Book Extract: Abracadabra by Evanne Hardin Gray
I’m very excited to be welcoming Evanne Hardin Gray to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for Abracadabra.
In the spirit of Practical Magic and First Frost, a modern-day magic folk tale weaves a fantasy of love, secrets, spellbooks, and family bonds into evocative prose ….
It’s common knowledge in Duran Hill that some women in the Kinley family have certain gifts … and certain curses … running through their bloodlines. But for three sisters in all but name — Rachel, Juliette, and their cousin Sylvia — the ties that bind them close as ivy throughout their childhood are pulled apart in adolescence when both the gift and curse of that power is revealed between them.
Since that fateful incident, sensible Juliette has tailored a perfect and perfectly-ordinary life which unravels after she marries — and loses — the love of her life. Sylvia, drawn to the dark side, sets up a shop that caters to all the mystical powers the latter generations of the Kinley family shunned. And Rachel, the wild child, in whom its magic seems to create a charmed life, is a carefree wanderer who finds herself suddenly drawn home again.
Her arrival will stir old rivalries and test forgotten bonds in the brief span of a few weeks. But when an old friend in desperate trouble seeks her out, she will impulsively unleash the dangerous secret behind their power: one which has lain forgotten in the Kinley house for two generations.
From the Siren’s song of a dead man’s violin to a jar full of harmless-looking buttons, nothing under the shadow of the family’s roof is what it seems — nothing in their bloodline is safe from the dangerous past.
For Juliette, it brings a test of whether love that has withered can bloom again. For Sylvia, a question of whether a dangerous mistake can only be endured until it destroys you. And for Rachel, the choice is the price between the future of the souls she loves most in life and a powerful force that both makes her the enigma she is — and makes to destroy her like embers caught in a firewind.
Against the backdrop of Southern charm, Scottish superstitions, and bewitching romance, ABRACADABRA casts a spell which cannot be undone, from the ache of lost love to the familial links between souls which go as deep as blood and bone.
Evanne Hardin Gray has shared an extract with us today. We hope you enjoy.
*****beginning of extract*****
Thank you so much for this chance to share an extract from my novel Abracdabra with all the readers at Novel Kicks. It’s a spooky new read perfect for fans of Practical Magic. In the following scene, sisters Rachel and Juliette find themselves reluctantly consulting a medium over a haunting in their old family home.
They end up in the parlor, which Rachel thought of as “the purple room” as a child, a name inspired by the heavy wine-colored drapes, and the various maroon and plum shades of velvet covering the furniture. It is the nearest seating area to the formal dining room, which Rachel was glad is not the scene of this seance.
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Book Review: Murder at the Wedding by Anita Davison
It’s a pleasure to be welcoming Anita Davison back to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for Murder at the Wedding.
Hannah Merrill is about to marry the love of her life…
The couple are determined their low-key celebration will go without a hitch, but there can’t be an ‘I do’ while the vicar is missing. And when he’s found dead – a victim of a poisoning – in the crypt behind the church, Hannah knows only she and Aunt Violet can find out who did it.
Hannah’s beloved thinks she shouldn’t interfere. But if he fails to remember that an independent woman in 1916 doesn’t do what she’s told to by a man, the dead vicar may be the least of his worries…
Then the vicar’s own fiancé appears on the scene, even though nobody knew he was engaged. And suddenly it becomes clear someone has a secret, one shocking enough to kill for.
Will the intrepid pair of amateur sleuths catch the murderer before they kill again? Or will it be til death parts them all?
*****
Hannah Merrill is about to marry Darius Clifford. The wedding day begins brightly. Proceedings soon take a turn when the body of Reverend Julian Aldrich is found. Can Hannah and her Aunt Violet get to the bottom of this mystery?
Having read previous novels in this series, I was delighted to be invited onto the blog tour for the latest in the Miss Merrill & Aunt Violet mystery series. I do like myself a cosy crime series and this one didn’t disappoint.
I am going to try and review without giving too much away.
by Book Extract: Fatal Equation by Gethyn Jones
I’m excited to be welcoming Gethyn Jones to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for his book, Fatal Equation.
Aged just 16, Ali Kurmi was exiled to Portsmouth by his despicable, sweaty, arrogant, bully-of-a-rich businessman father, to protect the family name. Now in his thirties, Ali’s forced to work as an unofficial bailiff for his father’s property company. The only things keeping him going are his songwriting and DJing.
Laura O’Brien, a former journalist from Dublin is a looker and defies her 52 years – made even more remarkable by her tragic back story. Fate strikes again as her renowned husband of just four years, racehorse breeder Frank O’Brien, collapses and dies of a brain aneurysm. It leaves her broken-hearted, but very rich. Determined to avoid returning to the bottle, and egged on by her sponsor, the enigmatic Alice Kingston, Laura leaves Tipperary to start afresh in Hampshire.
This is the story of Ali and Laura – how they got together – and how they navigate their way through a seemingly endless number of cruel and unlikely twists and turns – that threaten their relationship – and their lives.
Gethyn has shared an extract with us today. We hope you enjoy it.
*****beginning of extract*****
Blurb: Laura O’Brien, a wealthy widow in her fifties, didn’t expect to fall in love again – especially not with a 35-year-old British-Indian songwriter. But when she meets Ali Kurmi, a corporate DJ with his own deeply troubled past, everything changes.
Together, they start to build a life filled with creativity, passion, and purpose. Yet danger still lurks in the shadows – Stephanie, Laura’s scheming stepdaughter, wants blood. Fuelled by greed and resentment, she’s plotting something deadly … and failure isn’t an option.
Set between rural Hampshire and Tipperary, Fatal Equation is an emotional rollercoaster of love, ecstasy, frustration, obsession, and revenge.
… a book that blends the warmth of a feel-good romance with the chilling edge of a thriller …
*****
Announcing to your partner that you’ve become a father with one of your ‘exes’ is never going to be an easy conversation. Ali has been very open with Laura about his previous love life – which inclded a long time with Becky Davies. It was a mutually satisfactory ‘friends with benefits arrangement’. When Ali met Laura, his relationship with Becky ended abruptly – until yesterday when his pal Club Manager Dom contrived to get them to meet up again. It was then that an extremely dishevelled-looking Becky dropped the bombshell.
Ali leans in close to the bathroom mirror, pulls both eyelids down and grunts. He turns his head to the right and then the left. He’s never gone for the George Michael look – the five o’clock shadow. Too much work to keep tidy; so, clean-shaven it’s always been.
He’s had a restless night, hardly surprising under the circumstances. To wake up one day and discover that you’re the father of a three-week-old child that you knew nothing about, is understandably mind-blowing.
He shaves, brushes his teeth, smiles to check them and walks back into the bedroom.
‘How are you my gorgeous daddy-o?’ says Laura teasingly, from somewhere under a pillow.
‘I’m fine. Are you still OK with all this?’
by Book Review: War Lord: Scourge of Rome by Adam Lofthouse
It’s a pleasure to welcome Adam Lofthouse back to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for his latest book, War Lord: Scourge of Rome.
And so we have reached the end of my tale. But what are endings if not new beginnings?
Alaric has been home for a year. He went north and saved the Cimbri, just as he said he would. But the cost has been higher than he ever thought. A shadow of the War Lord he once was, he now trades in amber and dotes on his children.
A simple life. And with it, contentment. But he knew this couldn’t last forever; peace isn’t for someone like him, and sure enough trouble finds him once again. A routine journey south turns into a new and unknown wave of danger as red-cloaked legionaries attack, causing confusion and carnage.
Warriors dressed as Romans have been scouring the country, slaughtering innocent people, and leaving Roman footprints wherever they march. But things are not what they seem, and it falls to Alaric to don his armour once more, and march his Ravensworn in pursuit of a mysterious enemy that could destabilise his world beyond repair.
*****
I have said it before, and no doubt I will say it again; Adam Lofthouse’s love of Roman history really shines through in the way he writes these books.
The characters really pop from the page and it was a real pleasure to see how the protagonist has grown over the course of the series. He has gone from a headstrong young warrior to a headstrong old warrior but his experiences have given him a real depth.
by A Moment With… Fiona Embers About Loving Love
I’m pleased to be welcoming Fiona Embers to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, Soft Rebound
The first hookup after a long relationship is always meaningless. Right?
Still reeling from his divorce two years ago, Joe Larson sleepwalks through life until a chance encounter with Liz Jensen jolts him awake. Their sexual chemistry is undeniable, but Liz is fresh off a broken engagement and has no intention of letting anyone get close. Joe must overcome his fear of being hurt again if he is to convince Liz that love does not mean being powerless and that their rebound fling is actually their happily ever after.
To chat about Loving Love, it’s over to Fiona Embers.
Loving Love: Romance Author Fiona Embers Shares Her Favorites
Romance is a bestselling genre with many subgenres and flavors. Whether you like your heroes to be “cinnamon rolls” (sweet and supportive of their love interest) or ruthless mafiosos or billionaires or perhaps monsters or aliens, whether you like your romance with a lot of “spice” (on-page intimacy) or prefer fade to black, whether you want your romance set on Earth in modern times or in the past or perhaps on another planet, whether want your romance tightly focused on the main pair or prefer it blended with mystery or thriller or urban fantasy, there is something out there for the enjoyment of every reader.
You will sometimes hear discussions about tropes, which are recognizable story elements that readers often rely on to decide whether they might find a story enjoyable. Think of tropes as strong spices in cooking. Some people love cinnamon in anything, be it sweet or savory (it’s me; I am those people), while others prefer to avoid it altogether, but in any case cinnamon is far from the whole dish. Tropes are a little like that.
by Book Club
