Rounding out my coverage of the 2021 RONE awards. Note that my blog omits the categories; Young Adult, Historical ~ Ancient to Regency, Paranormal Short, Historical ~ Victorian to 20th Century, Contemporary/Sweet, Audiobooks, and Anthologies.
THE WINNERS ARE:
Time Travel/Science Fiction
Within days of being rescued from Desperation Crevasse, Lilian must return at Lucius’ side as his shield bearer. Together with their guild allies, they will confront the Despoilers and end their threat to Blooded Dagger and the cartel. In the savage battle, Lucius is injured leaving Lilian to protect her him, Blooded Dagger, and the cartel.
Stranded on Desperation until he recovers, Lucius gathers his allies to protect his interests from rivals determined to exploit his weakness. With the aid of ancient guild lore, he and Lilian will seek to uncover the remaining Despoilers and penetrate the mystery of an ancient prophecy. Before he can return to Crevasse City and his center of power, one if his inner circle will challenge his preeminence and threaten Lilian’s survival. It will take all his cunning and Lilian’s courage to counter the betrayal before it endangers the Nightingale’s voyage to the Thirteenth System.
Across the Twelve Systems, from Desperation to Metricelli Prime, and Fortuna, Lilian and Lucius will battle to protect their love and forge a future for themselves, Blooded Dagger, Serengeti, and the Twelve Systems.
Author’s note: This is the ninth book in the Twelve Systems Chronicles and a continuation of the story that begins in The Cartel: The Apprentice, Volume 1.
US$4.99 Purchase Links
Amazon * Nook * Kobo * Apple
Contemporary/Steamy
“You only get one chance to make a first impression.”
When Charlie Lawrence meets his neighbor, it’s not good.
Lanie Kelly is a small town girl who loves contemporary rock n’ roll; lives the night owl life; and craves peace and quiet.
Charlie is a city boy who loves country western music; sunrise walks with his dogs; and woodworking with his collection of power tools.
They share a driveway and little else.
Sparks fly as summer heats up and a thunderstorm drops a tree on Charlie’s house. As their relationship begins to blossom, a fifty year old family feud and a toxic ex-lover test its strength.
With hearts and homes on the line, Lanie and Charlie must decide to give up or…
Historical/Regency
Lord Percival Bretagne is used to playing games. He survived being a spy for a decade using his wits alone. But that was just life and death. Now, he’s playing for the most important prize of all—love.
He’ll Stop at Nothing…
Ten years after his family gave him up for dead, British spy Lord Percival Bretagne is back home, but his mission is far from over. Playing the aristocrat in London gambling dens and at country house parties is just a cover for Percy’s real quest. He’s hunting the man who stole everything from him—his family, his marriage, even his identity. And this time nothing, and no one, will stand in his way.
She’ll Risk it All…
But one night with Isabel Galante changes everything. She’s willing to gamble a woman’s most intimate prize in order to save her imprisoned father, but she didn’t expect a devilishly handsome opponent with a dangerously attractive wicked streak. Isabel would do anything for her family, including betraying Percy, but she has no idea that she’s stumbled into the middle of a decade-long quest for revenge.
Who Will Win in the Game Called Love?
Percy has been betrayed before, and now the man who destroyed his life is using Isabel to strike again. With the fate of the government and his new life in the balance, he’ll have to keep Isabel seductively, scandalously close. They begin a passionate game of truth and lies, deception and dalliance, uncovering the heart of who they really are and realizing that winning might mean losing what matters the most—each other.
US$3.99 or KU Link
Amazon
Paranormal Long
When dealing with vampires, expect betrayal at every turn…
Mage private investigator Alice Worth’s life has changed dramatically. On the plus side, she has a new home to share with alpha werewolf Sean Maclin and her ghost sidekick Malcolm. She’s also gained an office with her name on the door, a fearsome ally, and dark magic inherited from a defeated enemy.
On the downside, a dire prophecy hangs over her head, she’s uncovered a terrible betrayal, and the new magic is killing her.
When the ancient head of the Vampire Court calls in a favor, Alice is forced to put aside her own problems to hunt a stolen treasure. She and Malcolm travel to realms full of wonders and nightmares in their pursuit of a thief consumed by need for vengeance. To survive and return home, they must rely on a motley group of highly unusual allies.
In pursuit of justice, Alice and Malcolm face many terrifying adversaries. Unfortunately, some are much closer to home than they could imagine…
US$4.99 or KU Link
Amazon
Suspense/Thriller
Obsession is a dangerous thing, especially if you’re the target…
Detective Evan Gallagher has exchanged his job as an FBI agent for a position within Ireland’s police force. A Garda Síochána rarely deals with serious crime, and Evan thinks Dublin would be a quiet place to start over-but he’s proven wrong.
Psychologist Chelsea Campbell never thought that volunteering as profiler for the Garda would change her life so drastically-until Detective Gallagher calls her to a murder scene in the middle of the night.
Is this a one-time impulse, or is the killer’s agenda only starting? As hard as Chelsea and Evan struggle to solve the case, neither of them expects a second dead body so soon. Working against the clock, they have to win this cat-and-mouse game before the killer claims the next intended victim-which happens to be one of them.
Each book from The Irish Garda Files series can be read as a stand-alone novel and does not contain cliffhangers.
Historical: Scottish
Ten years ago, Bess Mowatt promised to guard her newborn cousin from his father, Aleck Maxwell. Called the Reiver Wolf, Maxwell is the scourge of the Scottish marches, and no fit guardian for a child. But when the keep where Bess and the boy live suddenly comes under Maxwell’s protection, she has nowhere to hide.
Aleck doesn’t quite believe the tale he was told, that his son died at birth. His head tells him one thing, and his heart another. While protecting the keep from marauders, he makes a connection with Bess’s young charge. But Bess stands in the way, a woman who is also a warrior, a protector who needs his protection. Can he persuade this fiery woman to accept his help? Will a lie told long ago stand in the way of their love?
Fantasy
Being Chosen by the Gods doesn’t mean much when the Gods have abandoned you.
Jordan was raised to save his people from the war to come. All his life he trained to take down the rebel army of demigods and demons foretold to tear the middle realm of Terath to pieces in their determination to destroy the Gods.
Now, the war is finally here. But everything that made Jordan special has been stripped away from him—his prophetic ability to hear the Gods in Their creation, his leadership over his people, even his faith.
As the rebels send a new threat to take down Jordan and the people of Haven—the most powerful wizard of all the ages—Jordan has never felt more lost. So when the golem who served as Jordan’s only friend and childhood protector disappears, Jordan sets out to fix at least one thing in this dark, broken world—even if it means breaking into the Gods’ home and hunting Them down—and bring back a soul for Adem.
US$6.99 or KU
Amazon
Mystery
Till death do us part, with kitchen shears. What drives a family man to kill his wife? This question haunts Sarah James, a medical resident who meets the unhappy family at a resort near Big Sur. She witnesses how ugly a marriage can be. But murder?
Sarah and the spunky Fog Ladies—elderly neighbors from her San Francisco apartment building—set out to discover the truth. Their probing finds the threat is perilously close to home, as another troubled family struggles to survive.
Cops, Jocks, & Cowboys
He wants to protect her.
She needs him to love her.
Parker Princeton is a man’s man. The kind who leads expeditions into the wilderness, can start a campfire with nothing but determination, and has survived on a steady diet of beef jerky and Dr Pepper. When he discovers a female in the woods, alone and injured, his first instinct is to protect her, the second to claim her as his own. Although she can barely remember her name, he’s falling head over heels in love with the beautiful, mysterious woman.
Growing up as a pampered princess from a small European kingdom, all Poppy Granville wants is to experience a normal life. After finishing a year of studies in New York, Poppy decides to explore America before she returns home to face the responsibilities of her title. She ditches her cell phone, buys an old rust bucket car, and sets out on an adventure. After an injury leaves her stranded in the middle of nowhere, a rugged outdoorsman seems to be her only hope of surviving, even if she has to pretend to have amnesia to keep her identity a secret.
Will telling him the truth set her free, or lose him forever?
Laughter, love, and a fairy tale ending await in this funny, sweet romance packed with small-town charm.
US$5.99 or KU
Amazon
*** Prices reflect time of posting.
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