Book Blitz: Alaskan Blaze by LoLo Paige

Alaska Blaze
LoLo Paige
(Blazing Hearts Wildfire Series, #3)
Publication date: April 30th 2023
Genres: Adult, Romance, Suspense

Can an Alaskan firestorm lead to true love under a midnight sun?

Alaskan firefighter Raynie Atwood thinks she know what she wants—until a walking encyclopedia disguised as a hotshot firefighter storms into her life. Grieving loss and betrayal by the man she once loved, Raynie sets her sights on a top command post for wildland fire. But when an extended drought, a high heat, and beetle-killed forests add up to the perfect firestorm, Raynie’s leadership is put to the test.

To add fuel to the fire, Cohen Tremblay tests Raynie at every turn as she works to save sled dogs and Iditarod mushers dog kennels in a deadly Alaskan conflagration…and to make matters worse, a deadly threat from Raynie’s past has her fearing for her life.
But when Raynie’s world goes up in flames, Cohen may be the only one Raynie can rely on…hard to do when she no longer trusts any man, let alone a bullish co-worker. Instead, she constructs a rock-solid containment line around her heart. But fire is unpredictable, and so is love. Will their chance for love be snuffed before it ignites?

Romance, fire, and betrayal…another deadly mix!

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

EXCERPT:

Saving himself and these dogs would be a tricky maneuver. Cohen had no time to lose. Ash and embers scorched his tongue as if the devil was licking it. Hot air pressed down on him. He couldn’t swallow—no saliva.

I’m out of time! Time to deploy my fire shelter. How will I fit three adult dogs, me, and a sack load of puppies inside my shelter?

Cohen stuck the neck of the burlap sack in his teeth, as he couldn’t set the puppies down in the water. He reached behind and retrieved his fire shelter. He tugged it from the case, yanked the cords, and shook it out.

“Rooby! Wacko! Come here!” he commanded, spitting around the burlap clenched in his teeth. The terrified dogs sidled in next to him, and he crouched down, spreading the fire shelter over them. He tied the end of Madonna’s rope around the neck of the sack and draped it around his neck, so the sack hung on his left side. As long as Madonna sat in front of him and wouldn’t bolt, this might work. He wrapped a corner of the shelter around Rooby and another around Wacko and held the corners with each hand.

This has to work. He had no other choice. They couldn’t outrun this fast-moving wildfire. He tasted ash, a bitter mixture of wood and dirt. The fire bellowed like a savage dragon, hellbent to destroy in the blink of an eye what took decades to grow and mature.

Don’t panic! Keep it together. If I panic, the dogs will, and we’ll all go up in smoke.

Cohen held the shelter down over the dogs and himself as best he could, pressing the dogs close to him. Flames swept the clearing from all directions, obliterating all sound except their tornadic roar. Crouching low in the water, he did his best to keep the puppies above the boggy surface—and prayed the dogs wouldn’t panic and run—or they’d all die.

A dog barked; Cohen didn’t know who. Another yipped and cried. Madonna howled and Cohen felt her tense and brace, as if ready to run. “Whoa, Madonna, whoa Madonna…” He didn’t know how many times he repeated the husky’s name as the raging fire whipped around them. The natural water barrier certainly helped, but the winds tore at his shelter. He gripped it so tight he worried his hands would cramp and lose their hold. Despite his layers of protective Nomex, heat encased his fire shelter and pierced him as if he was the delicacy cooking on a closed outdoor grill.

The hot destructive flames licked at the very edges of his shelter. He prayed it wouldn’t melt and collapse on him. A burning tree crashed into the bog in front of them, and Madonna yelped. The husky yanked away from their huddle, and Cohen watched helplessly as the sled dog bolted, jerking the burlap sack from around his neck and dragging the bundle of puppies through the water—straight toward the destructive flames.

Author Bio:

LoLo Paige is an award-winning author and former wildland firefighter whose debut novel, Alaska Spark, has received several awards for best indie romance. Her second book, Alaska Inferno, was a finalist for best indie romance in the 2022 Kindle Book Review Awards.

LoLo writes strong female firefighters and hunky smokejumpers who battle wildland fire in Alaska. She loves writing about the trust, friendships, and pitfalls of falling in love in the action-packed, perilous world of wildfire in her action adventure romances in The Blazing Hearts Wildfire Series. The characters in her stories are battling more than just fires, they’re struggling to stay alive—and they’re willing to risk it all for love.

Alaska Spark and Alaska Inferno have ranked No.1 on the Amazon Bestseller Lists for action adventure and romantic suspense in the U.S., Canada, and Australia. The true story about LoLo’s fire crew escaping a runaway wildfire won an Alaska Press Club award and inspired her debut novel, Alaska Spark. The third book in her wildland fire series, Alaska Blaze, drops this spring.

In addition to her action-adventure romance firefighter series, LoLo also writes romantic suspense thrillers and romantic comedies. Other books under her romance umbrella are, Hello Spain, Goodbye Heart, a recently released travel romance, and Irish Thunder, to be released later in 2023, by The Wild Rose Press.

Website / Goodreads / Instagram / Twitter


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Book Blitz: Hello Spain, Goodbye Heart by LoLo Paige

Hello Spain, Goodbye Heart
LoLo Paige
(The Wandering Hearts Series, #1)
Published by: The Wild Rose Press
Publication date: January 23rd 2023
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Travel writer Dayna Benning tours Europe to write a feature story for a travel magazine. Along the way, she helps her bestie scatter her husband’s ashes. When Dayna accidentally sprinkles Alex Mendes with dried rose petals intended for the deceased, she senses a chemistry with the silver fox airline pilot. Just one catch—he wears a wedding band. Embittered by her divorce, Dayna refuses to be a homewrecker, like the woman who ruined her marriage. Alex and Dayna go their separate ways, but she’s mystified when serendipitous signs point her toward him at every turn. Determined to find out why, she learns Alex is a widower. Dayna hopes for a second chance at love…but her resentful heart stops her. Can she forgive those that broke her heart the first time? And for that matter, can she forgive herself for her failed marriage? Unless she finds a way to piece together her fragmented heart, Alex will forever remain a fantasy.

Goodreads / Amazon

EXCERPT:

Romance was the last thing Dayna trolled for, but if it rolled in her direction, she wouldn’t rule out a casual fling. But not with a married guy.

Mariko elbowed Dayna. “I’ve heard a lot of hot older guys hang out on this side of the Atlantic,” she murmured, eyeing another tall, juicy morsel passing by on his way out the restaurant door.

Dayna wrinkled her nose. “Alex is married, in case you haven’t noticed.”

“Oh, I noticed. No law against enjoying eye candy.” Mariko grinned. “You should write a sidebar for your magazine article, ‘How To Meet Cute Guys on a Beach.’ Tessa would love it.”

“Ha, that’d spice up my travel piece.” Dayna’s editor would love it.

“Sprinkling a handsome guy with dead rose petals would be a fresh angle,” reasoned Mariko.

“You think?”

“You’ve had a sniper dot on Alex the whole time. You may as well write about him.”

Alex strolled toward them, and Dayna fantasized a slow-motion movie scene: Arms swinging, he moves toward me, wind teasing his hair, with an I-Want-You-So-Bad expression on his face. His arms scoop me up and he plants a hot, moist kiss on my quivering lips, dissolving me—

The seating hostess snapped Dayna back to reality. “This way, please.”

“Oh!” In her haste to follow, Dayna’s foot caught a chair leg and she tripped. After a sloppy recovery, she limped after the hostess with heated cheeks, to a table for three.

Mariko jerked her head toward Dayna, smiling sweetly at the hostess.

“Don’t mind her. Her name’s Grace.”

Author Bio:

LoLo Paige is an award-winning author who has a passion for writing romantic comedies after decades of theatre experience acting in stage comedies. While comedy is her first love, she also writes the pitfalls of falling in love in the action-packed, perilous world of wildfire. As a former wildland firefighter who married her hot firefighter husband, she lives her HEA, spending glorious Alaskan summers at her oceanfront cabin on Kachemak Bay, with her husband and two golden retrievers.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Amazon / Bookbub


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Book Blast: Talk of Tokyo by Heather Hallman



This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Heather Hallman will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

CAREFUL WITH YOUR WORDS

1897 Tokyo is no different than anywhere else in the world: men are exploiting women. Specifically, Western men are exploiting Japanese women, and Suki Malveaux holds no punches in her condemnation of their behavior in her weekly column in the Tokyo Daily News.

Suki knows firsthand when Western men arrive at Tokyo Bay there’s only one outcome for Japanese women: a child and new mother left behind as nothing more than discarded shrapnel from the heartless war on love.

Griffith Spenser is her latest target. He’s been seen with Natsu Watanabe, one of Tokyo’s esteemed war widows. Under full anonymity of the moniker “The Tokyo Tattler,” Suki makes sure Griffith knows exactly why his behavior with Natsu won’t be tolerated.

Away from her Japanese mask as a columnist, Suki never intended to meet the cad. When he seeks her out to hire as a tutor for his niece and nephew, she’s faced with seeing him day in and day out without him ever knowing who she really is.

Caught in her struggle for anonymity so she can keep battling for women’s rights, Suki’s about to learn the full impact of her words on the people behind the story, especially on Griff.

Read an Excerpt

Tokyo 1897

Foreign Quarter of Tsukiji

“The door is over here,” a man called from the house.

Had Emperor Mutsuhito been standing on the front porch, Suki wouldn’t have been more surprised. The irate gentleman she’d been expecting was looking at her with an expression of mild amusement. Up to now, she’d only caught glimpses of the incorrigible rake in passing. Closer examination revealed an angular jawline that an aspiring journalist might wish to trace with her finger and cheekbones ordinarily found on statues of world-conquering kings. Pillow-like lips, one touch of which would make a woman’s insides melt, were already having that very effect on her.

Griffith Spenser was downright handsome. But not in a way that made Suki swoon into the azalea bushes. A crease lined the middle of his chin, and his nose could be described as a bit wide, his brow as a bit too high. The caramel-colored hair atop his head hadn’t been set with a pomade but permitted its thick waves, adding a few inches of unruly height to the already tall, lean gentleman.

Given his reputation, she should have been prepared for a strong dose of masculine appeal. But her head felt light and airy, and her breath had all but disappeared. In its place, a bubbling sensation portended a spell of the giggles. Gripping her satchel, she took in enough air to restore her powers of reason. Unless she got to work, Spenser was going to be the instrument of her undoing. Fortunately, she knew his weakness. Like most foreign men who arrived on Japan’s shores, Spenser was enamored with the nation’s beauties. And although her chignon had loosened to lopsidedness, and her kimono bore the marks of a full day’s teaching, and she was, in fact, only half-Japanese, she could muster enough charm to make Spenser reconsider his plans.

About the Author:
Heather Hallman writes witty, sensual, contest-winning romances set in Meiji-era Japan (1868-1912). She is the author of the Tokyo Whispers series that includes Scandals of Tokyo and Talk of Tokyo.

She is fluent in Japanese language, history, and culture, and earned a doctoral degree in cultural anthropology based on fieldwork research in Japan. She lives in Tokyo with her professor husband and two young daughters. In her free time, she can be found translating ancient Japanese poetry and observing the passing of seasons while sipping green tea. Just kidding, she has no free time. But she does watch something that makes her laugh while she does the dishes.

Perennial obsessions include the weather forecast (she checks three different apps at least three times a day, as no single app can be trusted), Baltimore Ravens football (hometown obsession), and making smoothies that taste like candy bars.

Feel free to chat her up about any of her obsessions, or, even better, about historical Japan—any era is fine, she loves them all. She also enjoys exchanging book recommendations, discussions about the craft of romance writing, and stories about life in present-day Tokyo.

Website
Goodreads
BookBub
Instagram
Facebook
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Buy links for Talk of Tokyo:

Boroughs Publishing Group
Amazon
iBooks

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Book Blitz: The Key to Death’s Door by Mark Tilbury

Back in 2018, I reviewed this novel when it first came out. Now, it has a brand-spanking-new cover! But it’s still the same AMAZING book inside! Check it out!

Blog-blitz


thekeytodeathsdoor coverTitle: The Key to Death’s Door

Author: Mark Tilbury

Genre: Supernatural Thriller

Blurb: 

If you could discover the murderous truth of a past life and seek justice in this one, would you?

Teenager Lee Hunter doesn’t have a choice when he nearly drowns after spending the night at a derelict boathouse with his best friend, Charlie Finch. After leaving his body and meeting a mysterious light that lets him to go back to the past, Lee finds himself reliving the final days of another life. A life that ended tragically.

After recovering from his near death experience, Lee begins to realise that he is part of two lives linked by the despicable actions of one man.

Struggling against impossible odds, Lee and Charlie set out to bring this man to justice.

Will Lee be able to unlock the past and bring justice to the future?

The Key to Death’s Door is a story of sacrifice, friendship, loyalty and murder.


Review:
fivestars

I’ve been following Mark Tilbury since The Revelation Room, and his novels only seem to be getting creepier and creepier, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing! Again, as with Abattoir of Dreams, Tilbury explores the supernatural (definitely his forte in the crime/thriller genre). Tilbury’s descriptions are so vivid, you almost can picture yourself there. I found it hard to put this book down, and then again, there were parts where I HAD to put it down, almost too terrified to pick it up again, hoping things would all work out for the best. No spoilers, but this is definitely on my top reads this year, and I can’t wait to see what disturbing tale he comes up with next.


About the Author:

Mark lives in a small village in the lovely county of Cumbria, although his books are set in Oxfordshire where he was born and raised.

After serving in the Royal Navy and raising his two daughters after being widowed, Mark finally took the plunge and self-published two books on Amazon, The Revelation Room and The Eyes of the Accused.

He’s always had a keen interest in writing, and is extremely proud to have his fifth novel, The Key to Death’s Door published along with The Liar’s Promise, The Abattoir of Dreams, and The Ben Whittle Investigations relaunched, by Bloodhound Books.

When he’s not writing, Mark can be found trying and failing to master blues guitar, and taking walks around the beautiful county of Cumbria.

Social Media Links:

https://twitter.com/MTilburyAuthor

http://marktilbury.com/

https://www.facebook.com/marktilburyauthor/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13926121.Mark_Tilbury