Thursday, June 12, 2025

Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours Presents: Funerals and Familiars (A Cozy Midlife Witch Mystery) Willowmere Mysteries by Carmen Radtke

Funerals and Familiars
(A Cozy Midlife Witch Mystery)
Willowmere Mysteries by Carmen Radtke

About Funerals and Familiars

Funerals and Familiars (A Cozy Midlife Witch Mystery) Willowmere Mysteries
Paranormal Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Oregon
Independently Published (May 23, 2025)
Digital Print length ‏ : ‎ 248 pages
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0F4S6S3DP

Midlife can be murder – or magic…

Almost fifty and freshly divorced, Bex Merriweather is going through The Change – battling hot flashes and night sweats. Little does she realize that when an elderly relative dies and leaves her a lending library in sleepy Willowmere, complete with cat, her whole life is going to change…

Turns out Aunt Violet left behind more than books and home-made herbal teas, like full-blown witch powers, and a small town where murder is very much on the menu. Even Cosmo the cat is no ordinary feline, but a sassy talking familiar. And when rumors about her aunt’s death begin to circulate, Bex has no choice but to embrace her witchy inheritance, and her inner detective.

Now the novice witch, armed only with her circle of lifelong friends and a snarky, judgemental cat mentor, must uncover the truth, before her newly acquired magical life goes up in smoke.

Perfect for fans of cozy mysteries, magical mayhem, and heroines who believe it’s never too late for a new chapter—or a little witchcraft!

About Carmen Radtke

Carmen has spent most of her life with ink on her fingers and a dangerously high pile of books and newspapers by her side.

She has worked as a newspaper reporter on two continents and always dreamt of becoming a novelist and screenwriter.

When she found herself crouched under her dining table, typing away on a novel between two earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand, she realised she was hooked for life.

The shaken but stirring novel made it to the longlist of the Mslexia competition, and her next book and first mystery, The Case Of The Missing Bride, was a finalist in the Malice Domestic competition in a year without a winner. Since then she has penned several more cozy mysteries, including the Genie and Adriana Darling ghost mysteries and the Jack and Frances series set in the 1930s.

Carmen now lives in Italy with her human and her four-legged family. Although she possesses no witchy powers, she’s known to be easily held spellbound by animals.

Author Links

Website – Facebook – Twitter/X – GoodReads
BookBub – Instagram – BlueSky – Threads

Purchase Link – Amazon

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

June 11 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT

June 11 – Jody’s Bookish Haven – SPOTLIGHT

June 12 – Infinite House of Books – SPOTLIGHT

June 12 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

June 13 – StoreyBook Reviews -CHARACTER GUEST POST

June 14 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT

June 14 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT

June 15 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW

June 16 – Frugal Freelancer – AUTHOR GUEST POST

June 16 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT

June 17 – Sneaky the Library Cat’s Blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

June 17 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

June 18 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – CHARACTER GUEST POST

June 18 – Angel’s Book Nook – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

June 19 – Boys’ Mom Reads! – REVIEW

June 20 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

June 20 – Sarah Can’t Stop Reading Books – REVIEW

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Click Here to Find Details and Sign Up Today!
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Celebrate Lit Presents: In Tempest Winds (West Virginia: Born of Rebellion’s Storm #3) Author: Kendy Pearson

About the Book

Book: In Tempest Winds (West Virginia: Born of Rebellion’s Storm #3)

Author: Kendy Pearson

Genre: Christian Historical Fiction

Release date: May 7, 2025

Not all heroes are born of battle.

Some heroes are born of loss.

War has a way of changing a man, taking more than he has to give. When Zander Dabney joins in the fight, army life is not what he expected, and it seems impossible to escape his hero-brother’s shadow. When Zander finally gets the chance to test his mettle, the horrors of battle shatter his faith and leave him questioning everything—even what he thought he knew about his brother.

Lola Wade has her hands full with the mercantile, rising prices, family, and a cunning thief. Despite her chaotic life, Zander has captured her heart. But the war has taken much from him. And he needs more than her love to confront his inner demons and fractured faith.

In a whirlwind of deception, the enemy attacks the town and garrison, leaving death and destruction in its wake. But this was no ordinary attack, and the evidence Zander has just falls on deaf ears.

He is determined to unearth the truth. She has lost everything and must make a heart-wrenching decision.

Betrayal plunges Zander into a nightmare of injustice and a perilous ordeal of sacrifice and endurance few can survive. He needs a miracle. A lot of them.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Kendy Pearson is a worship leader, Bluegrass fiddler, and Civil War reenactment enthusiast. As a veteran high school teacher, she loves to discover a pocket of American history missing from the schoolbooks and turn that pocket inside out. Her novels lead fictitious characters through historical events and settings, engaging with period personalities. And she always includes a romantic thread to warm the heart. Every story is a journey through tragedy, secrets, regrets, and God’s undeniable grace.

She has received multiple lit awards and enjoys public speaking and teaching writing workshops. When she’s not clicking away on the computer or scaling mountains of research, she relishes ice cream, snowy days, fireplaces, and maple trees. Kendy is the mother of four grown children and lives with her sweet hubby and two amusing miniature dachshunds.

More from Kendy

As always, writing from the Heart of History requires I choose little-known events in history and weave a fictionalized story through them. In Tempest Winds is Zander’s story, the middle son of the five Dabney siblings of the “West Virginia: Born of Rebellion’s Storm” series. I promise, you will still laugh, cry, and maybe even swoon—and you will definitely learn a few things you didn’t know before.

I’d like to share a secret with you. When I wrote In Tempest Winds, I was thinking of two of my sons. Only a year and a half apart in age, they both joined the military around the same time. They each served one-year deployments. The first son deployed to Iraq and the second to Afghanistan a year later. They each left an infant child and wife behind. I held my breath for two years (barely hyperbole!).

As I researched the last desperate year of the Civil War, I somehow knew what events Zander must experience in this book. Like my sons, Zander is witty, athletic, handsome, and sensitive. And as a mother of veterans and the daughter of a two-war veteran, I know this to be a truth: “…War has a way of changing a man, taking more than he has to give.”

Zander’s journey in this story is a little like Peter’s experience on the Sea of Galilee. Peter learned a valuable, frightening lesson when he took his eyes off Jesus and started sinking. (But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid… Matt. 14:30). Peter lost his faith for a time, forgetting who made that sea in the first place.

So, you are wondering about the leading lady by now. Lola is adorable, with her fly-away blond hair and spectacles that won’t stay where she puts them. And boy, is she smart, feisty, and falling hard for Zander! When the fireworks spark, she gives our boy much to think about. Lola’s got faith and pluck. She’s determined to trust God, no matter what the tempest threatens to destroy.

If you’ve read the other books in this series, please shoot me an email (kendy@kendypearson.com) and tell me your ideas for a grown-up Will and Bertie! What will they be like? I am excited to write their stories next.

Blessings from the Heart of History, my friends!

Kendy

Blog Stops

Texas Book-aholic, May 30

Stories By Gina, May 31 (Author Interview)

Holly’s Book Corner, May 31

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, June 1

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, June 2 (Author Interview)

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, June 3

Locks, Hooks and Books, June 4

A Reader’s Brain , June 5 (Author Interview)

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, June 6

Jodie Wolfe – Stories Where Hope and Quirky Meet, June 7 (Author Interview)

Vicky Sluiter, June 8 (Author Interview)

Books Less Travelled, June 8

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, June 9

For Him and My Family, June 10

For the Love of Literature, June 11 (Author Interview)

Life on Chickadee Lane, June 12

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Kendy is giving away the grand prize of a $40 Amazon gift card and a paperback copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/00adcf54232

Wednesday, June 11, 2025

Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours Presents: WILDCARD (JAX DIAMOND MYSTERIES) by Gail Meath

WILDCARD (JAX DIAMOND MYSTERIES)
by Gail Meath

About WILDCARD

WILDCARD (JAX DIAMOND MYSTERIES)
Cozy Mystery/Thriller
8th in Series
Setting -Niagara Falls
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Independently published (March 31, 2025)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 206 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8315596820
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0DDHJKV3T

The honeymoon begins with a dead body in the bedroom…

Niagara Falls, 1923. Traveling out of the city isn’t PI Jax Diamond’s cup of tea, but when he and Laura along with their courageous companion, Ace, head to Niagara Falls on their honeymoon, they’re on cloud nine. That is, until Jax carries his new bride over the threshold, and there’s a corpse in their bed that looks to have been there since the dawn of time.

A ten-year-old unsolved murder sets off a string of others with victims plunging to their deaths over the falls, and all the evidence is pointing to nightclub owner and their good pal, Orin Marino, as the killer.

Jax, Laura, Ace, and friends risk their lives trying to solve a crazy riddle and stop a killer before the next victim takes the plunge. But every step forward sends them two steps back. It’s a wild and crazy ride with twists, turns, and belly flops in this fun and fast-paced 1920s cozy thriller.

Easily reads as a standalone.

About Gail Meath

Gail Meath is the author of the multi-award-winning Jax Diamond Mysteries, a fun 1920s series about wise-cracking PI Jax Diamond, his courageous German Shepherd partner, Ace, and Broadway star Laura Graystone, as they, along with a crazy group of friends, solve some of the toughest crimes in New York City. She is alternating that series with her new 1930s Golden Age of Hollywood mysteries series, Stone & Steele, starring Vivian Steele, a widow seeking justice, and Preston Stone, a playboy vigilante.

In both series, the author challenges readers to identify the villains before she reveals them:)

Gail also has a list of other award-winning historical romances, westerns, and fictional biographies of true heroines. She lives in a small village in Upstate New York with her husband and sweet Boston Terrier, and she spends loads of time with her grandchildren.

Author Links
Website Facebook Instagram Goodreads Bookbub

Purchase Link – Amazon

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

June 4 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT

June 5 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW

June 5 – Jody’s Bookish Haven – SPOTLIGHT

June 6 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT

June 7 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

June 7 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT

June 8 – Frugal Freelancer – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT

June 8 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

June 9 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT

June 9 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

June 10 – Carla Loves To Read – REVIEW, AUTHOR GUEST POST

June 11 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

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Click Here to Find Details and Sign Up Today!
Want to Book a Tour?
Click

Tuesday, June 10, 2025

Unshaken: Contemporary Amish Romantic Suspense with a Protective Hero Set in Southern Ohio by Shelley Shepard Gray

He helps her hide until danger has passed. She hopes her cover lasts long enough.

When Stephanie Miller planned her visit to a dollar store in southern Ohio, she was expecting to pick up a few items she couldn't find in her Amish community. She was not expecting to find herself an innocent bystander as a drug deal went horribly wrong. The sole witness to a murder, now Stephanie is targeted by the gunman.

Hardy Anderson is always ready to help his social worker sister, Bev--which now includes hiding an Amish woman until a killer can be brought to justice. Surely if they dress her in English clothing, Hardy can hide her at the sprawling ranch where he works. But the killer is desperate--and there's no telling what lengths he will go.

Amazon

About The Author

Shelley Shepard Gray is a NYT and USA Today bestselling author. She's published over a hundred novels and has over a million books in print. She currently lives in northern Ohio and writes full time.

Shelley lives just an hour from Holmes County, where many of her Amish-themed novels are set. She currently writes contemporary romance and Amish fiction for a variety of publishers. When not spending time with her family or writing, she can usually be found walking her two dachshunds on one of the many trails in the Cleveland area.

She also bakes a lot, loves coconut cream pie, and will hardly ever pull weeds, mow the yard, or drive in the snow.

Shelley also spends a lot of time on line! Please visit her website, www.shelleyshepardgray.com to find out her latest news or to sign up for her newsletter. Shelley can also be found on FaceBook, Instagram @shelley.s.gray, or on Twitter @ShelleySGray.

My Review

This is the third book in this series, but they can each be read alone.
I love books by this author and this did not disappoint! This is a Romantic Suspenseful Christian read, which I really enjoy!
Stephanie Miller does end up at the wrong place at the wrong time. My heart broke for this young women, she is like a Cinderella, and had the feeling her family only missed the worked she did. It did seem that God was watching out for her, with help right outside the door.
In a way I did feel sorry about the perpetrator, life had really not been kind to him.
As we journey for answers, and new experiences, I had a page turner on my hands. Yes, answers do come, and for me I loved the Epilogue!
A don't miss read!
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Revell, and was not required to give a positive review.

Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours Presents: Charm City Spouse’s Club (A Charm City Mystery) by Pamela Kyel

Charm City Spouse’s Club (A Charm City Mystery)
by Pamela Kyel

About Charm City Spouse’s Club

Charm City Spouse’s Club (A Charm City Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Setting – Baltimore, Maryland
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Wild Rose Press (April 2, 2025)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 254 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1509260013
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1509260010
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0DTKQ8L8W

Special Agent Laci Duvall, AFOSI, thought it was supposed to be a lighthearted baseball game between the Air Force and Army Special Investigative Teams. But things took a deadly turn when the president of the local military spouse’s club was found dead in the women’s bathroom—stabbed with a plastic pink flamingo.

Now, Laci will work with the Army Criminal Investigative Division to find who hated the woman enough to leave her in a public restroom. Was it the spouse who ran against her for the presidency or a fellow club officer sick of her cruelty? The list of suspects increases by the minute, and Laci learns there is no loyalty when it comes to social climbing—military spouse’s style.

About Pamela Kyel

Pamela Kyel was born and raised in Edgewood, Maryland—north of Charm City. It’s a running joke when you live near a large, well-known city—you tell people that’s where you’re from. So, unofficially, she’s from Baltimore! Since her spouse’s retirement from the military, they call Wisconsin home, where they have two daughters and two cats, Daisy and Ernie. You can follow along with her on her website, www.pamelakyel.com.

Author Links

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PamelaKyelAuthor/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pamelakyel/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamelakyel/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1754024-pamela

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pamelakyel

Website: www/pamelakyel.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@pamelakyel

Purchase Links – Amazon B&N Kobo Apple Books Alibris Bookshop.org

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

June 2 – Infinite House of Books – SPOTLIGHT

June 3 – Jody’s Bookish Haven – SPOTLIGHT

June 4 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT

June 4 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – CHARACTER GUEST POST

June 5 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT

June 6 – Frugal Freelancer – AUTHOR GUEST POST

June 6 – Eskimo Princess Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

June 7 – Boys’ Mom Reads! – REVIEW

June 8 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

June 9 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

June 10 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

June 10 – Novels Alive – REVIEW

June 11 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – CHARACTER GUEST POST

June 11 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

June 12 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW

June 13 – Deal Sharing Aunt – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

June 14 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT

June 14 – Sarah Can’t Stop Reading Books – REVIEW

June 15 – Elizabeth McKenna – Author – SPOTLIGHT

Have you signed up to be a Tour Host?
Click Here to Find Details and Sign Up Today!
Want to Book a Tour?
Click Here

The Lawyer and the Laundress by Christine Hill Suntz

Lawyer James Kinney isn’t looking for love, and laundress Sara O’Connor doesn’t want to be found. When their paths cross in a British colony on the brink of rebellion, a marriage of convenience may be their best hope of survival.

Canada, 1837. Widower James Kinney knows his precocious daughter, Evie, needs more than his lessons on law and logic, but Toronto offers few options. Classes with the neighbor children seem ideal until James discovers Evie is secretly spending her time with Sara O’Connor, a kind and mysteriously educated servant. For propriety’s sake, James forbids their friendship. But then Evie falls victim to the illness ravaging the city, and James must call upon Sara’s medical knowledge and her special bond with Evie to save his daughter’s life.

When Sara’s presence in his household threatens scandal, however, James offers an unexpected solution: become his wife, in name only, and help him raise Evie to be a proper young lady.

If Sara can ignore the sparks she feels when they’re together, his logical proposal could keep her secret secure forever. But soon, the forces of rebellion unravel their tidy arrangement. When James is accused of treason, Sara must find the courage to face a past that could save her husband’s life.

Amazon

About The Author

Christine Hill Suntz knew she wanted to write novels the day she finished Anne of Green Gables, and she's been lost in her imagination ever since. Her love of language led her to study French and German and pursue a graduate degree in Comparative Literature before finding a home teaching high school French. Her work has won numerous prizes, including the 2022 ACFW Genesis competition.

Christine lives in Ontario on a hobby farm with her family, a flock of chickens, one attack rooster, and a herd of entitled goats. When she's not writing or teaching, she enjoys trying out historical recipes on her (mostly) willing family.

My Review

I loved this read, the author did such a great job of keeping my attention, so good!
The setting 1837 Toronto, and a time of unrest, those that come for a better life, and things are right back to square zero.
Sara and James are from two different worlds, or are they, she when they meet is the laundress, and he is a lawyer. What draws them together, James' darling daughter Evie, and then Henry. I loved these children!
Of course, things don't go smoothly, and then things really go awry, but then comes healing.
I really enjoyed the epilogue, and I would have enjoyed continuing on in their lives!
I received this book through Net Galley and Tyndale House Publishers, and was not required to give a positive review.

Monday, June 9, 2025

Celebrate Lit Presents: Arranged with the Earl Author: Jackie Killelea

About the Book

Book: Arranged with the Earl

Author: Jackie Killelea

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release date: May 13, 2025

A spinster with a tarnished reputation. An earl scarred from war. Can their convenient marriage withstand those aiming to steal everything they have?

Catherine Blynn resigned herself to a life without romantic love after a disastrous broken engagement. Although she’s always hoped to marry for affection, her father arranges for her to wed Loftus Cromwell, the broken Earl of Hardwicke. If she defies her parents, she risks her family’s ruin.

Loftus Cromwell had no intention to marry for love, only for the sake of his estate. But If he fails to win the love of his spirited and unconventional betrothed, he risks his conniving brother claiming everything he holds dear.

As treachery unfolds within the manor’s walls and a foe from Catherine’s past resurfaces, can Loftus and Catherine trust one another enough to unravel the truth before tragedy steals any chance of happiness?

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Jackie Killelea is a born and raised small-town girl from Connecticut with a degree in English and Creative Writing. She started off her writing journey with poetry, soon shifting into novels and becoming hooked. On days when she’s not busy with her nose in a book, she can be found typing away with a cup of tea at her side.

More from Jackie

In Arranged with the Earl, Loftus’ study of plants and flora is his foremost pastime, aside from his duties managing his estate and those that come along with being an earl. In his conservatory, there are a variety of different species of plants that he cares for but, would he actually have had these plants in his conservatory and would they have been able to feasibly grow there if he did?

Well, according to my research and a bit of wishful thinking…yes.

The thing is, Loftus has a few native plants in his conservatory and those certainly would have been able to grow there, given that they’ve pretty much just been brought inside from other counties in England. Loftus knows his home country and the landscape as well as how to care for those plants, already. The trickier plants to think upon are the exotics.

For instance, when showing Catherine the conservatory for the first time, he mentions Black Hellebore(Helleborus niger). How would he have come to own this? This plant is native to the mountains and woodlands of southern and central Europe, so we must assume that Loftus would’ve had it imported, or grown from seed. Still, would a woodland plant grow well enough to produce flowers in a conservatory setting?

Well, fortunately for Loftus, Black Hellebore actually grows fairly well in containers and does well in partial shade, so where he placed it in the conservatory was a prime location and it isn’t a stretch of the imagination to think that it produces blooms there.

With each plant I chose to be in the conservatory, I had to research if Loftus would reasonably have access to it and if it would grow under conservatory conditions–as well as during the season in which the book takes place. Of course you, as readers, will still need to use your imagination at some points. I’m sure Loftus would agree that ideas, like plants, need lots of water and space to grow.

I do so hope you enjoy Catherine and Loftus’ story in Arranged with the Earl!

Sincerely,

Jackie