The Secret Brokers (+ Giveaway)

* The Secret Brokers
* By Alexandrea Weis
* (Secret Brokers, #1)
* Published by: Vesuvian Books
* Publication date: April 7th 2020
* Genres: Adult, Romance, Suspense, Thriller

Dallas August runs a dangerous business—an organization of elite spies for hire.
The secrets trade.

Nothing is off limits, and no price is too high.

When asked to uncover what recluse Gwen Marsh knows about a Mafia kingpin’s death, Dallas poses as a bodyguard to get close to his target, but the stubborn Asian beauty wants nothing to do with him.

As the FBI and the Mafia close in, danger drives them together, but can he protect Gwen, or will Dallas be the one risking everything to discover what she is really hiding?

Dallas August is about to find out how dangerous life can be as one of the Secret Brokers.

Once you are in, there is no turning back.

THE SECRET BROKERS is available through the following sites:

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Now here's an excerpt for your reading pleasure.

Dallas came alongside the sofa. “Meeting your father has given me a little more insight into you. He’s tough and made you tough, too.”

“Tough enough for a woman, my father would argue. In his eyes, I’ll never be quite good enough.”

He studied her profile, questioning why she wasn’t shouting, causing an uproar, or engaging in another war of words. He’d kept away to avoid an altercation about his reasons for being there, but as she sat on the sofa, almost appearing comfortable with him, her behavior confounded Dallas more than her brutal stubbornness.

The firelight shimmered off a bottle stuck between her crossed legs.

“Where did you get that?”

She lifted a half-full bottle of vodka. “Dad doesn’t keep liquor in the house, so I smuggled it in. I put it in my bag back at Carl’s. I remembered it when I couldn’t get to sleep.”

The reason for her mellow mood revealed, his trepidation melted away. “Can I join you?”

She waved him to the sofa, wobbling as she moved. “Go right ahead.”

He sat and became hypnotized by the firelight on the portrait. The lines and color of the subject's hands and the way her long dress draped around her ankles impressed him. It was a piece worthy of Carl’s collection.

“Is that your mother?”

She took a long swallow of the vodka and then nodded.

“It was a present from my father right after they adopted me.” She held out the bottle to him. “Do you want some?”

Dallas took the vodka, inspecting her flushed cheeks and the dots of sweat on her brow. “How long have you been down here drinking?”

She rested her head on the sofa and closed her eyes. “A while.”

He brought the bottle to his lips and took a long deep swig. The burn hit the back of his throat, and he shuddered with relief.

She turned to him. “What brought you down here, other than your usual bullshit?”

He swallowed hard, caught off guard. “My usual bullshit?”

“All that stuff you carry around like a fifty-pound weight.” Gwen waved an unsteady hand at his face. “I can see it in your eyes like a loathsome secret you can’t share with anyone. Sometimes you look just as lost as I feel.”

“You’re not lost.” He set the bottle on the floor, wanting to stay sharp. “You know where you’re going and what you want.”

Her heavy sigh rose over the snapping of the fire. “You have no idea what I’m talking about.”

He inched closer, admiring the curve of her jaw. “Explain it to me.”

She rocked her head forward, glaring at him. “Why do you care? You came to get my secret. That’s what you do—steal secrets and pass them on to the highest bidder.” She wrinkled her brow. “How do you sleep at night?”

A lock of her hair tumbled over her shoulder. He wrapped the silky curl around his finger.

“I don’t steal secrets. Whatever you think of me, I came here to protect you.”

She nodded, and her head lolled to the side. “And you’ve done that. Job over. You can go home and forget about me.”

He let go of her hair and sat back, perturbed by his constant hunger for her. It kept him from stealing the key and walking away. He hoped it died once he returned to New York.

“Forgetting you is going to be difficult.”

She rested her cheek on the sofa, tilting her head, and dissecting his face with her gaze. “I thought you hated me. I got on your nerves, frustrated the hell out of you, never listened to a word you said and—”

“Got under my skin in the process.”

He put his face closer to hers, and something broke inside him. It was like a tall wall tumbling after a great siege, and all the emotions he’d kept locked away were free. 

 

   Author Bio:

Alexandrea Weis is an advanced practice registered nurse who was born and raised in New Orleans. Having been brought up in the motion picture industry, she learned to tell stories from a different perspective and began writing at the age of eight. Infusing the rich tapestry of her hometown into her award-winning novels, she believes that creating vivid characters makes a story memorable.

A permitted/certified wildlife rehabber with the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries, Weis rescues orphaned and injured wildlife. She lives with her husband and pets in New Orleans.

For more on Alexandrea and her writing, contact with her at the following sites: 

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Newsletter

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Do you like a little romance mixed in with suspense and mystery?

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Helix (+ Giveaway)

Helix
by Mary Ting
* (International Sensory Assassin Network #2)
* Published by: Vesuvian Books
* Publication date: September 10th 2019
* Genres: Dystopian, Science Fiction, Young Adult

Alliances are forming. The resistance is growing. Everything is about to change.

          With her memory still fragmented, Ava returns to the International Sensory Assassin Network (ISAN) to find the twin sister she never knew she had.
          But as Ava hunts for information, she finds herself tangled in a web of yet more lies and conspiracy. The Helix serum may not be required to access her superpowers, and the number of male assassins—previously considered too volatile to tolerate Helix—is growing in every territory.
          The more Ava uncovers, the more of a threat she becomes to ISAN. Her only salvation may be to join the rebels—if she isn’t killed first.

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Author Mary Ting

          International Bestselling, Award-Winning Author Mary Ting writes soulful, spellbinding stories that excite the imagination and captivate readers all over the world. Her books run a wide range of genres and her storytelling talents have won her a devoted legion of fans and garnered critical praise.
          Becoming an author happened by chance. It was a way to grieve the death of her beloved grandmother, and inspired by a dream she had in high school. After realizing she wanted to become a full-time author, Mary retired from teaching after twenty years. She also had the privilege of touring with the Magic Johnson Foundation to promote literacy and her children's chapter book: No Bullies Allowed.

Mary resides in Southern California with her husband, two children, and two little dogs, Mochi and Mocha. She enjoys oil painting and making jewelry.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Bookbub

Here's an excerpt from this intriguing story for your reading pleasure.

When the floor shifted again, I yanked a feather from my mask. Pointing upward, I pushed the tiny release button and a thick cord unspooled to anchor in the ceiling. Tamara did the same. It reeled me up and I dangled in midair as the floor opened and shut like a flytrap.

Mitch and Drew jumped on the table. Mitch pointed his cane, which Kendrick had converted into a rifle, and fired. And Drew, with a Taser in one hand, unclipped a tiny dagger from his mask.

“Ava, are they here?” Mitch stopped, a trickle of sweat dripping down his forehead.

“I don’t know. I can’t detect them.” I twirled to get a view of each wall. Nothing.

The floor stopped opening and all was quiet.

Too quiet.

The walls groaned, getting louder. The room began to spin.

“Hold on, Tamara.” I reached for her with my outstretched arm, but our hands missed.

Tamara screamed, holding onto her rope for dear life. Mitch and Drew slid off the table. Mitch stabbed his cane at the wall and steadied himself, but Drew fell right into the hole that had opened up.

The walls spun faster, changing direction every five to ten seconds. My cord kept me grounded as I swung to the adjacent wall, leaped into the air, and dodged the open floor. Sweat drenched my forehead, my muscles ached, and even with Helix, my reflexes slowed.

Dizzy. So dizzy.

I jerked back. A thick barrier shot up from the ground to the ceiling, dividing me from Tamara.

Bam. Bam. Bam.

More slammed into place like a knife on a chopping block. One nicked my back, and I collided with another wall as it soared to the ceiling. Blood soaked through my suit. The barriers were sharper than they seemed.

I twisted and threw myself awkwardly to avoid getting crushed. Swirling to keep another from boxing me in, I rammed into the metal statue in the middle of the room and collapsed on top of it.

The statue trembled. Something inside must have been triggered. I felt it before it happened.

The explosion slammed me into the wall. A gust of air whipped around me. Then a tornado formed in the center of the room, uplifting furniture and everything in sight. My cord unleashed from the force, but I held onto the bookcase.

Tamara’s screams died when she got zapped. Then Mitch fell in. The beast of a tornado slowed, returned into the open space.

I ran to a hole in the floor and caught a glimpse below. Gunshots echoed and red Taser beams flashed across the darkness. I had no choice. My team needed me.

I jumped in just as the floor sealed.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Hope you enjoyed the excerpt and it's peaked your interest in this fun series. What's your favorite thing about stories dealing with memory loss? Don't you just love the quote from Rhett in the graph?

 

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The Year I Left (+Giveaway)

The Year I Left
Christine Brae
Published by: Vesuvian Books
Publication date: August 20th 2019
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Women’s Fiction

“A thousand half loves must be forsaken to take one whole heart home.”

Carin Frost doesn’t understand what’s happening to her. A confident businesswoman, wife, and mother, she begins to resent everything about her life. Nothing makes sense. Nothing makes her feel. Maybe it’s the recent loss of her mother in a tragic accident. Or maybe she’s just losing her mind.

Enter Matias Torres. As their new business partnership thrives, so does their friendship—and his interest in her. Carin is determined to keep her distance, until a work assignment sends them to Southeast Asia where a storm is brewing on the island. In the midst of the chaos, Matias asks her to do something unimaginable, exhilarating, BOLD. Carin knows the consequences could be dire, but it may be the only way to save herself.
An honest look at love and marriage and the frailties of the human heart, this is a story of a woman’s loss of self and purpose and the journey she takes to find her way back.

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—

EXCERPT:

Sometime in the late summer when the air began to tingle and the leaves started to fall, I opened my eyes one morning and my view of the world had changed.
Just like that. I can still see it in my head. The way I let it all unfold. It was a train wreck waiting to happen, and I let it.
I left for a business trip that morning with my house in total disarray. I had no good reason for refusing to take Charlie to his school bus, and despite having some time to change our dog’s water bowl, I chose not to do it. There it lay, next to the unwashed food dish, crusted with the remains of last night’s dinner. I figured Jack would get home from the gym and handle it all.
Piles of paper gathering dust on the floor and debit card receipts busting out of a little white box screamed for my attention. I ignored them. My home office, the place where I used to hide all day, was like a war zone.
And it wasn’t like we had money issues. Paying our bills was the least of my worries. Jack had made a killing when his startup was bought out, and I was the head of client services at a global real-estate company.
I just stopped giving a damn. Nothing interested me. I was beset by indifference. I just couldn’t keep up anymore. The sleepless nights, the exhaustion, the constant streaming in my head. Everything seemed so insignificant, so mundane. My successes, my accomplishments, they had lost all meaning.

Author Bio:
Christine Brae is a senior executive with a full time career, who thought she could write a book about her life and then run away as far as possible from it. She never imagined that her words would touch the hearts of so many women with the same story to tell. Christine has written six books since her first release in 2013. She is the author of The Light in the Wound and His Wounded Light (2013), Insipid (2014), In This Life (2016) and Eight Goodbyes (2018).
Her latest book, The Year I Left is scheduled for release in August, 2019.

When not listening to the voices in her head or spending late nights at the office, Christine can be seen shopping for shoes and purses, running a half marathon or spending time with her husband and three children in Chicago.
Christine is represented by Italia Gandolfo of Gandolfo Helin & Fountain Literary Management.

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Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope this excerpt has tempted you to find out more about this intriguing book and author. Do you enjoy stories about the frailties of the human heart?

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