Read Around the Rainbow - What are your top three non-romance reads?

I'm a member of Read around the Rainbow, a rag tag collection of authors who are part of or who write about all letters of the LGBTQ+ rainbow. Each month we'll be posing a question or subject up for discussion. This month the question posed is 'What are your top three non-romance reads?'

I nearly ducked out of this one but I missed last month (because I write in pretty much total silence) and I don't like to skip two in a row. 

"But why would you duck out?" I hear you cry. "You love reading. You regularly smash 250 books a year on the GR challenge."

So true, imaginary reader.

But my issue is twofold. I have a terrible memory. I can't remember my favourite book of this year without scrolling through my GR reviews (it's why I never do one of those top ten reads lists in December), so I'm certainly not remembering my favourite book from 30 years ago because I didn't have GRs back then. What I did have was a reference book of best crime stories and I worked my way through that, reading the recommended stories and devouring the authors that I enjoyed. So, late teens, early twenties me would have said my favourite books were hardboiled crime novels - I loved Chandler and Hammett; or early 20th century British sleuths, especially Dorothy L. Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey and Ngaio Marsh's Roderick Alleyn. I guess I should pick my first read from this amazing reference book (I'd recommend this if I could only remember the damn title). 

As such my first pick is The Daughter of Time (Inspector Alan Grant #5) by Josephine Tey. 

Tey uses the device of having her main detective laid up in hospital and, bored out of his skull, he decides to try and solve a centuries old murder, that of the Princes in the Tower and the subsequent vilification of Richard III. Sounds boring, yeah? But it's not. It's a brilliantly written piece of storytelling by a writer at the height of her craft (this was Tey's last book before her death), thought provoking and entertaining. It doesn't claim to be anything but fiction, and I'm sure historians by their hundreds have disproved Tey's ascertains, but it certainly shines a light on the way that history can be rewritten by the victors.

There, I have pulled a book from the annuls of (my) history. I could go back further, but we'd be looking at Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, and Willard Price's animal adventure books. Or a few years earlier, Enid Blyton. 

My other problem is that for the last decade it's rare that I read any novels that aren't queer romance or at the very least has a romance as a secondary story line. 

But of course I don't just read queer romance, my second genre of choice, although it's more a medium than a genre, is comics. So I've got to pick a comic for my list, right. But I read so many, which could I possibly chose?

The X-Men run from the last few years? An epic (in the large sense rather than amazing) story at the hands of Jonathan Hickman, but with so many different writers, and maybe not all of them understand Hickman's vision, hell I don't always understand it. There's good, bad, and ugly comics under that umbrella, some runs I read in their entirety, other's I gave up on straight away. 

Or the Spider-Man Clone Saga from the mid 90's. It's a run I'm currently reading and it's not always very good. It's iconic, not always for the best reasons, but it gave us two of my favourite Spider-Man characters, Scarlett Spider and Kaine. 

Or let's ignore the Big Two and go to Boom Comics. 

Once and Future (by Kieron Gillen, Dan Mora (Illustrator), Tamra Bonvillain (Colourist)) is an excellent read, combining Arthurian legend and the mess that is modern day Britain in a mad tale of monsters, wizards, kings and bloated politicians, a chain smoking monster hunting granny and her very confused grandson. It's 3 issues from the very end and I'm waiting to read the final arc but it's brilliant so far, visually exciting, and I can't wait to read again from the very beginning. 

For my final pick I'm going to chose something that I've read more recently, but what should it be. When I read away from queer romance these days I tend to pick something historical. I've recently started reading Edward Marston and his Home Front Detective series, set in London during WWI, which started with A Bespoke Murder. I really enjoyed Ruso and the Demented Doctor (Medicus Investigations 2) by R.S. Downie and will pick up anything of that ilk to try. 

Possibly my favourite series in this style and the one I'm going to add as my third book is Under the Eagle by Simon Scarrow. Let's be honest, these books have their detractors, and I don't know enough about Roman history to comment. I had my moments of WTF but the story is fun and action packed, the main characters are likeable and wouldn't be out of place in a age gap, grumpy/sunshine queer historical romance or on the pages of AO3. Even the tag line sounds queer: They're in it for Rome and they're in it together. 

So, they are my picks. If you were expecting highbrow and studious reasons, then you've come to the wrong place. But let's see what my fellow authors have come up with. 

Nell Iris: Read Around the Rainbow: Top 3 Non-Romance Reads

Ofelia Grand: Read Around the Rainbow | What are your top three non-romance reads?

Fiona Glass: Read Around the Rainbow: My Top 3 Non-Romance Books

Amy Spector: Read Around the Rainbow • Top 3 Non-Romantic Reads #RAtR

Ellie Thomas: Read Around the Rainbow: What are your top three top non-romance reads

KL Noone: Read Around the Rainbow: top three non-romance reads

Addison Albright: WEBRING ~ Read Around the Rainbow ~ Top 3 Fave Non-Romance Books ~ #RAtR

Release Blitz with ARC Reviews - Truth or Darren (Games We Play, Book 2) by DJ Jamison

RELEASE BLITZ

Book Title: Truth or Darren (Games We Play, Book 2)

Author: DJ Jamison

Publisher: Must Love Books LLC

Cover Artist: Cate Artist

Release Date: August 11, 2022

Genre: Contemporary M/M Romance 

Tropes: Enemies to lovers, sister’s ex-boyfriend, small town

Themes: Finding love, finding your self-confidence and figuring out where you belong in the world. Community as family. 

Heat Rating: 4 flames

It is a standalone story but book 2 in a series. It does not end on a cliffhanger.

Goodreads

Buy Links - Available in Kindle Unlimited

Universal Link  |  Amazon US  |   Amazon UK 

Truth or...whoa, that's not how this dare works!

Blurb

What happens when my big mouth writes a check it can't cash while taunting my ex's brother in a game of Truth or Dare? I end up with his tongue in my mouth. In my very straight, totally uninterested mouth.

While I don't feel anything.

Nothing at all.

In fact, I barely noticed.

So, why can't I stop thinking about it?

Truth or Darren features a troublemaker with good intentions, a guy who's none too impressed with his sister's ex, and an animosity that flares hotter than either of them could ever imagine--but which the townspeople of Granville, Nebraska, are all too happy to speculate about.

My Two Pennies' Worth 

Brilliant job of making both Darren and Linc sympathetic characters after both had been questionable in their actions in previous books.

Love that the previous couples make an appearance without feeling forced into the storyline. 

Kudos for getting them together earlyish in the book and not resorting to a manufactured break up to carry the book along. 

* opposites attract 

* rich/poor

* enemies to lovers 

* blue collar - mechanic

* journalist 

* kink - dirty talk

* small town romance

I can't wait for Kev and Garrett's book. 

Excerpt 

Darren caught my uneasy expression and smirked. “Oh, I’ve got the perfect dare.”

“Yeah?”

“I dare you to kiss a guy. And not just some peck. You have to mean it. Emulate Dawson over there and give it a hundred precent.”

“That’s the dare?”

“That’s it.”

I glanced around the group. “Any guy?”

His wide mouth quirked, eyes sparking with challenge and amusement. He thought he’d cornered me. Clearly, he didn’t know I was bi. I hadn’t come out until last year at Hayworth, and I hadn’t seen Darren in two years at least. “Yep. Any guy.”

“Even you?”

His grin slipped. “What?”

“I mean, you said any guy. You said you’re not scared of anything. And I know you’re not homophobic, right? You wouldn’t give me a dare like that because you think it’s a big deal to kiss a guy, right?”

Darren scoffed. “Pfft. What? No. I mean, I don’t think it’s a big deal. I can’t speak for what you might think of it.”

“Okay, then. I’ll take the dare and kiss you. Unless you’re gonna run scared when you’re in the hot seat?”

“Oh boy,” someone muttered behind me.

“This should be good,” someone else said with a small snicker.

Their comments washed over me as I stared down Darren. I’d come over here reluctantly, but his antagonism was exactly what I needed. I’d been brimming with rage for days, frustrated as my future plans were vaporized without warning, and Darren Rafferty made the perfect target.

He glared. “I don’t run from anything. Besides, it’s not like you’ve got the guts to kiss me.”

I barked a laugh. “You picked the wrong day to fuck with me.”

“Like I said, you don’t have the—”

I grabbed a fistful of his shirt and jerked him close, then slammed my mouth onto his. Darren stumbled into me, his hands clutching my waist as he caught his balance. His hard body pressed against mine, and heat lanced through me. Jesus, he was hot. I hated him, but he was so fucking gorgeous I couldn’t help but enjoy the kiss.

He gasped, startled, and I swept my tongue into his mouth. Darren had goaded me into this—and I was going to make the most of it. He tasted like Jack Daniel’s, which sent a flicker of guilt through me. He’d clearly been drinking. But he’d been clear-eyed when he’d challenged me, and I couldn’t seem to detach from his delectable mouth.

His tongue curled around mine, and my eyes rolled back in my head. I gripped his hair tighter, having no idea when I’d lifted my hands to touch him, and tried to maintain control of the kiss—but it was too late. Darren was in the driver’s seat now, and he relentlessly devoured my mouth, making me take everything he wanted to give as he kissed me back.

Wait a second. He was kissing me back.

What the fuck?

Shocked out of my lusty stupor, I jerked back. Darren’s eyes were wide and dark, a little intense as he stared at me. We were both breathing hard.

I was aware of the crowd of people watching us, all of them silent, as if waiting for all hell to break loose.

“Well,” he said, sounding surprisingly calm, “I guess I underestimated how far you’d go to prove me wrong.”

“No,” I said with a shit-eating grin. “You just failed to realize that daring me to kiss a guy is no dare at all.” I leaned in close and whispered. “I like men, Darren.”

He gaped. “Wh-what?”

“I’m bi, and you’re a dumbass,” I said. “I guess you didn’t get the memo.”

About the Author

DJ Jamison writes romances about everyday life and extraordinary love featuring a variety of queer characters, from gay to bisexual to asexual. DJ grew up in the Midwest in a working-class family, and those influences can be found in her writing through characters coping with real-life problems: money troubles, workplace drama, family conflicts and, of course, falling in love. DJ spent more than a decade in the newspaper industry before chasing her first dream to write fiction. She spent a lifetime reading before that and continues to avidly devour her fellow authors’ books each night. She lives in Kansas with her husband, two sons, one snake, and a sadistic cat named Birdie.

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BLOG TOUR - AGAIN by MORGAN BRICE

 

BLOG TOUR

Book Title: Again: Fox Hollow Zodiac Novel 2–MM Shifter Romance Suspense

Author: Morgan Brice

Publisher: Darkwind Press

Cover Artist: Adrijus Guscia, cover wrap by Natania Barron

Release Date: July 5, 2022

Genres: Urban fantasy, MM shifter romance suspense

Tropes: Shifters, one true pairing (OTP), reincarnation, fated mates, mating bites, psychics, magic, curses, hurt/comfort, found family, 

Themes: Long-distance relationship, having faith in each other, knowing you can depend on each other, navigating a new relationship

Heat Rating: 4 flames

Length: 247 pages

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

Goodreads

Buy Links - Available in Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US  |  Amazon UK 

The fast, furry, and furious! A lynx shifter, pursued by a cryptid trophy hunter. A wolf shifter desperate to rescue a lover who's not just his fated mate—but his one true pairing across past lives. And a love that transcends time.

Blurb 

The fast, furry, and furious! A lynx shifter, pursued by a cryptid trophy hunter. A wolf shifter desperate to rescue a lover who's not just his fated mate—but his one true pairing across past lives. And a love that transcends time.

Lynx shifter Noah Wilson narrowly escaped being captured by the Huntsman. While recuperating in Fox Hollow, he meets his fated mate, wolf shifter Drew Lowe.

Noah has to return to Canada to finish filming his TV projects, so he and Drew visit when they can and come up with creative solutions to their long-distance relationship. Noah and Drew are sure they're meant for each other and start making plans.

Drew's dreams make him wonder if he and Noah are more than fated mates—could they be a true pairing, destined to find each other lifetime after lifetime?

Then Noah accidentally records a murder, and the killer is on his trail. Can he elude a master tracker and reach the safety of Fox Hollow, or will he and Drew have to wait to find happiness in another life?

Again is a thrill-packed MM shifter romance adventure full of sexy shifters, hurt/comfort, one true pairing, reincarnation, sincere psychics, hunky mechanics, first responders, a sexy wildlife photographer, found family, and fated mates.

Excerpt 

“I wish you could see this view in person—except for how cold it is.” Noah snapped a photo that didn’t do the colors of dawn justice, and sent it with his text to Drew.

He waited for a reply and realized Drew probably wasn’t awake yet. No one in their right mind is up at this hour.

He’d made the best of the cramped hotel room, knowing from experience to bring an extra blanket, good pillow, books, and power strips. Hotels never had enough outlets to charge his cameras. Fortunately, travel wasn’t a constant, but staying overnight to get the right light or have time to set up cameras happened fairly often.

Will that be a problem with Drew? Will he resent my photography? It’s a demanding job.

Noah cleaned his lenses and checked his batteries as he packed his day bag. Travel made it easy to find overnight company without entanglement, and he’d long ago grown tired of waking up alone. He’d had a serious relationship back in film school, which fizzled after graduation. There were a few boyfriends who lasted more than a month or two, but his irregular hours always ended up being more than anyone wanted to deal with for long.

Can it be different with Drew? We felt such an immediate bond—I’ve never had a connection like that with anyone. It’s like we’ve known each other forever.

“Of course. We’re fated mates,” his lynx reminded him, as if Noah could forget.

He smiled, thinking of their conversation that ended only a few hours ago. It wasn’t just the sex—although that was combustible in a way Noah had never experienced before. Everything took on a different light when it involved Drew. Talking about the trivial activities of the day wasn’t boring. Sharing a movie or even reading the same book and talking about their reactions now felt satisfying and fun.

I’m a Cancer—we’re protective and defend our family. Except I don’t really have any. 

Noah didn’t have many living relatives. His father had vanished when he was young, and his mother died two years ago from a bad heart. He had a brother and sister, but they drifted apart, and Noah hadn’t heard from them in years. He wasn’t sure he even had valid addresses for them. 

Drew is my mate. He’s my family now. And he has Russ and Liam and their friends. A pack. Someday, they’ll be my pack.

Clowder, his lynx sniffed. Lynxes have a clowder, not a pack.

Sounds like soup.

Clowder is not chowder, silly human. But we could vote to let Drew be an honorary lynx and join.

Vote? Who—you and me? 

We are the only ones in our clowder now. It would be nice to add our mate—even if he is a dog.

Wolf.

Canine.

I’ve fallen hard. And it should scare me. But it doesn’t. When I worry that he might not feel the same, I can’t breathe

About the Author

Morgan Brice is the romance pen name of bestselling author Gail Z. Martin. Morgan writes urban fantasy male/male paranormal romance, with plenty of action, adventure and supernatural thrills to go with the happily ever after. Gail writes epic fantasy and urban fantasy, and together with co-author hubby Larry N. Martin, steampunk and comedic horror, all of which have less romance, more explosions. Characters from her Gail books make frequent appearances in secondary roles in her Morgan books, and vice versa.

On the rare occasions Morgan isn’t writing, she’s either reading, cooking, or spoiling two very pampered dogs.

Series include Witchbane, Badlands, Treasure Trail, Kings of the Mountain and Fox Hollow. Watch for more in these series, plus new series coming soon!

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one of two ebooks of Huntsman (book 1 in the series)

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AUDIOBOOK TOUR - Legacy: Deadly Curiosities 5 by Gail Z. Martin

AUDIOBOOK TOUR

Book Title: Legacy: Deadly Curiosities 5

Author: Gail Z. Martin

Publisher: SOL Publishing and Tantor Audio

Narrator: Courtney Patterson 

Release Date: May 10, 2022

Genre: Urban fantasy with MM romantic elements

Tropes: Pirates, sea captain, soul bond, friends-to-lovers, magic, witches, Voodoo, visions, psychics, ghosts, monsters, bisexual romance, ghostly lovers, sex magic, omens

Themes: Found family, soulmates, loyal friends, eternal love, second chance at love

Heat Rating: 1 flame

Length: 7 hours and 48 minutes

It can be read as a standalone but is also part of a series. It does not end on a cliffhanger.

Goodreads

Note: Legacy isn’t a romance—it’s adventure/suspense with strong romantic elements. The two main romances in the book are between Gideon (sea captain) and Ramon (privateer) right after the American Revolution, and between Teag and Anthony in current time, and while the romances play an important part in the plot, the focus is on the action/mystery/supernatural elements. (Gideon and Ramon work forbidden magic to bind their souls together forever to protect the coast from a malicious demigod, and because they never want to risk being separated in the afterlife.) There are two secondary romances, an MM one between Dante and Coltt (privateers in the Revolutionary era) and between Cassidy and Kell (MF but nothing beyond a few kisses and cuddles). There is no explicit/on-page sex. Both Dante and Gideon are bisexual, and those pairings are important to the plot.

Also—there are massive crossovers between Legacy (and the whole Deadly Curiosities series) and my Morgan Brice series, especially Badlands, Treasure Trail, Witchbane and Fox Hollow. 

Buy Links

Audible US  |  Audible UK 

Amazon US  |  Amazon UK 

The clock is ticking for Cassidy and her friends to stop the dark warlock, capture the goblin, and restore the guardian spell before a malevolent ancient entity takes its vengeance on Charleston and the coast.

Blurb 

Omens of impending disaster have the city of Charleston on edge. Tremors warn of earthquake risk, while a potentially catastrophic storm gathers strength over the ocean and heads for land. 

A last-man-standing promise among elderly veterans creates a dangerous inheritance involving an imprisoned, wish-granting goblin. A sea captain and a swashbuckler worked blood magic to protect Charleston from an ancient evil with a spell that bound their souls and their descendants to the task, but danger looms as its power fades. The head of a witch family wants artifacts and secrets—and he'll do anything to get them.

Cassidy Kincaide runs Trifles and Folly, an antique and curio store where her touch magic helps get cursed and haunted objects out of the wrong hands. More than once, she and her allies have saved the world from supernatural threats. 

The clock is ticking for Cassidy and her friends to stop the dark warlock, capture the goblin, and restore the guardian spell before a malevolent ancient entity takes its vengeance on Charleston and the coast. It's going to take all the magic, courage, and quick thinking they can muster—and for once, that might not be enough.

My Two Pennies Worth 

Great story. 

Loved the way the two cases tied together and the appearance of all the friends to help. 

But my favourite part was the pirate love story. I wish we had their book.

About the Author 

Gail Z. Martin writes epic fantasy, urban fantasy and steampunk for Solaris Books, Orbit Books, SOL Publishing, Darkwind Press, Worldbuilders Press and Falstaff Books. Recent books include Convicts and Exiles, Sellsword’s Oath, Inheritance, and Night Moves. With Larry N. Martin, she is the co-author of the Spells Salt & Steel, Wasteland Marshals, Joe Mack and Jake Desmet series. 

As Morgan Brice, she writes urban fantasy MM paranormal romance including the Witchbane, Badlands, Treasure Trail and Fox Hollow series. 

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COVER REVEAL for Dirty Sweet Deliveries by Ally Vance & Yolanda Olson

 

COVER REVEAL

Book Title: Dirty Sweet Deliveries

Authors: Ally Vance & Yolanda Olson

Cover Artist: Black Widow Designs

Release Date: August 30, 2022

Genres:  M/M romance – age gap

Tropes:  Forbidden love (best friend’s father)

Themes: Enemies to lovers

Heat Rating:  4 flames      

Pre-Order Links

Amazon US  |  Amazon UK 

Everyone is an enemy—even now.

Blurb 

Mistreated, left to run wild on the wrong side of the tracks.

Bad enough to be a boy, but not bad enough to be a man.

Threatened with losing everything, I’m forced to reevaluate.

Poor life choices, with a chance to turn things around.

Second chances are a luxury, to everyone except for me.

The day I turned seventeen, my best friend picked me up from juvie.

I have a habit of taking things that don’t belong to me.

One look at his father, and I knew… I was going to take him too.

About the Authors

Ally Vance is an International Bestselling Author who writes in the Dark Romance & Horror genres. Ally has been writing since she was a teenager, and it had been a long-time dream of hers to finally become a published author. Ally lives in Kent, in the United Kingdom, with her husband, son, and their two crazy kitties; Kian and Declan.

Blog/Website  |  Facebook

Yolanda Olson is a USA Today Bestselling and award-winning author. Born and raised in Bridgeport, CT where she currently resides, she usually spends her time watching her favorite channel, Investigation Discovery. Occasionally, she takes a break to write books and test the limits of her mind. Also an avid horror movie fan, she likes to incorporate dark elements into the majority of her books.

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Audiobook Review Tour - Breaking Cover by Kaje Harper

 

AUDIOBOOK and EBOOK TOUR

Book Title: Breaking Cover (Life Lessons Book 2)

Author and Publisher: Kaje Harper

Narrator: JF Harding

Release Date: June 29, 2022

Genre: Contemporary/Mystery M/M romance

Tropes: Modest age-gap, in the closet

Themes: Coming out, gay parenting

Heat Rating:  4 flames

Length: 9 hours and 46 minutes

It is best read after book 1.

The book does not end on a cliffhanger. It has a solid HFN ending, not yet a HEA. 

Audiobooks 3 and 4 are scheduled for later this summer.

Goodreads

Buy Links - Audible, KU and Paperback

Audible US  |  Audible UK

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Sometimes one moment defines a man

Blurb

For homicide detective Mac, it's been a good year. Having Tony to go home to makes him a better cop and a better person. For Tony, it's been hard being in love with a man he can't touch in public. Evasions and outright lying to friends and family take a little of the shine off his relationship with Mac, but Tony is determined to make it work.

As the Minneapolis Police Department moves into a hot, humid summer, Mac is faced with a different challenge. A killer has murdered two blond women, and the police have no real clues. Mac hates to think that another murder may be the only way they'll make progress with the case. But when that murder happens, it hits close to home for Tony. And suddenly Mac faces an ultimatum: come out into the sunlight and stand beside Tony as his lover, or walk away and live without a piece of his heart.

My Two Pennies' Worth 

Glorious.

You really feel for Mac and Tony, stuck in the closet because Mac’s situation. Something has got to give and when it does the break up is inevitable and heartbreaking. The author (and narrator) does an excellent job of not forcing the reader to assign blame.

The police case is good (although I was shouting about the wrong witness near the end), but many of the police team are obnoxious and homophobic.

There’s still a way to go for Mac and his work situation but there are plenty more books to read.

The narrator was excellent.

Highly recommended but you must read book 1 first. 

About the Author  

I get asked about my name a lot. It's not something exotic, though. “Kaje” is pronounced just like “cage” – it’s an old nickname, and my pronouns are she/her/hers. I’ve been writing far longer than I care to admit (*whispers – forty-five years*), although mostly for my own entertainment. I write M/M romance, often with added mystery, fantasy, historical, SciFi, paranormal… I also have Young Adult short stories (some released under the pen name Kira Harp.)  

After decades of writing just for fun, my husband convinced me I really should submit something, somewhere. My first professionally published book, Life Lessons, came out in May 2011. I now have a good-sized backlist in ebooks and print, both free and professionally published, including Amazon bestseller The Rebuilding Year and Rainbow Award Best Mystery-Thriller Tracefinder: Contact. A complete list with links can be found on my website "Books" page at https://kajeharper.com/books/. 

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Release Blitz - Double Exposure by Anne Barwell

 

RELEASE BLITZ

Book Title:  Double Exposure

Author: Anne Barwell

Publisher:  LaceDragon Publishing 

Cover Artist: T.L. Bland

Release Date: July 11, 2022

Genre: Paranormal, Mystery, Detective, MM Romance

Tropes: Found family, fated mates, romantic suspense

Themes: Family, acceptance

Heat Rating:  4 flames 

Length: 73 000 words/179 pages

Although it’s part of a shared world, it can be read and enjoyed alone. 

It’s the first in a spin-off series of The Sleepless City and does not end on a cliffhanger.

Goodreads

Buy Links - Available in Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US  |  Amazon UK  |  Universal Link 

Someone is hunting supernaturals

Blurb

Pōneke Shadows Book 1

Vampires and werewolves live long lives. The Sleepless City saga might have ended but the story continues…

Someone is hunting supernaturals. 

Vampire Simon Hawthorne and his human partner Ben Leyton’s plans for a peaceful holiday with family are hijacked by the New Zealand Supernatural Council.  

Tensions are on the rise in Wellington. Supernatural councillors are disappearing. Werewolves are suspicious of anyone human or vampire. If they don’t work together, their enemy has already won. 

And no one with a connection to the supernatural world is safe. 

Excerpt 

Rupert looked mildly affronted. “I am not in hiding. The council were trying to get me involved, and I make a point of not getting mixed up in their politics, whatever the cost, considering that cost is usually too high for anyone but them.”

“You’re hiding from the council?” Ben asked. “I can understand that. They hijacked Simon’s delivery at Auckland airport, then blackmailed him into helping them.”

“If this is supposed to surprise me, you’re a few centuries late with that titbit of information,” Rupert said. “I have yet to meet a council I enjoyed doing business with. Though there was that group of werewolves in rural Japan a couple of hundred years ago that—”

“Why are you here?” Simon cut Rupert off before he could start on one of his stories. Although neither he nor Marion would admit it, they shared a predilection for embellishing stories about their pasts.

Rupert fished a large envelope from his pocket and handed it to Simon. “This is the information I have, but it’s not a lot. They cover their tracks well, apart from that massacre in Brisbane nearly ten years ago. There is someone in Wellington who provides a safe haven to anyone in our community who asks for it. Nothing much happens in the area that Elard doesn’t know about. You should talk to him.”

“You’re not going to help?” Ben asked

“Heavens, no.” Rupert raised an eyebrow. “At least Simon knows better than to ask that.”

“Rupert’s better at staying in the shadows and orchestrating things from afar. If we need help, I’m sure he’ll be there...” Simon glanced at Rupert. “… but only on his own terms. I’d ask him to join our team, but it would be a waste of time.”

“Totally a waste of time.” Rupert grinned and nodded towards both of them in turn. “Now, I must be off. I’ll be in touch. Watch yourselves, gentlemen. I don’t enjoy funerals.” He blurred towards the door. It opened, then closed behind him, and then he was gone.

“He’s kind of how I remember him, but not,” Ben said slowly.

“The not, would be because you didn’t know what he was then. He’s not hiding it now, though he’s never completely upfront about anything.” Simon emptied the envelope, took a pile of neatly typewritten sheets to read, and gave the rest to Ben to look through. “Rupert’s always had his own agenda. It’s how he’s managed to survive so long.”

“Uh-huh.” Ben shook the papers he held. “There’s something loose in here.” A small card fell to the floor. He picked it up and his eyes widened. “It’s a business card, so guessing it’s Elard’s.”

“And?” Simon asked, knowing there must be an ‘and’.

“He’s a Catholic priest.” Ben read the words on the card out loud. “Fr Elard Reith, St Ansgar’s Parish, Newtown. We help those who ask.” He groaned. “Oh great, I was hoping to avoid Uncle Martin while I was here.”

“Uncle Martin?” Simon asked. Ben had mentioned him once or twice, but he’d got the impression Ben’s father’s brother wasn’t that close to the rest of the family.

“Yeah. He lives across the road from St Ansgar’s and always acts like he knows stuff the rest of us don’t.”

“Perhaps he does.” Simon got up to pour some more tea.

“I hope not.” Ben didn’t look happy. “It’s starting to feel like however hard we try to keep my family out of all this, fate is making damn sure they keep barging in.”

About the Author 

Anne Barwell lives in Wellington, New Zealand. She shares her home with a cat with “tortitude” who is convinced that the house is run to suit her; this is an ongoing “discussion,” and to date it appears as though Kaylee may be winning. Anne works in a library, is an avid reader and watcher of a wide range of genres, and is constantly on the look-out for more hours in her day. She likes to write in series and even so called one shots seem to breed more plot bunnies. Her writing is like her reading - across a range of genres, although her favourites are paranormal, fantasy, SF, and historical. Music often plays a part in her stories and/or her characters are musicians.

She also hosts and reviews for other authors, and writes monthly blog posts for Love Bytes.  She is the co-founder of the New Zealand Rainbow Romance writers, and a member of RWNZ.   Her books have received honourable mentions five times, reached the finals four times—one of which was for best gay book—and been a runner up in the Rainbow Awards.  

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