Category Archives: blog tour

THE NEW YEAR’S MAN by Michael Scott Clifton—LSLL Book Campaign: Review and Giveaway

THE NEW YEAR’S MAN

by Michael Scott Clifton

Romantic Fantasy / Romantic Comedy

Publication Date: September 11, 2026

SYNOPSIS

Landry LeBlanc has everything he wants: a luxury condo, a fast-rising legal career, expensive taste, and an ironclad rule against falling in love. Relationships, to him, come with expiration dates—and New Year’s Eve is his favorite time to end them.

But when Landry takes his latest girlfriend to the mysterious Fairy Lights Brasserie, his perfectly controlled life comes apart in spectacular fashion. One brutal breakup later, he finds himself face-to-face with Stella: a cigar-smoking, wand-wielding fairy godmother with questionable fashion sense, a faulty temper, and a mission to thaw his hardened heart.

Stella has one simple plan: make Landry fall in love.

Landry’s plan is simpler: get rid of Stella.

Then he meets Allie Beck—brilliant, fearless, unpredictable, and every bit his equal. As legal games become personal and magic keeps crashing through his carefully ordered world, Landry must face the past he buried, the heart he protected, and the possibility that love isn’t a weakness after all. Funny, romantic, and touched with fairy-tale chaos, The New Year’s Man is the story of a man who breaks hearts every New Year’s Eve.

This year, magic will break his.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michael Scott Clifton is an award-winning author celebrated for conjuring tales where magic and mystery collide, including the 2024 Reader’s Favorite Book Award winner Pringle Prawn and the 2026 Reader’s Favorite Bronze Award winner The End Game. His diverse body of work whisks readers into fantastical worlds and across genres, from the enchanting Conquest of the Veil series to gripping stand-alone novels like The Treasure Hunt Club, the haunting The Janus Witch, and the acclaimed sports romance The End Game. Recognized for imaginative plots, compelling characters, and heart-pounding adventure, Clifton invites readers to explore more at michaelscottclifton.com.

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REVIEW


A delightfully comedic romp of a romantic fantasy story, The New Year’s Man by Michael Scott Clifton is a fast read that lightens up the Big Dark of winter.  

It’s refreshing to read a romance from the male lead’s point of view. Landry, however, is not your typical Romance hero. He wasn’t a sympathetic figure at the beginning of the story—a cocky, ruthless lawyer with a reputation for ending relationships before the calendar flips to the new year and who holds love in contempt. Readers will hate him before they fall for him, and that credits the author’s talent. A rough backstory alone doesn’t deliver that effect. It must be paired with a massive leap in character growth. Mr. Clifton achieved that in this book.

The chaotic set of fantastical characters and series of events not only affected the change in Landry, but also provided the humor that made this story especially entertaining. Stella, the unconventional fairy godmother, was a total hoot. So were her accomplices, Hank, Brad, and Barnaby. Landry’s exploits in fairyland recall Alice’s adventures in Wonderland.

Allie is an ideal female love interest, with qualities that believably explain Landry’s change of heart. She was bold and capable and made Landry earn her love. A worthy Romance heroine. 

The story’s pacing is quick, but effectively controlled. It lends the book an unputdownable quality that encourages readers to finish in one sitting. I did, and I give kudos to Michael Scott Clifton for another entertaining read.

 

 

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UNBREAKABLE TEXAS WOMEN by Joanne Easley— LSBBT Cover Reveal Book Blast

UNBREAKABLE TEXAS WOMEN

By JOANNE KUKANZA EASLEY

NEW COVER REVEAL

SYNOPSIS

SWEET JANE

She ran from her mother’s life. Then she had to go home and face it.

By six, Janie already knows what most children never have to learn: vodka doesn’t just make Mama mean — it destroys everything it touches. Growing up in the dust and hard living of 1950s Odessa, Texas, she vows she’ll never become her mother. At sixteen, she runs, hitchhiking west just as the Summer of Love begins — chasing freedom, and finding instead the same old patterns of pain in new places.

Seventeen years later, Jane looks like she’s won. She’s sober, married to a psychiatrist, working toward her graduate degree — a life rebuilt from the ground up. But when news of her estranged mother’s death pulls her back to Odessa, the past she’s spent two decades outrunning finally catches her. Old wounds. Buried truths. A discovery that forces her to question everything she believed about the woman who raised her—and the woman she’s become.

Told in alternating voices — young Janie’s raw first person and adult Jane’s reflective third — Sweet Jane is a dual-timeline story about family secrets, generational wounds, forgiveness, and the long, unglamorous work of healing from it. Winner of the Texas Indie Author Project and a finalist for the Sarton and Eric Hoffer Awards, this is West Texas storytelling with an authentic drawl and a hard-won hopeful heart.

I’LL BE SEEING YOU

Some women spend a lifetime running from the past. Others finally find the courage to face it.

Even as a girl in Palo Pinto County, Texas, Ruby Eaton knew she would never become a ranch wife. At sixteen, she’s spotted at the 1940 Fort Worth Stock Show and swept into Manhattan as Lauren—a Powers Girl chasing glamour, jazz clubs, and a life that looks nothing like the one she left behind. When the dream collapses, she drowns the wreckage in liquor, lovers, and one-way tickets. Widowed and divorced by twenty-four, she keeps running, certain every fresh start will erase the woman she used to be.

Now sixty-one, sober for twenty-four hard-earned years and successful in Austin, Lauren believes she’s finally made peace with her past. Then Brett—the husband she left more than three decades ago—walks back in and asks for a second chance. Unsure, she turns to the one person who knows every scar: her AA sponsee, Jane, the unforgettable heroine of Sweet Jane.

I’ll Be Seeing You is a raw, sweeping saga of ambition, addiction, shattered dreams, and the long, gritty road to redemption.

HIGHER LOVE

At sixty-one, Lauren has finally found a peaceful life with Brett. Then a teenage girl arrives at her door: Stephanie, claiming to be her granddaughter, the child of the baby Lauren gave up for adoption over four decades ago. Family secrets split open. With Brett’s steady presence beside her, Lauren must raise a wounded, complicated girl while confronting the past she thought she had buried.

Told in raw, alternating chapters from Lauren’s and Stephanie’s points of view, Higher Love traces the long reach of intergenerational trauma and the uneasy dance between blood ties and chosen family.

When financial disaster threatens Stephanie’s future, Lauren sacrifices nearly everything to send her granddaughter to college. Then a bittersweet twist of fate—one that echoes the deepest regrets of Lauren’s own youth—forces the family to find a new way forward.

An unflinching multi-generational saga of extraordinary emotional depth, Higher Love will resonate with readers of Mary Beth Keane, Ann Patchett, and Elizabeth Strout.

JUST ONE LOOK

Dani Marek firmly believes the first cut is the deepest and sets out to prove she’ll never love again after the tragic loss of her first love. As she grieves, her life spirals, bereft of self-examination. After trying to break as many hearts as hers has been broken, she marries a man she doesn’t love, planning to use him for college tuition, then leave him.

After a night Dani would rather forget, an unplanned pregnancy derails her ambitions. Dani achieves her freedom from the loveless marriage in an unexpected way, and at the age of twenty-four, she’s left with a baby, a small fortune, and two ghosts.

Set against the backdrop of the turbulent 60s and 70s, Just One Look is the story of a woman who learns to navigate loss, shame, and redemption, arriving at a place where she can love again.

Perfect for the readers of Anne Napolitano and Mary McGarry Morris, this novel is a beautifully written coming of age story that will pull at your heart strings.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Joanne Kukanza Easley, a retired registered nurse with experience in both the cold, clinical operating room and the highly charged world of psychiatric hospitals, lives in the Texas Hill Country, where she writes fiction about complicated, twentieth-century women. Her multi-award-winning debut, Sweet Jane, was named the adult fiction winner at the Texas Author Project and shortlisted for the Sarton Award and Eric Hoffer Award, among others. Just One Look, Joanne’s second novel, was a May 2022 Pulpwood Queen Book Club Pick. I’ll Be Seeing You, her third novel, features characters from Sweet Jane. Higher Love, the fourth in the series released in spring 2025. Her prize-winning short stories and poetry have appeared in several anthologies.

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INDIGO, THE DEEP by Kellye Abernathy – LSBBT Book Campaign: Review and Giveaway

INDIGO, THE DEEP

by Kellye Abernathy

Teen and YA / Coming of Age / Fantasy

Publisher: Atmosphere Press

Publication Date: July 7, 2026

SYNOPSIS

“In the heart of the deepest sea caverns, there is a stillness. Learn to surrender to it.”

Fifteen-year-old Condi Bloom knows the magic will happen again. The autumn equinox is looming. Strange currents are sweeping through her coastal town. Tides are turning wild, and a mercurial mist cloaks the lonely rock tower known as Windy Hollow, long believed to be haunted.

When a silent threat glides into the cove, altering the fragile ecosystem and drawing sharks close to shore, Condi ignores the danger. A fierce surfer, she insists on pushing her skills to the limit, hoping to heal a broken heart. Meanwhile, seventeen-year-old Firth Cristo, a bold free diver, is tormented by a past he cannot reveal. Guided by the Beachlings, the mystical women who teach the secrets of the deep, he dares to explore remote underwater sea caverns, navigating the pulsing tides of a shimmering enchantment.

Inspired by the certainty of wonder and the uncertain nature of time, Condi and Firth dive into their rawest places, discovering that healing—of nature, of others, and of themselves—is found in the bounty of a limitless sea.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

An avid reader and writer, Kellye is the author of the YA science-fantasy series: The Aquamarine Surfboard (2022), Amethyst, The Shallows (2024), and Indigo, The Deep (2026). A former wireless business executive and a graduate of the University of Kansas, Kellye teaches practical life skills, creative writing, yoga, and mindfulness within the trauma-survivor community in Plano, Texas. She hopes to inspire healing through body and breath awareness, creativity, consistency, and compassion.   Her joys are many and varied, among them neuroscience, oceanography, swimming, biking, family adventures, and great conversation. She believes in staying curious, showing up, and keeping her heart open. 

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REVIEW

I’ve enjoyed my previous visits to Dipitous Beach, and this time is no different. Ms. Abernathy’s fantastical world, inhabited by unique individuals, is a fascinating and delightful read. 

The themes of community, found family, friendship, and environmental stewardship are highly appealing to me; that is why I follow this series closely and own all three books. The mixture of fantasy, adventure, and a little romance makes for a highly original work.

All I know for sure is that the people we love never leave us.”

The author’s talent for imbuing each character with a distinct and unforgettable personality is quite admirable, given the growing number of the cast with every new installment. The Beachlings, in particular, are dear to me, and every possibility of loss evokes sadness. The kids, especially those who were given the privilege of interacting with Koan and visiting the deep (Conti, Isaac, and Firth), come across as authentic and relatable. They still act their age while displaying maturity under great stress. The supporting characters also stand out and contribute significantly to the overarching story. 

“Whatever is destined cannot be prevented.”

Ms. Abernathy’s descriptions are always top-notch and infuse her books with an excellent sense of place. The action scenes are evocative and play like a film in readers’ imaginations. The dialogue between the characters is meaningful and moves the story along quite well. The pacing is on-point. The multiple points of view make sense and are never confusing. A mark of great writing.

Cinematic, touching, and relevant, this book deserves a high rating.

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FEELS LIKE THE FIRST TIME by Kimberly Packard – LSLL Review

FEELS LIKE THE FIRST TIME

By Kimberly Packard

Romance / Time-Slip / RomCom

Publisher: Abalos Publishing

Publication Date: 16 June 2026

SYNOPSIS

Blink and your life’s halfway over. What if that happens literally?

College party girl Emily Murray bounces through majors and boys until an ill-advised art major leads her to a rebellious relationship with an aspiring rock star. When her father cuts off the college fund—and her boyfriend ditches her to chase a record deal—Emily spirals, hard.

One shaved head and emotional black out later, she wakes up thirty years in the future, living a life she doesn’t recognize as a successful therapist and engaged to a total stranger.

With no apparent way to rewind the clock, Emily scrambles to make sense of her new reality. With a wedding date looming and a competitive therapist threatening her fragile career, Emily is forced to question: Was this really the future she was meant for?

Witty, sharp and unexpectedly heartwarming, Feels Like the First Time, the highly anticipated follow up to This Time Around, is a love letter to our younger selves, reminding us that even when we feel lost, we often end up exactly where we need to be. 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kimberly Packard is an award-winning author of women’s fiction and romance.

When she isn’t writing, she can be found planning her next trip, asking her dog what’s in his mouth or curled up with a book. She resides in Texas with her husband Colby, a clever cat named Oliver and a precocious black lab named Tully.

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REVIEW

an iPad showing the cover of the book with an engagement ring in a box and a phone showing a text message

Ms. Packard’s remarkable talent in giving a fresh twist to the classic theme of time-travel fiction is once again in full display in Feels Like the First Time. I read and loved the first book, This Time Around, and raved about it in my review, so I had huge expectations about this second book in the series. To say that I was completely satisfied is putting it mildly. Emotional and original, this book is one of my Top 26 Books of 2026.

I was in awe of the author’s audacity to tell the ending right smack in the middle of the story. While a happy-ever-after is guaranteed in Romance, the convention is that it’s always found at the end of the book. Ms. Packard’s skill in subverting the norm while staying true to the genre’s essence is truly admirable. 

As in the first book, the fantastical element of the time jump feels absolutely believable, possible even. Emily’s characterization in both timelines comes across as authentic and relatable. Her reactions to the confusing events happening in both personal and professional life come across as natural, never over-the-top or underwhelming. Several times while reading, I found myself thinking that if I were in Emily’s situation, I would have done the same thing. She’s a lead character who is easy to sympathize with and root for. Her personality is well-rounded, with failings and strengths in equal measure. The same could be said about the support characters, starting with Craig, Monique, Josie, and Astrid. Even the ones who caused heartache to the heroine—Wick and Em’s dad—are not altogether hateful. Just a good balance that is desirable in a story.

As always, the themes of family, close friendships, and swoony romance will always earn my approval. Especially when woven in the evocative way as Ms. Packard did in this book. Her dialogues and narration are quote-worthy, and here are some of my favorites:

Life without laughter is just a drab colorless existence. I have no interest in existing. No matter how many years I’ve skipped. I want to live. Even if that comes with tears and frustration, it will also come with laughter and light.”

Fighting time is like fighting a rip tide. The more you struggle, the more it pulls you under. Time is a gift…”

Love isn’t about fitting yourself into someone else’s box, it’s about being with someone whose love helps you grow.”

…life is a mosaic of belonging and loneliness, joy and sorrow.”

five stars

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THE LAST FAIRY WITCH by Jean M. Roberts – LSLL Book Blast

Book Blast April 3, 2026

THE LAST FAIRY WITCH

by Jean M. Roberts

Historical Fantasy

Publication Date: March 31, 2026

SYNOPSIS

Cover of The Last Fairy

Hannah Heronstone appears to have everything—a devoted husband, a beloved child, and a thriving business built on ancient herbal knowledge. Yet beneath the calm surface of her life, something old and malevolent stirs. A disturbing encounter with a friend from her husband’s past awakens Hannah’s suspicion that a coven of dark witches is gathering near Wentworth Manor. When Hannah, Peter, and Johannah journey to Ireland, her fears take terrifying form as she comes face to face with an unspeakable monster. A fairy offers her aid—but in a land where truth is slippery and magic demands a price, can such a creature be trusted? And where, across legend and time, can she find the Last Fairy Witch?

Centuries earlier, Eithne is a young Irish slave whose gift for healing marks her as something more. Trained by a druid, her growing power cannot be hidden for long. Sent to the sacred stronghold of Rathcroghan to become a Bandrui, Eithne finds herself caught between two suitors—a gifted bard and a handsome prince—while a darker force watches from the shadows. A ruthless witch who will stop at nothing to destroy her.

Separated by centuries but bound by magic and fate, Hannah and Eithne must each risk everything to confront the darkness rising in their worlds. To save those they love, they must cross through time itself—or lose all they hold dear.

The Last Fairy Witch is book three in The Women of Midsummer Series. 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jean M. Roberts makes her home outside of Houston, Texas. Her experiences as a military brat, a serving Air Force officer, and wife of an Air Force pilot have left her with a love of travel, history and a sense of adventure. THE LAST FAIRY WITCH  is her 11th novel. She writes historical fiction, historical fantasy, and cozy murder mysteries in a fictitious Texas town. When not writing, she loves to garden, cook, read and dream of her next book. 

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BEAUTIFUL TO SEE YOU (AGAIN) by Lygia Day Peñaflor – Cover Reveal

BEAUTIFUL TO SEE YOU (again)

Lygia Day Peñaflor

Publisher: Sarah Barley Books / S&S
Release Date: October 20, 2026

BLURB

ARE YOU READY TO GO BACK?

 Tia is sleepwalking through life. Once an ambitious student and promising actor, now she’s an aimless college dropout dragging herself to her dog-walking job . . . until she follows the sound of a ringing bell to a mysterious tunnel in Central Park, a tunnel that can transport her back in time, back to the summer of Natty.

 When MIT-bound Natty Poole delivered the valedictory speech of a lifetime, Tia finally noticed him, the awkward boy who’d always adored her. Despite their looming departures for college, they couldn’t help but fall in love. But their perfect summer came to a tragic end, separating Tia and Natty seemingly forever.

 Although visiting the tunnel weakens her, Tia remains obsessed with seeing Natty and finding a way to change the past—so obsessed that she’s neglecting the present, which includes the handsome and persuasive film student Razor Ford, who is dead set on having Tia star in his short film.

 Every moment spent with Razor feels like a betrayal of Natty, but there’s something about Razor that keeps pulling her in. Torn between then and now, how can Tia move on when her heart and the tunnel won’t let her?

Preorder Link: Amazon

ABOUT LYGIA

 

THE END GAME by Michael Scott Clifton – LSLL Book Campaign

THE END GAME

By Michael Scott Clifton

Contemporary Sports Romance

Publisher: Independently Published

Publication Date: August 8, 2025

SYNOPSIS

Eager to put his past behind him, Chris Cooper takes the head basketball job at Mayfield High School in Northeast Texas. Haunted by a history of rocky relationships, he’s surprised by the sparks his landlady, single mom, Jennie Sloan, ignites in him.  

Despite trust issues from her own tumultuous past, something about the tall coach with emerald-green eyes makes Jennie believe in second chances. When her young son bonds with Cooper, the barriers Jennie built around her heart begin to crumble.

Excited about the raw potential of his team, Cooper is blindsided by Rocco Rawlings, the arrogant Head Football Coach and Athletic Director. The AD demands Cooper’s entire team play football. When Cooper refuses, Rawlings works to undermine the basketball program, and Cooper is forced to find inventive ways to succeed.

As the stakes rise on and off the court, Cooper and Jennie must contend with the demons of their past to protect the fragile flame they’ve lit, while Cooper’s scrappy team—fueled by grit, heart and a shared dream—might just defy the odds and reach the ultimate end game.

A state championship.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Journey into realms of magic and mystery

Michael Scott Clifton is a rapacious reader, gardener, and movie junkie. A resident of East Texas, he lives in Mount Pleasant with his wife, Melanie. A multi-award winning author, his books include The Treasure Hunt Club, The Janus Witch, and the Conquest of the Veil Series—The Open Portal, Escape From Wheel, A Witch’s Brew, and Cavern of the Veil Queen, and the award-wining Teen/YA novel, Edison Jones and the Anti-Grav Elevator. Pringle Prawn, an urban fantasy novel, is a 2024 Reader’s Favorite Book Award winner. Google him @authormsclifton, or visit his website at www.michaealscottclifton.com

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REVIEW

Texas-style Hoosiers meets a Hallmark movie, in book form. With its small-town, underdog-basketball-team-goes-to-the-state-championship feel-good story, paired with a sweet romance, The End Game checks all my boxes for an incredibly satisfying read. 

… our lives aren’t blank pages in a book … We can’t skip the parts we don’t like and flip ahead to the parts we do.”

Michael Scott Clifton’s writing shows a cinematic quality that makes his work a great candidate for film adaptation. His deft use of classic storytelling elements—characters, setting, back story, conflict, and action—yielded a book that a wide range of readers would find engaging.  Sports, romance, drama, faith. There’s something in it for everyone to enjoy.

From the first dribble of the ball, always look where you’re going, not where you’ve been.”

The large cast of characters includes a sympathetic hero in basketball coach Chris Cooper, a fascinating love-interest in Jennie, an obstructive antagonist in Rawlings, a wise mentor in Julius, and a wonderful group of young athletes who are easy to root for.  The romance between Cooper and Jennie, although fast-paced, was seamlessly integrated into the story and enhanced the overall theme rather than distracting from it. Jennie and her son Josh were essential parts of Cooper’s personal endgame. 

Individual players don’t win games. Teams do.”

The basketball scenes are where this book shines the most. Mr. Clifton’s descriptions of the players’ moves in the games and Cooper’s strategic coaching instructions made the book come alive. There were several heart-in-throat moments as well as fist-pump celebrations. It was as if I was watching the action on TV without the added cursing-at-the-referees part of the normal viewing experience. 

In essence, The End Game is a slam dunk of a story.  Swish. 

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CANYON OF DECEIT by DiAnn Mills – LSLL Book Campaign: Review and Giveaway

Canyon of Deceit

By DiAnn Mills

Romantic Suspense

Publisher: Tyndale Fiction

Pages: 338

Publication Date: September 9, 2025

SYNOPSIS

A child. A deadly conspiracy. A race against time.

When survival expert Therese Palmer is called to find a kidnapped girl, she quickly realizes the truth is more dangerous than she imagined. Enlisting the help of Texas Ranger Blane Gardner, they track the girl’s last known location deep in the Guadalupe Mountains—where every clue leads to more deception. As Russian organized crime and a deadly assassination plot come to light, Therese and Blane must fight against ruthless enemies and their growing attraction. Will they find the girl before time runs out, or will she become a pawn in a much bigger game?

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Award-winning author DiAnn Mills is known for her gripping romantic suspense novels where readers can Expect An Adventure. With multiple Christy Awards and numerous bestsellers, her stories captivate readers with their depth and intensity. A passionate storyteller and dedicated mentor, DiAnn is also a coffee connoisseur and proud grandmother living in Houston, Texas.


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REVIEW

Heart-wrenching prologue. Catch-your-breath action adventure. Second-chance romance. Faith-centered story. Danger at every turn and thrilling international intrigue. DiAnn Mills’s Canyon of Deceit has it all. 

Hope is a reason to live when the world erupts into madness.”

Ms. Mills delivered once more a fast-paced, high-stakes romantic suspense novel with a strong Christian belief at its core. As I’ve come to expect from her, the main characters, Therese Palmer and Blane Gardner, are excellent at their jobs and worthy of respect. Their tragic back stories make it easy to sympathize with them and root for them to triumph against all odds. What they were missing in terms of luck, they made up for in bravery and fierce determination to complete their mission. They are deserving of a hopeful future together after going through everything Ms. Mills threw their way. Without giving away spoilers, I can say that at the end of the book, bruised and battered Therese and Blane truly earned their happily-ever-after. 

Nothing is guaranteed. Neither life nor death.”

The situation with the antagonists is super complicated, and some aspects of the Russian subplot went over my head. It gave a proper backdrop to explain the involvement of the FBI and the Texas Rangers, but the violence and loss of lives and properties leaned towards excessive. The bright light in the midst of all the bloodshed is the little girl Alina. She provided the focal point of the story and the motivation for the actions taken by both sides — good and bad. 

It’s not what we lose that defines our character—it’s what we learn.”

An exhilarating read. Thanks to the publisher and Lone Star Literary Life for providing me with an advanced copy to review and for including me in the campaign.

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TO CONDEMN A WITCH by Lisa A. Traugott – LSLL Book Campaign: Review & Giveaway

TO CONDEMN A WITCH

By LISA A. TRAUGOTT

Historical Fantasy

Publisher: Rose Castle Media

Pages: 399

Publication Date: August 11, 2025

SYNOPSIS

A stolen scroll. A cursed bloodline. A prophecy that binds three witches across life and death…

Scotland, 1729. When clairvoyant healer Fiona MacLeod discovers an enchanted scroll, she awakens a prophecy linking her fate to two other women: Eleanor, a servant-turned-mistress caught in a scandal, and Matilda, a vengeful ghost burned for witchcraft. Together, they must form a coven—maiden, mother, and crone—to protect a changeling child marked by ancient magic.

But a ruthless witch hunter is closing in—one who will stop at nothing to destroy the child and the women sworn to defend her.

Spanning the infamous Hellfire Caves of England to haunted Scottish glens and the wilds of colonial Virginia, To Condemn a Witch is a haunting prequel in the Tales of the Witchblood series—a dark tale of feminine power, sacrifice, and the unbreakable bond between witches who rise, no matter how often they are condemned.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lisa A. Traugott is the award-winning author of the Tales of the Witchborn series (To Rescue a Witch and To Condemn a Witch), a haunting historical fantasy saga in the realm of ghosts, goddesses, and rebellion. She double majored in history and theater to guarantee unemployment yet somehow became a full-time author. An original cast member on American Grit with John Cena, she also had five lines on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

She lives in Austin with her husband and two kids where they enjoy walking ghost tours and telling scary stories around the campfire. You can get a FREE chapter of To Rescue a Witch at LisaTraugott.com. 

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REVIEW

Ms. Traugott must have a touch of the supernatural herself, because she concocted a spellbinding story that kept me engrossed for several hours straight. To Condemn A Witch is fantastical, with its themes of ancient spirituality and magic, and is also rooted in factual historical events. The combination makes for a fascinating read.  

Told from multiple points of view, the story spans several decades and various locations, both real and fictional, including Scotland, London, across the Atlantic, the Virginia Colony, and the Otherworld. The author’s impeccable research provided a backdrop that was so vividly described, it almost felt like the reader time-traveled to witness the events firsthand as they unfolded. Many of the scenes were gruesome, horrifying, and some were even downright scary. But there were also tender moments and funny segments as well. 

The major characters were complex and compelling. The villains (the witch hunter, the betrayed wife, the shape shifter) revealed themselves early and were consistent in their evil deeds. Those who were considered protagonists (the coven members — Fiona, Matilda, and Eleanor; William MacLeod) were not necessarily likable or sympathetic, but they had redeeming qualities that proved their humanity and placed them on the right side of the story. They had strengths and flaws, which gave them dimensions that enriched the story. Matilda especially stands out for having made realizations about herself throughout the course of the story that guided her actions later.  

Although this book was released later than Book 2, I recommend reading it first before To Rescue A Witch for a more complete experience. Be aware of the contents that may cause anxiety or discomfort — violence, deaths, mature themes, slavery, and historically accurate but objectionable language. 

To learn more about the book, look for #LSLLToCondemnAWitch on your preferred social media platform.

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HIGHER LOVE by Joanne Kukanza Easley – Book Campaign: Review and Giveaway

HIGHER LOVE

By JOANNE KUKANZA EASLEY

Women’s Literary Fiction

Publisher: Red Boots Press

Pages: 380

Publication Date: May 12, 2025

SYNOPSIS

Higher Love – the new release from Joanne Kukanza Easley, the multi-award-winning author of Sweet Jane, Just One Look, and I’ll Be Seeing You.

In 1986 Austin, Texas, sixteen-year-old Stephanie steps into sixty-two-year-old Lauren’s life, her uncanny resemblance cracking open a buried past. Claiming to be the daughter of the child Lauren gave up for adoption forty-five years ago, Stephanie upends Lauren’s life—already complicated by her remarriage to Brett after thirty-three years apart. Stung by her adoptive grandmother’s deception, Stephanie stays, her past of tragedy and self-harm forging a fragile bond with Lauren and Brett. When Stephanie’s trust fund evaporates, crushing her college dreams, Lauren sacrifices all to give her a future—only to face a bittersweet twist that echoes the past and changes everything. This heart-wrenching family drama delves into the enduring impact of secrets, the power of unconditional love, and the strength found in facing our pasts.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Joanne Kukanza Easley, a retired registered nurse with experience in both the cold, clinical operating room and the highly charged world of psychiatric hospitals, lives in the Texas Hill Country, where she writes fiction about complicated, twentieth-century women. Her multi-award-winning debut, Sweet Jane, was named the adult fiction winner at the Texas Author Project and shortlisted for the Sarton Award and Eric Hoffer Award, among others. Just One Look, Joanne’s second novel, was a May 2022 Pulpwood Queen Book Club Pick. I’ll Be Seeing You, her third novel, features characters from Sweet Jane. Look for her fourth novel, Higher Love, a sequel to her third book, in Spring 2025. Her prize-winning short stories and poetry have appeared in several anthologies.

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REVIEW

Having read and reviewed I’ll Be Seeing You by Ms. Easley, I was eager to return to the eighties and get an update on the fascinating life of Lauren Eaton. This sequel, Higher Love, retained all the elements I loved in the first book — the incredible support system that made up Lauren’s found family, the awesome sense of place in every location the characters visited, and the realistic and relatable portrayal of the protagonists in the story. I appreciate the balance of admirable qualities and understandable flaws that the author infused in Lauren, Brett, and Stephanie. They were utterly human, living a life of ups and downs. Real, but also an escape into another dimension with a guaranteed hopeful ending.

I enjoyed all the little details that firmly set the story in the mid-eighties and lent it so much authenticity. The descriptions of fashion, entertainment options, and mentions of historical milestones were familiar.  They invoked nostalgia in this reader, who considers the decade of Rob Lowe and Stand By Me her favorite era. The scenes showing the generational gap between a grandmother and her teenage granddaughter were particularly entertaining. 

This story of love managed to be light in places and deep in others, tackling issues such as alcoholism, death, mental health, and teenage pregnancy in a way that held gravity but did not descend into dark places. 

Overall, an engaging story that will appeal to a wide range of readers. 

To learn more about the book, look for #LSLLHigherLove on your preferred social media platform.

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