Reader's Edyn: March 2020

Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Blitz: Baptism of Fire (Playing With Hellfire #1) by Jessie Thomas

**Baptism of Fire by Jessie Thomas**

Good Morning, Everyone! So thrilled to see you all today! We have another new-to-me author and book! Please allow me to feature on the blog Jessie Thomas and her latest release, BAPTISM OF FIRE … And HAPPY RELEASE DAY!

**JESSIE THOMAS **

**BIO**

Jessie Thomas is a writer of young adult and new adult fiction from Buffalo, New York. An avid reader and history nerd at heart, she enjoys writing historical fantasy, urban fantasy, and paranormal romance with atmospheric settings and dark themes. When she isn't chasing her muses around, Jessie can be found playing with her snaggle-toothed cat named Graham.

To find out more about Ms. Thomas please visit:

**BAPTISM OF FIRE**

Publication date: March 31, 2020

Series: Playing With Hellfire #1
Genres: New Adult, Urban Fantasy

**BLURB**

Welcome to Perdition Falls, New York: where arson is considered a recreational activity, the abnormally hot climate makes everything unbearable, and according to one origin story shrouded in myth and legend, our city is an actual Hellmouth.

I’ve learned those infernal tales aren’t just a cheap marketing ploy to lure in tourists and paranormal frauds.

It’s Hell. We’re literally sitting on top of Hell. Fire, brimstone, actual demons–the works.

When an incendiary–the name other pyromancers have given to the infestation of Hellfire-wielding demons–kills my closest friend and fellow firefighter, I’m left with a rare power I barely understand. It’s the only reason I survived. It also makes me a target, something to be coveted by those who know Perdition Falls’ most dangerous, well-kept secrets.

While a demonic arsonist puts the city’s resident pyromancers on edge, I’m reunited with my long-lost childhood friend Javier, who shares the same strange power that runs through my veins. With him, I find my footing in a place I thought I knew and buried memories from our past start to resurface. As our ragtag group comes together, we become the last defense against the incendiaries’ corrupt hold on the city…one completely disastrous mission at a time.

But taking down this homicidal demon with a flair for pyromania might mean trusting one of their own.

BAPTISM OF FIRE is a thrilling, slow burn urban fantasy perfect for fans of McKenzie Hunter, Annette Marie, C.N. Crawford, and K.F. Breene.

**TEASERS**

**EXCERPT**

Get up… Get up, or this demon is going to kill you.

I groaned, forcing myself up onto my elbows. Pain shot down my side and awakened in my muscles, the bruises that marked me. The incendiary sauntered forward, their face still shrouded in secret. Their hair, though. There was too much of it to belong to the arsonist. They tossed another handful of fire from one ghostly palm to the other, the movement hypnotic, releasing blue embers into the night sky.

I finally scraped myself off the street and ran. The incendiary had plenty of time to kill me, twice over. Why didn’t they? Maybe the thrill of hunting me for sport was enough.

The narrow road branched off from where I’d left the car smoldering, another confusing grid of abandoned lots and empty cars hidden behind rows of storefronts. A blast of sulfuric, hot air shoved into the small of my back. I ducked with a yelp, a second car to my left going up in a burst of Hellfire.

If this incendiary got off on damaging property rather than murder, then maybe I’d live long enough to keep them preoccupied.

When the third car went up in flames on my right, pieces of broken glass flying into my cheek and shoulder, the flare was so intense that the fire spread rapidly. It leapt from the hood to the back end of the car parallel parked in front of it, roaring as it twisted the metal with its scorching heat. If it kept going, these people would wake up tomorrow to find the whole street lined with burned-out cars.

If only I could put it out.

The demon hadn’t hit me. Not yet.

I twisted around, an awkward motion that nearly made me fall right out of my flip flops. The incendiary moved toward me with an unsettling, deliberate gait. I held my hands in front of me, pushing my palms outward, hoping to find that same fire again. It was there. I knew it was. Why couldn’t I reach it?

I shut my eyes and listened to the frantic pulse running around my ears. And inhaled, slowly, despite the danger advancing.

Heat touched my bare skin, scorching as it rushed past. Not close enough to graze or burn. But I saw the burst of orange light across my closed eyelids, heard the whoosh of flame inches from my ear and felt the prickle of heat.

It didn’t belong to me. Or the demon.

Someone’s hand latched onto my wrist and I flinched. Their touch was blazing—I sensed the influx of pyromancy this time, their skin hot from the fire—but the grip on my wrist wasn’t rough. More than anything, it was urgent.

“I admire your effort,” a deep, masculine voice said from behind me, “but we’ve gotta hustle. I just pissed ‘em off.”

Buy Links

**GIVEAWAY**

Blitz-wide giveaway (INT)

5 x eBook Copies of BAPTISM OF FIRE

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks so much for joining us today!

HAPPY READING!!!

Blitz: Priestess of Storms and Stone (Rogue Ethereal #5) by Annie Anderson

**Priestess of Storms and Stone by Annie Anderson**

Good Morning, Everyone! So thrilled to see you all today! We have another new-to-me author and book! Please allow me to feature on the blog Annie Anderson and her latest release, PRIESTESS OF STORMS AND STONE … And HAPPY RELEASE DAY!

**ANNIE ANDERSON **

**BIO**

Annie Anderson is a military wife and United States Air Force veteran. Originally from Dallas, Texas, she is a southern girl at heart, but has lived all over the US and abroad. As soon as the military stops moving her family around, she'll settle on a state, but for now she enjoys being a nomad with her husband, two daughters, an old man of a dog, and a young pup that makes life... interesting.

To find out more about Ms. Anderson please visit:

**PRIESTESS OF STORMS AND STONE**

Publication date: March 31, 2020

Series: Rogue Ethereal #5
Genres: Adult, Urban Fantasy

**BLURB**

If there is one lesson I’ve been taught in my life, it’s that fairies are the absolute worst.

Finding a fledgling succubus in Faerie is like locating a needle inside a realm-sized haystack. With a guide I can’t trust and a goal more ephemeral than smoke, my odds of success are tenuous at best. Not to mention, as the last Elemental in existence, I have a giant target painted on my back.

Because one half of Faerie wants me dead, and the other half wants to use me as a sacrifice to open the gates to Earth. But I swore I would find my quarry, and I will. Even if I have to rip the entire realm apart to do it.

There is a storm coming to Faerie, and that storm is me.

**TEASERS**

**EXCERPT**

It was never a good sign to be drinking bourbon at ten in the morning, but after the week I’d had, I figured I was due. Self-medicating with alcohol wouldn’t take the sting out of my grief, in fact, it was likely to make it worse. But I’d needed a teensy little breather from my housemates after the last truth bomb had been dropped, and wrapping my head around my new knowledge required booze.

I could feel Della’s eyes on me, her acute vampire gaze boring a hole in the side of my face. She wanted an answer to her question, and she likely wasn’t going to leave me alone until I gave her one.

When are we leaving?

That question echoed against the walls of my brain with enough force to give me a headache. Melody was alive. She was alive, and my sister was dead.

But that didn’t make a lick of sense. Melody died right in front of me. I watched Aurelia send her soul on in a way only a phoenix could do. I watched her body burn in the flames of a funeral pyre. I needed answers before I could answer Della’s question.

Because I wouldn’t be leaving to hunt her down unless I was sure this wasn’t some kind of trick. I’d been tricked too many times in the last week, and I wasn’t falling for another one.

“Melody is dead, Della,” I whispered before taking another sip of bourbon, refusing to face my bodyguard. If I looked at her, I’d see either pity or censure, and I couldn’t deal with either.

“Then why is her son gone?” Della pointed out a big hole in the “Melody’s dead” argument.

Shit, fuck, and damn. I made a promise to Melody to keep her son safe. If it wasn’t Melody who had her son—and I highly doubted it was—then I’d have to go get him.

In Faerie.

Aces.

But hadn’t I earned a break? Hadn’t I earned the right to let someone else take up the slack?

You made a promise. You swore. You can’t turn away just because you’re hurt.

Those words cut through my thoughts sharp enough to bring tears to my eyes. I did. I made a promise to make sure her son was safe. And I’d keep it. Maybe it would make my soul burn just a little less. Maybe if I did this one thing, losing Maria wouldn’t hurt so bad.

Yeah, I doubted it.

I sniffed back the sting of tears, tossed back the rest of the bourbon, and managed to set the glass down without smashing it. I’d been on a smashing kick for the last little bit, and my living room had borne the brunt of it. At the time, I’d wanted to destroy everything Maria had ever touched. If I could just break it, burn it, wreck it, then it would have been like she wasn’t stamped all over every molecule of my house.

Wasn’t that stupid?

Like I wouldn’t see her every time I closed my eyes.

“Okay, I’ll give you that,” I muttered, finally answering Della’s question. “But I can’t just bust down the door to Faerie and find her. If it is her. We need way more to go on than a note and a can-do attitude.”

I peered down at myself. I had on black shorts and a black tank top. It was good enough for summer in Denver. All I needed was some flip-flops. Had I brushed my teeth today? Shrug. Was I wearing a bra? My tank had a shelf bra in it. It would just have to do. Plus, Barrett wouldn’t give two shits about what I was wearing. I located my flip-flops in their spot by the door, shuffled my feet into them, and raised my hand to snap my fingers.

But Della pounced on my hand before I could complete the task.

“What?” My whole body was on red alert, my eyes searching my demolished living room and relatively untouched kitchen.

“You can’t go out like that,” Della whispered furiously, her face a picture of panic.

Frowning, I looked back down at myself. Yep, all my parts were covered.

“It’s summer. Shorts and a tank aren’t going to turn any heads no matter how much ink is on display.”

A dawning realization lit up Della’s face before she winced. “You haven’t checked a mirror since you got back, have you?”

Buy Links

**GIVEAWAY**

Blitz-wide giveaway (INT)

3 x $25 Amazon Gift Cards

Thanks so much for joining us today!

HAPPY READING!!!

Blitz: Essence of the Angels (Starlight Chronicles #2) by P. S. Malcolm

**Essence of the Angels by P. S. Malcolm**

Good Morning, Everyone! So thrilled to see you all today! We have another new-to-me author and book! Please allow me to feature on the blog P. S. Malcolm and her latest release, ESSENCE OF THE ANGELS … And HAPPY RELEASE DAY!

**P. S. MALCOLM **

**BIO**

P.S.Malcolm (Pagan) grew up in Proserpine, Queensland-- a small, Australian country town on the edge of the Great Barrier Reef. She was a storyteller from a young age and spent years perfecting her craft.

For two years, she juggled waitressing in tourist filled coffee shops while undertaking two degrees in Creative Writing online. She has always had an interest in writing, but never saw herself working in the industry until she made the choice to self-publish her debut novel, STUCK ON VACATION WITH RYAN RUPERT. Realizing that she loved the process of publishing her book, she pursued an internship at a publishing house and snagged a spot as Pen Name Publishing's Marketing Assistant.

In between interning and writing, Pagan opened her first business working as a freelance Marketing Strategist for Paperback Kingdom-- which helps indie authors with all aspects of their author careers.

Pagan also enjoys reading-- particularly fantasy and paranormal-- and is a passionate blogger. She reviews books that she has read on her personal website, and indie books on her business blog. Some of her favourite and most influential authors include Amanda Gernentz Hanson, A.G. Howard, Marissa Meyer and Michele Jaffe. She is a cat enthusiast, tea lover, and floral fanatic.

To find out more about Ms. Malcolm please visit:

**ESSENCE OF THE ANGELS**

Publication date: March 31, 2020

Series: The Starlight Chronicles #2

Published By: Parliament House
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

**BLURB**

After the Urenphians take over their home, Lucy and her entourage are forced to retreat to the Angel Sanctuary. But with Valarie missing, Lucy is oblivious to the lies and secrets staring her right in the face. After a shocking revelation, she realizes just how much danger she and her friends are in.

Meanwhile, Valarie finds herself in enemy territory. Her newly found Shadow heritage and ties to Reina aren’t the only dark secrets in her past…she may not make it out of Urenphia the same as she once was…

The exciting next installment in The Starlight Chronicles Series will reveal truths to a world they thought they knew—but will they survive?

**TEASERS**

**EXCERPT**

I was standing under a shadowy, black sky, surrounded by sprawling gardens that glistened in the moonlight. A gentle breeze caressed my skin, carrying cinders from the burning torches that lit the courtyard. I waited—for whom, I did not know yet, but I waited in the dark night and wondered what I was there for.

From the arched doorway ahead, a figure finally emerged from the shadows—like it had melded out of the darkness itself, dressed in dark clothes and sheltering its face from view. I recognized the hair and the stance of the figure. The way he carried his shoulders and moved his legs with such staggering purpose—the sweep of his body cutting through existence itself, until finally, he dared to lift his gaze, and those emerald green eyes bore into mine.

Mixed emotions stung at my heart. One side of me felt a yearning towards those eyes; but that was the part of me that had died long ago, along with the burning flames that singed through my veins.

The other part of me was struck with despair—for those eyes were where my pain lay. They haunted my every living moment, taunted me, and told me what I could not have—what my heart would never accept again, not after all that he had done. The hurt and pain he put me through, the burdens and pressure he laid upon me. The people he tore down to claim me once more.

I was fire—I was not meant to be contained. Not meant to be kept, ordered, and restricted by boundaries. I needed to be free.

Upon realizing that, a sense of claustrophobia came upon me, because I knew—deep down in my heart, in my soul—I was trapped right here. In this memory. In this dream, and I needed to wake up.

Julian reached for me, seeking to hold me…to kiss me…and a sense of longing tainted by repugnance came upon me all at once.

No, I tried to say, but my mouth would not move. Words would not come. Nobody could hear me. I was trapped in my memory—in a past that had already happened, and I could not escape.

I am fire. I am fire. I cannot be contained.

I repeated the words desperately, as those eyes gazed deeper and his mouth drew nearer. His arm snaked around my waist, and his embrace was tight. The part of me that had lived once before did not try to stop him. Leaned into him instead, wanting that affection as much as he did. I could feel our hearts beating together and the tickle of his warm breath upon my lips.

I was screaming.

It shattered, darkness twisting into light, as I lunged upward.

**BOOK PLAYLIST**