RELEASE DAY BLITZ Superhero Syndrome by Caryn Larrinaga

Today we have the release day blitz for Superhero Syndrome by Caryn Larrinaga! Check it out and be sure to grab your copy today!

Title: Superhero Syndrome

Author: Caryn Larrinaga

Genre: Paranormal Romance

About Superhero Syndrome:

Tess McBray was dying. The Solstice Syndrome had no cure, and she resigned herself to an early grave. But just when she gave up on survival, all her symptoms mysteriously disappeared. All but one symptom, anyway. Something is wrong with Tess’s hands. They absorb any material they touch, and her skin turns to wood, or steel, or concrete. It doesn’t take this comic-book obsessed 21-year-old long to figure out what’s going on: somehow, she’s developed super powers. And she’s not the only one; across the country, people are coming forward and sharing their gifts with the world. In her own city, where the police are battling a human trafficking operation, a masked vigilante called The Fox is saving lives and stopping criminals. Tess doesn’t know where she fits into this new, super-powered world. But when people around her start disappearing, she can’t just sit on the sidelines. Teaming up with The Fox might be the only way to rid her city of evil and save the people she loves most.  

Amazon | Add On Goodreads!

Exclusive Excerpt:

I felt someone’s eyes on me but ignored them. I knew what I looked like. I knew how my hazel eyes had started to look too big for their sockets and how my swollen joints looked wildly out of proportion with my thin limbs. I snuggled into the blankets and pulled out my sketch pad, drawing the people around me to keep my fingers warm. In front of me, a short woman with poofy red curls was digging around in a picnic basket, handing sandwiches to the two small children who sat beside her. To my right, a middle-aged guy with glasses was cringing as he tried to pop the cork on a champagne bottle. I flinched when he finally succeeded. The cork shot off into the trees, and the people around him laughed nervously, probably as happy as I was that they hadn’t lost an eye. 

A lump formed in my throat, and I gripped my pencil tighter as I sketched. Everyone here had a future. They had something to look forward to tomorrow… and the day after that. Once the meteor shower was over, they’d go home to warm kitchens and cups of hot cocoa and talk about how perfect and beautiful the night had been. 

And I… well, I’d be here until someone found me, I supposed. 

The sky above us was rapidly darkening. Millions of stars shone, and everyone in the clearing stared upward, waiting for the show to begin. 

The universe did not disappoint. 

Sometime around midnight, a streak of light appeared above me. I gasped as it bolted partway across my field of vision before vanishing. A few minutes later, another appeared. Then another. It was unlike any meteor shower I’d ever seen, and from the gasps and oohs around me, I could tell I wasn’t alone in my awe.  

I tasted salt. When did I start crying? 

The cold seeped through my jacket and Davies’ blanket, stinging my skin, but it didn’t bother me. My tears could freeze right on my face for all I cared. I could melt into the ground beneath me and not even feel it. There was no looking away; I was riveted by the magic above me. 

Three lights appeared in the sky at once. They were much brighter than the streaks that had preceded them, and they tore through the stars like soldiers rushing into battle. My eyes went wide. I knew it had to be an optical illusion, but they appeared to be coming right at me. 

As the meteors sped toward the clearing, a rushing sound filled my ears, growing louder with each breath. A wave of nausea hit me, and I realized I was about to pass out. It’d been happening a lot lately. The edges of my vision fuzzed into blackness, but the cluster of meteors shone in the center, still appearing to speed directly at me.
 This is it, I thought. 

This was no ordinary fainting spell. It was different; I could feel it. The skin from the top of my head down to the soles of my feet began to tingle and burn, and my heart pounded in my ears. 

These were my last moments. 

A face, so much like my own, swam in front of my eyes. My sister smiled at me, but her eyes were filled with sadness. 

“Goodbye, Bethany,” I whispered.  

And the world went dark.  

About Caryn Larrinaga:

Caryn Larrinaga is a Basque-American mystery, horror, and urban fantasy writer living in Utah with her husband and cats. Her debut novel Donn’s Hill (March 2017, Immortal Works Press) garnered rave reviews from fans of the cozy mystery and paranormal genres, and her new urban fantasy Superhero Syndrome (September 2017, Twisted Tree Press) will be out this fall. Watching scary movies through split fingers terrified Caryn as a child, and those nightmares inspire her to write now. She lives in a 90-year-old house with a colorful history, and the creaking walls and narrow hallways send her running (never walking) up the stairs from her basement. Exploring her fears through writing makes Caryn feel a little less foolish for wanting a buddy to accompany her into the tool shed. When her fingers aren't glued to her laptop keyboard, Caryn also enjoys binge-watching Netflix with her husband, reading, playing video games, and filling up her phone's flash memory with pictures of her cats. She loves music and plays the bass guitar. Caryn is an active member of the League of Utah Writers and the Utah Chapter of the Horror Writers Association.  

Twisted Tree Press | Website | Email | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

Enter Caryn’s Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

ARC REVIEW Sweet Sacrifice by L.D. Rose

The Soul Mate Tree series is a multi-author series the common denominator for the whole series is the soul mate tree, it helps the soul mates find one another. I love second chance romance stories where it's a married couple getting a second chance, in this instance Bash and Irene were separated by death. It's emotional and heartbreaking but the ending just makes you feel so good. L.D. has great imagery, her active setting is so good, her words made picturing it in my head so easy.

Bash was a SEAL he gave his life to protect his teammates, in his death he was chosen by Michael to become an archangel and help fight the never ending war with evil. Irene was devastated by her husband's death, even now two years later she's still just a hollow shell of what she use to be, it doesn't help that she is preparing to be the maid of honor for her best friend who is marrying one of her husband's former SEAL teammates.

The book starts off with Bash and Gabriel saving the San Diego Zoo from a a Deava. The public saw armed men open fire and two other  men disarm them in the matter of seconds. Irene was working in the ER and was treating a woman whose young daughter said they were saved by an angel, and when the little girl caught a glimpse of Irene's phone with a picture of Bash on it the little girl said the was the angel who saved her. Later when she saw the news coverage she could swear that one of the men was in fact Bash. After a couple of days Irene has almost convinced herself that it could not have been Bash and tries to enjoy her best friends wedding without having a break down. Bash isn't having it any easier, a year in purgatory and a year with the arcs and the pain of losing her hasn't eased and trying to prove himself to Michael isn't easy. It could have just been chance or even fate that Bash saw Irene that night, and Irene saw him too. Irene fearing for her own mental stability leaves the wedding reception. Bash couldn't stay away, he reveals himself to Irene and breaks just about every rule set in place for the archangels. One thing is certain Bash isn't going to be kept apart from Irene ever again.

Overall, such a heartbreakingly beautiful story. Irene is so emotionally broken she forces herself to go on and Bash even though he loves what he does as an arc he loves Irene so much more. It's a great story of what we would do for love and how much it hurts when it's gone.

       

ARC REVIEW Last Gentleman Standing by Jane Ashford

The Last Gentleman Standing was originally published under the name Bluestocking and was only just made available again after 25 years.

This is more of a historical women's fiction with a side of romance. It kind of makes me think of what a newer Austin-esk books might read like, where it's more about Elizabeth and her cousins getting to know one another and how they are dealing with joining high society and all the troubles that come with it followed up by romance. It was a nice read I did enjoy it but for a romance it took way too long for that to happen and the ending seemed a bit rushed. It is third person POV but entirely from Elizabeth's perspective, so my greedy little mind doesn't find out what the other characters are thinking and their motives.

Elizabeth inherited her cantankerous miser of an uncle's fortune, all because she never asked for a hand out, and it was his way of shocking society. Elizabeth isn't your typical English miss, she has been for the last five years been a teacher at a boarding school, she is very intelligent and takes the news of becoming an heiress in a calm and practical manner. She even invites her two cousins, Anthony and Belinda, who were left out of the will to come live with her in London. Elizabeth has her work cut out for her both houses are in shambles from neglect and because her mother's side of the family disowned her for marrying beneath her she has no connections in the London society, for the exception of some cousin she met once as a child before her mother died. Luck for her her solicitor is a really good one and manages to track down her second cousin, Lavina, who is a hoot. Along the way Elizabeth met a neighbor of her country estate, Derek Wincannon. It isn't until later she finds out he is the son and heir to a Viscountcy. Derek is immediately taken with this beautiful but unusual woman and even goes out of his way to please her, unfortunately Elizabeth is kind of oblivious to it until almost the end of the book, more like three quarters of the way in.

Lavina is old friends with a Duchess who likes Elizabeth's straight forward manner and agree to sponsor Belinda and Elizabeth into society. Tony is enthralled by London and gets carried away, and it leads him into some trouble. Elizabeth also meets James Darnell who is an admitted fortune hunter, and falls in love with Elizabeth, fortunately Elizabeth is smarter than that. She also meets a mysterious Mr. Jarrett and a woman reporter who is aspiring to be a published poet.

Overall, the story was good it was definitely well written I like what happened I just think it was too much about everything else and not enough about Elizabeth and Derek.

ARC REVIEW On the Chase by Katie Ruggle

Rocky Mountain K-9 Unit series book two picks up right where the first one left off. The first couple of chapters following Kaylee and how she ended up needing to go into hiding. Kaylee went from thrift stores to Rodeo Dr. is finally living the life she always dreamed of living as a child with a job she loves and now a Disney Prince perfect boyfriend, until she sees something she's not suppose to and has to go into hiding to save her live. Hugh still recovering from his gunshot wound from the last book is on medical leave and it is driving him crazy with boredom. He starts to get a funny feeling like someone is watching him but before he can talk it over with Theo he meets Grace. Grace is a high school friend of Jules visiting, only Hugh knows that just about everything that comes out of her mouth is lie, and he's determined to find out why.

Kaylee, or Grace as she is now called, hates that this is what has become of her life her college degrees, her job, her nice new clothes are all gone to her and she is now sharing a house with one bathroom with five other people and back to wearing thrift store clothes; but she's alive and she doesn't know who she can trust. Grace not trusting Hugh and vise versa leads them into some kind of silly arguments and with Hugh's sense of humor he can get annoying, but all that just hides the attraction that both of them are trying hard to ignore. But then Hugh's truck blows up and when Hugh and Grace finally do kiss they get shot at. That's when Grace comes clean about who she is and why she's hiding, she's afraid that he found her. Hugh also has problems it's not her they are after a drug lord who runs drugs through the town has put a hit out on Hugh and Grace is just caught in the crossfire. Between Kaylee's issues, the drug lord, and the drug running MC going through town causing problems it is an action filled, romantic, and sometimes funny (because Hugh's humor is meant to annoy and he succeeds) book.

Overall, this was another win for me. I like how Kaylee is making the relationship go at a normal pace. Lexi, Hugh's Belgian Malinois and K-9 partner, has a personality all her own and it was fun to see what mess Jules' twin brothers would get into next. Kaylee does have some personal growth that the kids and Hugh help her with so she's not as shallow at the end of the book. I love Kaylee and Hugh together with his sense of humor she can take it and give back just as hard.  

ARC REVIEW Pretend You're Safe by Alexandra Ivy

Pretend You're Safe is the first book in the new series The Agency. Alexandra Ivy spun a web of misdirection, she had me second guessing my second guesses, although the red herring was fairly obvious. This was a great first book for the series it introduces you to the characters and sets it up for more. It has some really good suspense but it's not very dark. This book really hooked it me it was hard to put this one down.

Jaci started to receive creepy little tokens when she was a teenager, but no one believed that these lockets meant anything bad. They finally stopped when she left for college and didn't start up again when she returned to her grandparents farmhouse. Jaci has successfully started her own bakery business, baking for local restaurants and cafes. This year the rains have been particularly bad, constant enough to start flooding the river and with the flooding comes the appearance of dead bodies.

Rylan is back in town to help his father with the house after the basement got flooded. He left to go to college and then go into the FBI but in college he met Baldwin and together they created a new program for security systems and made a butt load of money and started their own business. At the time Rylan didn't take the lockets Jaci was getting seriously, when she approached him he was working deputy and thought it was just her looking for attention; he had no idea that this went on for years. The appearance of the Jane Doe also brings a new locket on the door. Rylan understand his mistake and isn't going to make it again, he has an overwhelming urge to protect Jaci at all costs. But Rylan showing interest in Jaci makes the stalker escalate and starts kidnapping woman and leaving the bodies where Rylan can find them. Rylan and the Sheriff are forced to work together to track down the serial killer before he gets to Jaci.

Jaci and Rylan, I liked that romance. Jaci always had a crush on Rylan and Rylan always liked Jaci but she was too young for him; now that they are adults Rylan finally admits Jaci is the one. Once it becomes obvious where things are going they just sort of accept it, Jaci knows she can trust Rylan and that he will protect her. The only thing she is not sure if he's going to stay or go back to California when all this is over.

Overall, this was another great one by Alexandra Ivy.  

ARC REVIEW Her Dark Half by Paige Tyler

OMG THIS BOOK!! Book seven of Paige Tyler's X-Ops series answers all the questions. It's an epic conculsion to the continuing story arc that has been asking the big question why? But it's not over!

Trevor is a coyote shifter who chose to stay behind after the events of the last book and keep an eye on Dr. Dick and Thorn and see what they have planned for the DCO, then reporting back to Adam. DDr. Dick and Thorn know they don't have Trevor's loyalty and assign him an ex-CIA operative who expertise is tracking down traitors. After Alina's own experience with a turncoat that got her team killed she vowed she would track him down and kill him if it was the last thing she ever did, but her determination and one track mind was not what the CIA had planned for her. When she was approached by Dr. Dick he lured her to the DCO by telling her she would have a chance to go after her target.

Trevor and Alina don't trust each other they have no reason to trust each other, yet. Trevor knows Alina is there to spy on him for Dr.Dick and Thorn while Alina was told that he is conspiring with the team of X-Op teams that, well the events of the last book. But the more Trevor takes her on leads the more she realizes that it didn't happen the way Dr. Dick said it did, the truth is so much more frightening. Their gut feeling is telling them to trust the other, along with their libido. They are strongly attracted to each other and after one life threatening lead they give into the attraction. Together they unravel the mystery.

Overall, this was jaw dropping, screaming YES! out loud book. That tells all and then hints to even more mysteries to come.  

ARC REVIEW When a Scoundrel Sins by Anna Harrington

When the Scoundrel Sins is book two in the Capturing the Carlisles series by Anna Harrington. It can be read as a standalone there is no story arc crossover. Yet again we have ourselves a hero who doesn't realize what he's feeling is love, and is too stubborn to give in. Annabelle Green who is also too stubborn for her own good, but it makes for a fun read.

Annabelle Green was the daughter of the housekeeper and loved by her mother employers, Lord and Lady Ainsley, so much that when her mother died they brought her on as a companion, even gave her the opportunity to come out in society. It was hard enough for Anna to get by in society as a companion and the daughter of a servant but when Quinn kissed her and joked about it, she was heart broken she always liked Quinn. In her haste to run away from him she tears her dress and walks into a room with the busy bodies of the ton and thus ended her place and reputation in society. Annabelle never forgave Quinn for his actions but it seems now that she needs him to help her find a husband.

Quinn was a youthful idiot he didn't realize just how bad he screwed up Annabelle's life that night, but ever since that kiss he's never forgotten her. Quinn is tired of living of his family's name he wants something he can call his own. His plans are to go to America and buy out a farmer who wants to retire, but un urgent message has him detour to the Scottish/English border. He really shouldn't go time is of the essence but it's about Annabelle and he can't refuse seeing her one last time. What Quinn finds out about why he was summoned surprises him, Annabelle is an heiress. To protect Annabelle from her imprisoned father, in case he ever got out left the estate she has lived on and taken care of for the last six years as her dowry so that way he couldn't get his hands on it. The only catch is that she has to marry by her twenty-fifth birthday or lose it all. So far the only suitor she has is her misogynist neighbor.

Quinn finally realizes how much he screwed up with her, and even though he now knows how much he cares for her if he married her for her land it still wouldn't be his, Quinn needs Annabelle's solicitor to find a loophole so that she can inherit the estate without being married. Quinn even goes as far as asking his brother to help buy the estate and then lease it to her. Either way he is going to make sure Annabelle keeps the home she loves and he still goes to America; that is until she agrees to marry her nasty neighbor. Quinn can't let that happen. But they are all saved when a huge secret is finally revealed, can Annabelle convince Quinn to stay with her or is his dream in America stronger than his love for her.

Overall, it was a good read. I do hope that Robert's book is next he made a good secondary character. All the characters were great, for the exception for the times Quinn got annoying in his reluctance that had me thinking to myself, Really? Has he matured? but otherwise it was a fun read.