New Goings On In The Lair
The big book fair I'm in continues, fun new reads, and I'm adding a new section for my favorite book monsters... ahem, that's you!
Hello, hello, my beautiful Book Monsters!
How’s everything going in your corner of the world? We’re still dealing with a lot of snow and cold and not so many sunny days in between. But, I mean, it is winter here in Colorado after all. What’s the weather doing where you’re at? Whether you’re dealing with a brutal cold spell or are in the middle of summer half way around the world from me, one thing is certain: it’s always nice and comfy here in our readers’ lair. So pull up a cozy spot and let’s talk books!
Before I go on, I’d like to say welcome to the new subscribers who recently joined our Monsters & Mystics family. We’re so glad to have you! Hopefully, you got the gift of my free ebook download when you signed up. If you missed it, here is the link again for Pearl of the Moon.
Oh, and don’t forget to grab a copy of the Six of Hearts anthology, if you haven’t already! A lot of readers are picking it up. There’s a special mythology romance novella in there from me that may turn up as a partial back story to some things I have planned for later, so you won’t want to miss it. *wink *wink
Six of Hearts
Anyway, how was your Valentine’s Day? Did you do anything special? Did you read any extra schmoozy romance books? Let us know how you celebrated (or avoided) the holiday down in comments.
As for me, I really wanted to write something with the Valentine’s Day theme this year. I even started a flash fiction piece that I’ve had in my mind for a while. But I gotta, tell ya, Monsters, my writing muse has been suffering a dry spell of late. Not to fear, though, there are plenty of stories swimming around in my head. I’m just choosing to let them marinate and develop instead of forcing them onto the keyboard right now. Sometimes, I find that putting a little distance between myself and a certain project works out for the best. I definitely think I’ve been needing a break. We all do at times, and that’s okay! I’m not sure where it’s coming from, but I’ve been having the sense, lately, that we all have things we’ve been pushing really hard on that we need to take a deep breath over. What about you? Have you ever given yourself grace on something and found a renewed energy for it in the end? Just a little word from me on the subject—be kind to yourself! It’s bound to radiate.
In that same vein, here’s a great quote I have up in the Inspiration Den section of the lair.
Although I haven’t been writing so much in recent days, I have been reading! And buying more books… that I absolutely don’t need. (Insert face palm.) My TBR list is soo long! There are just so many great-looking books out there. It’s easy to get greedy.
Anyway, I just finished a fabulous story the other day and it made up my mind that I’d like to start posting some of the books I read and featuring them again. Some of you may remember my Romance, Reads & Wine book reviews from social media and my website. Those are still up and I have no plans on taking them down, but as I move more toward using Monsters & Mystics as my main hub for sharing content, I feel a fresh start is in order. I’m really excited to announce a new section I’m putting together in our book lovers’ lair for my own personal recommendations! I’ll be posting my latest fantasy and paranormal romance reads in a place I’m calling My Mystical Mood Reads. Since this is a new thing, I’m going to post this week’s feature here while I work on formatting the new section.
Read on for my first Mystical Mood Read: The Trouble With Pins by Miri Stone.
Tropes: Urban Fantasy Romance, Shifters, Fated Mates, MFM,
Description:
WHAT’S A LITTLE HEDGIE TO DO?!
When Pins opens a bespoke tattoo shop in Bear Falls, all she really wants to do is lead a nice quiet life so she can keep her submissive hedgehog, Needles, safe from the cutthroat world of shifter politics. However, when Pins comes face-to-face with the new monster in town, Needles is immediately besotted with Mackenzie, a bad*ss phoenix shifter on the run.
To make matters worse, her plucky animal develops a fatal crush on two of the crew’s most nefarious playboys—the Irish Twins—but the pair of firefighting brothers make it abundantly clear she’s not what they are looking for in a mate.
Now Mackenzie and the Phoenix Crew are drawing heat from sinister players in the shifter world and Pins is going to be faced with a difficult choice—to retreat back into her nice safe shell or lead an expedition right into the heart of the dragon's den in order to protect her new friends.
Can one little hedgehog really make a difference in a world of monsters? And will Pins be the key to saving them all or will this plucky prey shifter wind up as the dragon’s next meal?
The Trouble With Pins (Book 3 of the Phoenix Crew) is a full length novel written for mature audiences (18+ only please!). While this fated mates’ story will be ongoing, this book is told in first person POV and is a true crossover of urban fantasy and paranormal romance genres. It includes explicit sex scenes, frequent cussing, and hot growly shifters bumping up against sassy, female heroines who can hold their own.
Get ready for small town firefighters, lots of shifters, and pyro-kenetic, psychic powers, oh my!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09MP5WRVH
My musings on the book:
I’ve read the first book in The Phoenix Crew series, so I was already invested in the quiet shifter, Pins’ story. Stone weaves an epic tale with the continuation of her shifter romance world and brings to life many colorful new elements and characters in this second book.
I was so glad to see more, um… a LOT more, of the fire fighting Irish Twins. I mean, sexy fire fighters with Irish accents, excuse me while I down a glass of ice water! *Pants excessively* But seriously, this book is chock full of great characters!
And it was awesome to learn more about Pins. I always find it fun to see a secondary character get their time in the sun, and Stone did a terrific job of bringing her center stage. A good portion of this book deals with events from the series’ first installment, Pyro, Pyro Burning Bright, which was great because it had actually been quite a while since I’d read that one. The romance between Pins and her fire bear hotties doesn’t really pick up until the last half of the book, but it’s well worth the wait. Along with the steam, we get to see Pins and her adorable animal, Needles, come into their own. One of my favorite things is to watch an underdog (or in this case “under hedgehog”) turn champion, and this was done so well here.
The relationship between Pins and Needles was endearing and really fun to read. Watching them interact was probably my favorite part of the book. If you like shifter stories with world building and plenty of spice, you won’t want to miss out on The Trouble With Pins!
You can follow Miri Stone and read more about her work at www.booksbymiristone.com .
More Monsterously Great Book Deals:
Here’s another site that has some good book listings. And I have an author feature on the first page! To check it out, visit: The Pittsburg Press
That’s all for now, Monsters. Till next time…
I wish you many adventures and lots of happy reading!
Amanda V Shane
We've had an unseasonably warm winter here in the Northeast, but tonight the wind is whipping and temps are dropping into the teens! I hear you about the writing muse being MIA sometimes. I've been in a bit of a creative dry spell myself, but I think you're absolutely right that taking a break is usually the best remedy. Even muses need a holiday ;-) Happy reading, and happy writing!