paul responded, unconsciously, climbing onto the stone.

Lines of sweat blurred his eyes. The atmosphere, heavy with anticipation, directed his senses, regulated his responses. Or, a will projected from a powerful force far below him, buried in the rock beneath. The body below him appeared able to harness that power without the need for physical participation. Paul, aware of the reaction of his own body to so sensual a situation, was powerless to subdue it. His skin absorbed the life below with every touch. Nerves ignited with every caress. His senses stimulated by conduction from another’s, as the strained form below him ascended the pinnacles of climactic rapture. Salt tears and sweat, sun warmed skin against his lips, shared breaths of confined desire; the noise of life pounding at his ear, the considerate grip of passion embracing him with a bond of impregnability. All volition was gone.

Suddenly, as though perpetrated by a violent act upon the man below him, the body became still. Only Mike’s relaxed breathing convinced Paul he was innocent of such a deed. Time was striving to catch up with its unnatural stagnancy. A stale memory of desire stained his mind like a contamination of his thoughts; the fruit of an unguarded crop of passion, which left behind the bitterest aftertaste.

Paul stared at the slope they walked down earlier. Then he stood, turned, and dived back into the water. He held no immediate aspiration to emerge from that tranquil medium, doing so only when the pain in his chest forced him to return to reality. Thrusting his feet towards the bed of the stream, he launched to the surface, gasping for air. The vision that met his eyes when his violent breaths had calmed was of a dream shattered. The picture was not as it appeared earlier. The sky painted a tormented brown. The breathtaking scene, transformed to a bleak and forlorn landscape. Air and water around him, tainted with pollution.

Turning his eyes across the water, he saw Mike walking up the slope wearing his shorts, boots held by their laces in one hand, his T-shirt trailing from the other and dragged along the grass. Swimming to the bank, reaching his clothes, he fought jeans over a wet body and slipped on his shoes. Grasping his shirt and camera bag, he stumbled up the slope in his haste. “Mike! Wait!” he called in a weak voice, breathing hard. The man did not respond to his cry. Catching up as they entered the trees, he reached out to the man’s shoulder, halting his progress.

Mike turned, a hard, almost pitiless stare, as he looked deep into Paul’s eyes.

For a moment, Paul was unable to speak. So intense a visage, it took away what little breath he had left. “You bastard! Don’t walk away from me as though your dignity’s been bruised.” He dropped his shirt and bag to his feet, and braced both hands on his knees. Breathing heavily, he waited for some reaction.

“Don’t lecture me about dignity.” The man answered, sharply.

He felt a consuming fury growing within. Standing again, Paul received a harsh look of accusation. As anger conquered instincts, he swung a clenched fist towards the man’s head. The punch found its target, striking a heavy blow to the jaw. Mike made no attempt to avoid the impact; blood soon appeared between his lips, trailing down the side of his chin. He stood motionless, looking into the eyes of his assailant. Paul remained poised, as though prepared to deliver another attack. Yet, in reality, he’d been stunned by the recognition of his actions. Mike’s eyes never flinched as he reached towards the fist, then enclosed it in a strong grip. Paul stood, mentally helpless and physically defeated, as the man lowered the arm back to his side.

“Paul, let’s go home.” The expression on his face softened before he turned to walk ahead.

About the Author  

David Blyth was born in Staffordshire, in the UK. He graduated from Nottingham and Wolverhampton Universities.

He lived for many years in South Africa, where he witnessed the political and social transformation during and after apartheid.

His interests, apart from writing, include anything that helps him to stay relatively sane.

The Scars of Life was written during a two-year overland exploration of southern, central and east Africa; much was achieved sitting under the shade of a huge mango tree on the shores of Lake Malawi, always with a beer near at hand.

Separate Development, which is in fact his second novel, though published first, was written at his home in the English Midlands.

He is currently working on his third.

Social Media Links

Blog/Website  |  Facebook Profile  |  Facebook Author Page

Giveaway

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an ebook copy of The Scars of Life and Separate Development.

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