#Review: The Captive’s Curse (Twilight Mages Book 2) by @eliotgraysonauthor #LGBTQ #RecentRelease #Romance #Fantasy #Magic

Moonbeams over Atlanta welcomes Eliot Grayson to the blog.  Eliot is back at it again with the sequel to The Royal Curse (see my review of the first book here, if you missed it). While standalone, I would recommend reading the first book to get the backstory of the universe.

Note: A reader copy was provided for an honest review.  The book released on Amazon May 30th, 2024.

The Blurb:

Unwanted. Unloved. Unransomed. And unable to control his dawn magic by any other means…

At odds with his family and on the run, Lord Cyril is taken prisoner and held in a gloomy mountain fortress—which he brightens up quite a bit, thank you. His captor wants him to be quiet and not cause any trouble, but who cares? Cyril may need the mysterious highwayman to quell his dawn magic and keep him sane, but he’s overbearing, sardonic, and unpleasant.

Mostly. Except when Cyril can’t live without his touch, or his voice, or his rare smile…

Ser Enzo, a robber and (not quite) a gentleman, desperately wants his obnoxious, adorable, irritating, irresistible captive off his hands…and other parts. Lord Cyril’s wanton, irrepressible, and worst of all—his family won’t take him back. Enzo can’t release him without being paid. It’s against his principles.

But so is keeping his bewitching captive forever. Cyril may be his prisoner, but Enzo’s dangerously close to losing his own freedom by falling under the mage’s spell…

The Captive’s Curse is the second book in the Twilight Mages series, but it takes place concurrently with book one and can be read as a standalone. Contains wildly inappropriate discussions of vegetables (no vegetables were actually harmed in the making of this book), the mad ghost of an evil lord (the Mad Lord is harmed, to no one’s regret), and the overcoming of fears, family quarrels, and scheming villains to reach a guaranteed HEA.

The Review:

5 Stars

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As per usual, I devoured this story in one sitting eschewing sleep no less. Again, the opportunity to read an ARC of the second book in this fascinating universe of Twilight mages was too good to pass up.

In this story, we have Lord Cyril who enjoys his magic control to the fullest extent, riding away from his family in his wedding finery, and demands his due from the disagreeable kidnapper/savior Ser Enzo even while hurt in the raining forest Cyril finds himself in. They circle each other, both pompous in their own ways, and they have their adventures as their story unfolds and fall in love. We continue in the British-style of storytelling, obnoxious ghosts, betrayals, some angst– mostly on Cyril’s part, but Enzo has some too, and some humor thrown in here and there to liven things. Most of the story is told by Cyril’s perspective and I would have loved to see Enzo’s side more, but I’m weird that way. 🙂

Overall, it’s a great book and you will run the gamut on the feels. The book continues with high-heat, quirky secondary characters, and the happily-ever-after ending we’ve come to expect.

The Captive’s Curse has everything you expected from the swashbuckling highwayman, plot twists, Cyril coming into his own, and of course, a love story with a slow buildup. Again, it was a fantastic read and I can’t wait for more. There are other characters waiting in the wings, and I would love to see their story unfold.

With this, I give The Captive’s Curse 5 stars.

Eloreen Moon

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon

About the Author:

Eliot’s a lifelong Southern California girl, right down to the flip-flops and backyard garden. When she’s not writing her next book, you can find her reading, drinking tea, or (more likely) catering to the demands of her kids and ancient, cranky cat.

Steamy books with delicious tension, heart-wrenching pining, and a hefty dose of action and adventure have always been her jam as a reader. Guess what she writes?

You can catch up with her on Facebook in her reader group, Eliot Grayson’s Escape from Reality, or sign up for her newsletter at eliotgrayson.com.

Website | Goodreads Author Page | Amazon Author Page | Instagram | Facebook Group ~ Escape from Reality | BookBub | Linktree

#Review: The Royal Curse (Twilight Mages Book 1) by @eliotgraysonauthor #LGBTQ #RecentRelease #Romance #Fantasy #Magic

Moonbeams over Atlanta welcomes Eliot Grayson to the blog.  Welcome to the first post on the new site. 🙂 Eliot is a new author to me but was intrigued by the burb she sent to me in Instagram direct message and wanted to read it.

Note: A reader copy was provided for an honest review.  The book released on Amazon December 7th, 2023.

The Blurb:

Dawn mage. Twilight mage. Cursed, useless, damaged, dangerous

His birth magic leaves Prince Nikola with nothing but bad choices: live as another man’s possession, subject to his whims and his desires, or remain dependent on a potion that stunts his powers and prevents him from knowing love.

Andreas vows to protect the prince with his life—whether Nikola wants him to or not. After all, the queen pays his soldier’s wage. Nikola’s nothing but a job to do.

But when they find themselves stranded, with Nikola’s potion running out, Andreas has to…improvise. Because what Prince Nikola needs to survive is the opposite of a lowly guard’s respectful protection.

It should’ve been only one night. Just until the potion’s refilled. But now that Nikola’s had Andreas’s touch, he craves Andreas again and again. He shouldn’t. But he—and his magic—can’t live without it…

The Royal Curse is a high-heat MM fantasy romance with a stubborn prince, an even more stubborn soldier, and cursed magic that can’t be denied. There is an on-page attempted sexual assault that is not between the main characters. HEA guaranteed.

The Review:

5 Stars

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I read this a few months ago, in one sitting no less; but, work, holidays, and moving my blog to be self hosting delayed this review. I realized as I was writing this post that it’s been a few years since my last review on my blog. I had said in an earlier post I wanted to review more this year. Well, now I have posted the first review of the year. 🙂 Hopefully, the first of many.

It is a start of a new series about Twilight mages and I have to say that Eliot knocked it out of the park with this first installment. We have Prince Nikola who suppresses his magic with a potion that needs to be carefully made, a trip that has some action-packed scenes highlighting that Nikola is not just a pretty, royal face, and Andreas, who started out as a bodyguard but the seeds of romance were in place long before these events. The writing is a cross between Victorian and medieval English in wording and cadence, and just a delight to read. It is definitely high-heat and wonderfully written with the requisite happily-ever-after ending.

It’s a fun story with some darker elements, a betrayal, and the romance gives you all the feels. In it, you can see the hints of who will be one of the main characters in a later book. Whether it’s the next book, or not, remains to be seen. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I can’t wait for the next installment.

With this, I give The Royal Curse 5 stars.

Eloreen Moon

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon

About the Author:

Eliot’s a lifelong Southern California girl, right down to the flip-flops and backyard garden. When she’s not writing her next book, you can find her reading, drinking tea, or (more likely) catering to the demands of her kids and ancient, cranky cat.

Steamy books with delicious tension, heart-wrenching pining, and a hefty dose of action and adventure have always been her jam as a reader. Guess what she writes?

You can catch up with her on Facebook in her reader group, Eliot Grayson’s Escape from Reality, or sign up for her newsletter at eliotgrayson.com.

Website | Goodreads Author Page | Amazon Author Page | Instagram | Facebook Group ~ Escape from Reality | BookBub | Linktree

Lot’s of things to update including a newsletter #musings #amwriting #publishing

 

So, lots of things have been going this month. I participated in #NaNoWriMo. I won’t win but I feel accomplished because I turned one story into a sequel. I’ll probably post about that next week.

The picture above was taken the Saturday I went to my first write-in for #NaNoLanta, the regional helpers for NaNo, at sunset. Not bad for a camera phone, right? You may have seen it on my Instagram or Facebook feed. I’m trying to be more sociable but for an introvert like me, it’s difficult. I’m working on it.

As I dropped into my blog to create this post, I realized my post from 11/23 announcing Together’s pre-order and release on Amazon Kindle and Kindle Unlimited didn’t have a title.

Oops. Missed that entirely.

I’ll blame it on the Thanksgiving Holidays and getting distracted by writing, publishing, and setting up a newsletter. *smile*

Together is the MMM Contemporary Menage short story I wrote for Beautiful Skin Anthology that the first edition was published at the end of August 2018. After three months, a few of the authors wanted to be taken out of the anthology and so a second edition is in the works. 50% of the proceeds will continue to be donated to the Sickly Cell research charity like the first edition and will be kept up in perpetuity. I’ll update with links for purchasing the eBook or print version of the new Anthology when I get them.

 

Here is my lovely cover from Emmy Ellis with Studioenp.

Buy Link

 

The Together eBook will go live on Saturday, December 1, 2018 and will be available on Kindle Unlimited. Eventually, I will get a paperback version added once I get it packaged. Stay tuned because I will be doing a limited sale for the story after it releases. Perhaps a contest for a free copy?

Speaking of newsletter, I have one now that will have exclusive content, free stuff, and notifications for my subscribers that will be in addition to the blog. The best part is if you sign up via the page below, you get a link to a free story in the eBook format of your choice.

Eloreen Moon’s Newsletter

If you have already subscribed, great! I look forward to interacting with everyone in a different way.

Today, I just submitted a 500-word flash fiction entry to Writers’ HQ From LGBTQ+ With Love contest. I didn’t find out about it until yesterday and the deadline is 11/30/2018 midnight GMT. Talk about submitting at the last minute. 🙂 It will be interesting to see if place for one of the prizes they offer. We’ll see how I do. I’m not expecting anything: I entered because it sounded like fun. If I win something, then it happens. If not, I have another flash fiction story. Hmmm, maybe I’ll compile them into a book and provide it as a freebie…

And now, I will leave you with a picture of one of the kittens that decided to live with the family a few months ago. He’s cute and warm on this cold day in Atlanta. 🙂 Can you believe he’s only 6-ish month’s old? Yeah, me neither. He’s not the biggest either.

 

Eloreen

It’s official! Together by Eloreen Moon will be available 12/1/2018 #PreOrder #LGBT #Romance #Menage #Amazon

Together by Eloreen Moon

Available for pre-order and in Kindle Unlimited when live December 1st, 2018

books2read.com/togetherem

Victor has loved El and En since high school. The problem is, they love each other and only see him as a friend. Victor leaves town, unable to cope with watching them together, but now he’s back—and his heart still feels the same.

El and En have had feelings for Victor for a long time, they just haven’t said anything. After all, a poly relationship isn’t something society looks upon kindly. But that isn’t going to stop them, not now they understand what missing Victor is like. They want their third, no matter what anyone says—they just have to find out whether Victor is up for the challenge.

Together again, individually, the three men know they’re meant to be a trio. The thing is, who will say so first? And will the dynamic work if Victor joins a stable couple? Can Victor fit in and have the relationship he’s dreamed of with the two men who have held his heart in their hands for what feels like forever?

Find out in Together.

Together originally published in Beautiful Skin: A People of Color Anthology. Content has not changed.

Dark Hunter (Zeta Cartel #4) by @AuthorAJAdams @WTMOreads #DarkRomance #KindleUnlimited

 

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‌Dark Hunter ( Zeta Cartel #4)
By AJ Adams
Genre: Dark Romance
Standalone read, approx 100,000 words

 

$3.99

 
Blurb
Rip Marston is a merciless killing machine. After a decade of hunting his
prey, Rip joins the Zetas. The job offers protection as he practices his dark arts, but the Cartel are wary of the monster in their midst.
Finding a badly beaten unconscious girl, Rip sees an opportunity. Posing as
her saviour will please the cartel – and provide him with his very own helpless captive.

 

Isabella Maria Franco is beautiful, wilful and used to making hard choices.
Having grown up in the comfortable but lethal embrace of the Gulf cartel, she rejected a life of violence. But when a dark presence from her past returns, her world falls apart.
Betrayed and beaten, she escapes, only to find herself in a living nightmare.
Surrounded by her enemies, one man stands between her and death. Terrified by her sadistic captor, she has little choice but to submit.
But embracing his darkness leads to consequences neither anticipated.

 

WARNING: This bad boy dark romance contains explicit scenes of dubious consent,
graphic violence, sex and probably every trigger you can think of.

 

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 $3.99
Have you read all the Zeta Cartel novels?
Click to find at your favourite bookshop
small Los Zetas Cartel Collection (3 book series) 3d kindle by AJ Adams.jpg
About The Author
Author AJ Adams.jpg
AJ Adams is a Scottish-Dutch author currently living in Malaysia. In her regular
life she is a columnist and feature writer. She works from home, where she is closely snoopervised by cats, Target, Guido and Swooner.
Want to Stalk AJ Adams?

 

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Dark Hunter (Zeta Cartel 4) by AJ Adams #PreOrderRelease #Spotlight #DarkRomance

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Dark Hunter (Zeta Cartel #4) 

By AJ Adams  
Standalone read, approx 100,000 words
Pre-order special: $2.99
Regular price: $3.99
  
Blurb
Rip Marston is a merciless killing machine. After a decade of hunting his prey, Rip joins the Zetas. The job offers protection as he practices his dark arts, but the Cartel are wary of the monster in their midst.
Finding a badly beaten unconscious girl, Rip sees an opportunity. Posing as her saviour will please the cartel – and provide him with his very own helpless captive.

 

Isabella Maria Franco is beautiful, wilful and used to making hard choices. Having grown up in the comfortable but lethal embrace of the Gulf cartel, she rejected a life of violence. But when a dark presence from her past returns, her world falls apart.
Betrayed and beaten, she escapes, only to find herself in a living nightmare. Surrounded by her enemies, one man stands between her and death. Terrified by her sadistic captor, she has little choice but to submit.
But embracing his darkness leads to consequences neither anticipated.

 

WARNING: This bad boy dark romance contains explicit scenes of dubious consent, graphic violence, sex and probably every trigger you can think of.
Have you read all the Zeta Cartel novels?
If you have KU, you can read all of AJ Adams cartel novels free!
Not on KU? Click to find at your favourite bookshop
About The Author
AJ Adams is a Scottish-Dutch author currently living in Malaysia. In her regular life she is a columnist and feature writer. She works from home, where she is closely snoopervised by cats, Target, Guido and Swooner.
Want to Stalk AJ Adams?
http://wtmowordsturnmeon.blogspot.com

@SensuousPromos #BookTour ‘Fallen Angel Part 1’ by Alisa Anderson & Cameron Skye #FamilyAboveEverything #Mafia #Romance

Just say Fiddle-dee-dee and move on – Jess and Scarlett O’Hara
 
To me Scarlett O’Hara from Gone with the Wind is one of the most fascinating female characters to ever have been pinned. She is a bitch-with-a-capital-B. She recognizes her flaws and never agonizes over them. She is not particularly bothered by the lies she tells or the wrong behavior she engages in. There is always a reason behind her ever reaction.
By definition, Scarlett is a mega bitch. But, what I feel is often missed where her character was  concerned is she’s also a survivor. In fact, Margaret Mitchell was asked to basically define the theme of Gone with the Wind and she said it was simply about “survival.”  
In comparing Jess and Scarlett, I also have to define the theme of Fallen Angel: A Mafia Romance as “survival” as well.
My survival.
Jess, like Scarlett, doesn’t conform to society’s norms and pretty much does what the hell she wants with no apologies. She was not afraid to express herself, often letting her mouth get her into trouble.
Yes, there are many flaws to both characters but I’d like to focus on the fact when both were faced with obstacles they became determined to overcome their circumstances no mater what.
Be it through bad relationships, abuse, rape, starvation, both woman found a way to survive. I appreciate they, no matter what, felt tomorrow’s another day. They didn’t dwell on the past or their mistakes.
Each saw tomorrow as a fresh start. One with promise. Each woman (Scarlett, Jess, I) just said Fiddle-dee-dee and survived.
 
 
Fallen Angel: A Mafia Romance
 (Roman Crime Family)
Alisa Anderson & Cameron Skye
“Fallen Angel is a dark, tasty appetizer with echoes of “The Sopranos.” It’s like picking up a Lindt truffle on your way out of the store. There’s just enough to wake up your taste buds, or in this case, other parts due South.” – Margo’s Red Light District
“Gritty,sexy and with a strong but vulnerable female lead. Fallen Angel is a surprisingly good read.” – Ingrid Hall
“Is Jess going to get sucked into a world with Nick that will destroy her or will she bring Nick to the other side and they find happy ever after? I will be grabbing the next book soon. I need to know more about this story and what the future holds.” – TBird, Crystals Many Reviews
“Fallen Angel is a quick and sexy read. I hope to get the chance to read the next installment. I want to know more about Nick and the dangerous games he’s playing. – Angela, Crystals Many Reviews.”
Based on events from author, Cameron Skye’s life. Where does fiction meet reality? You decide.
Fallen Angel is a mafia romance serial novel released every 4 to 6 weeks, at approximately 8000 to 11000 words each. Due to sexual content, implied and actual scenes of abuse, violence, organized crime, language and frequent illegal drug use, we recommend this to mature audiences, ages 18 and over, who are comfortable with this subject matter. 
 

Amazon

 

Join the Family

#FamilyAboveEverything

 

Authors Bios: 

Alisa Anderson
well…alisa did stuff and is still doing stuff. only now she has two boys crazy enuff to want her as their mommy. hey, at least she tried to warn them, so her job is done. she doesn’t like to capitalize, partially because she likes how lower case letters look visually, but mostly out of laziness. please don’t judge. it could be you. and she would say, hey. you’re alright, buddy. you’re ok in my book. now c’mere for a hug. the hug might be pushing it. air kiss? you are strangers, after all, with only a mutual love of poor grammar.
she lives for a world full of controllable anatomically correct, android men programmed to meet her specific feminine needs (wink, wink, nudge, nudge with a big waggle of the eyebrows). who look like the rock. and ian somerhalder. and idris elba. and that’s it she promises. variety. gotta have variety, right?
but alas…apparently that exists only in johanna lindsey’s genius mind. so until then, she enjoys her incredibly warped sense of humor. she reads tons of erotica and romantic, drippy goo that makes her heart go pitter patter. then she thought, hey. what, she said to herself. (softly, of course, so no one finds out she is indeed, 2 nuts short of a fruitcake) maybe you should write this stuff too. maybe someone will like it and maybe buy it. so she said, huh, you think? then she said, well…yeah, i wouldn’t have suggested it…(inserts sarcastic tone) and then she was like lose the attitude, ok? then she was all, would you just shut up and write, already? sheesh! and she did. 🙂
Cameron Skye
When Cameron is not in the lab working toward a Ph.D., in Neuropsychopharmacology, which in laymen’s terms is basically finding the effects drugs have on mood and behavior, she is writing stories, crating vivid, intense characters you will never forget.
She believes while life can take you down every path but the right one, eventually everyone will find their happily ever after.