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Saturday, May 1, 2021

Mafia King- Review and Excerpt!!

Mafia King: A Mafia Royals Novella, an all new must read standalone novella from New York Times bestselling author Rachel Van Dyken and 1,001 Dark Nights, is available now! From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Rachel Van Dyken comes a new story in her Mafia Royals series…

BLURB:

One of the first rules they give you when you're undercover—never fall for the enemy.

I didn't just fall for the enemy.

I became what I was supposed to hate.

What's worse: I fell in love with one.

I live a double life, and both sides know it's only a matter of time before I'm forced to choose.

Rebirth through mafia blood.

Or death at the hands of the very government I swore to protect.

I have one more job before my time's up.

I just wish it was anything but babysitting a mafia princess who's half my size but knows how to pack such a brutal punch I worry about my ability to have children.

Tiny's small but terrifying.

And I'm her new bodyguard while we all go on a much-needed vacation.

I just have to stick to the plan.

And remember rule number one.

And stop kissing her.

**Every 1001 Dark Nights novella is a standalone story. For new readers, it’s an introduction to an author’s world. And for fans, it’s a bonus book in the author’s series. We hope you'll enjoy each one as much as we do.**

Start reading today!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/37ABten

Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/MafiaKingRVD

Add Mafia King to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/3ujkrvn

My Review:
My Rating: 4 Stars

After something happens to Kartini aka Tiny she doesn't know exactly who she is anymore. Tank is an FBI agent who has been working with the 5 mafia families and it's getting to the point where he has to decide what side he is on. Tiny's cousins Junior and Serena decide to elope to Mexico. Tiny's dad buys her a ticket to take a two week vacation and forces Tank to be her bodyguard as his last act before he makes his decision.

I really liked Tiny and Tank. While Tiny is trying not to be the typical Mafia Princess she is still trying to figure out who she is as a person. Tank is trying to figure out what happened to Tiny to make her the way she is now and keeps trying to hide his feelings for her. Can he continue to run away from his feelings or as he continues to protect her will something more happen? Which side will Tank choose? This is a great addition to Rachel's mafia series and I absolutely can't wait to read more. If you love humor, romance, and mafia this book was made for you!

EXCERPT

The door slammed.

“Honey, I’m home...” I said to myself with a grin.

I had a bottle of wine out on the living room table, my shoes on the glass as I leaned back and took a swig from my goblet—because why not get fancy at two in the afternoon?

“It’s ten a.m,” came Tank’s annoyed voice.

Or ten in the morning…whoops.

“I don’t own a watch.” I shrugged.

“What’s that on your left wrist, then?”

“Oh, that?” I shrugged. “It’s an Apple watch used strictly for heart rate and exercise purposes.”

“Exercise to you is opening your mouth and closing it, Tiny.” He made it farther into the room, and I tried…I really did. I tried not to check him out.

Not to stare at his golden skin.

His bulging biceps beneath his plain black t-shirt.

The new ink poking out from the V of that same shirt.

Would he get the Abandonato crest like the rest of the Family?

I shivered.

He would look so hot with it across his chest.

Our crest.

Mine.

I shifted my eyes away too slowly, and he caught them with his green-eyed gaze before he licked his full lips like he saw something else he wanted to lick.

He always looked at me that way—with both annoyance and need.

And I never knew how to take it.

On one hand, I wanted to believe the need trumped any annoyance he felt for me, but I knew how he saw me.

As a spoiled brat with a silver spoon stuck up her ass.

And even worse now that I was older.

Now that I was…different.

“You added more blue.” He jutted his chin toward me and sat down on the chair across from the sofa I was lying on.

“Yup.” I examined my black nail polish. “I felt like it wasn’t making a strong enough statement.”

He snorted out a laugh. “And what sort of statement were you going for? Gothic chic?”

“What?” I glared at him. “You don’t like it.”

“It’s not you.”

Disappointment threatened to choke me, and shame crawled up my neck by way of a harsh red flush. “You don’t know me.”

“I did.” He locked eyes with me. “Or I thought I did.”

About Rachel Van Dyken

Rachel Van Dyken is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author of regency and contemporary romances. When she's not writing you can find her drinking coffee at Starbucks and plotting her next book while watching The Bachelor.

She keeps her home in Idaho with her husband, adorable son, and two snoring boxers!

She loves to hear from readers!

Connect with Rachel

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Wednesday, March 31, 2021

Broken Prince- Release Blitz, Excerpt and giveaway!!

BLURB

Cassie

Being the daughter of the Riverside monsters is a heavy cross to bear, one that twenty-one-year-old Cassie West can’t escape. But first she needs to get her ten-year-old brother out of social care.

Social pariahs can’t be choosy and she finds a job as a live-in housekeeper at Hartfield Manor—a cursed job that no one wants.

But as the days pass, she is intrigued and determined to figure out who is the man in the shadows. The mysterious owner of the manor whose obvious pain resonates with hers.

Luca

How the mighty have fallen.

Luca Montanari turned from an adulated powerful mafia underboss to a recluse, clinically alcoholic beast with a death wish in the blink of an eye.

All he wants is to be left alone, to soak in his pain and guilt—in his own version of purgatory—until Cassie West enters his life. She is everything he doesn't want and everything he needs. The fiery redhead starts to bring back to life parts of him he wanted dead. The closer she gets, the harder it is to remain the ghost he’d become.

Who better than the daughter of monsters to love a beast?

GOODREADS LINK: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52809919-broken-prince

PURCHASE LINKS

US: https://amzn.to/2NR9kZO

UK: https://amzn.to/3qX0Xdy

CA: https://amzn.to/3qMtyCm

AU: https://amzn.to/3shmmhT

Free in Kindle Unlimited

EXCERPTS

I raised my hand to rest it on top of her on the frame but thought better of it and rested it back on my knee. I had no place doing that. I had no right to touch her.

“She loved flowers, as you can see.” I gestured around the room before pointing at the photo. “So here my friends Carter and Nazalie were getting married and Bella was their flower girl. It made her day.”

“You managed to make friends despite your charming personality?”

She was teasing me, and fuck, did it warm my chest…and other places.

She looked up and winked at me and my dead heart jumped in my chest, her smile like a metaphoric defibrillator created just for me. She was dangerous, terrifying, enticing, mesmerizing…all in one.

She was the gates of a Heaven I was not allowed to seek, not allowed to reach. She was my fucking punishment.

Sinners like me didn’t deserve women like her.

“You’d be surprised.”

“Not that much actually,” she replied evasively, and I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of trash she found online.

I slid closer to him and removed my gardening gloves. I brought my hand up and brushed the soil from his bearded cheek.

He tensed as if he was made of stone under my touch.

I brought my other hand up and brushed my fingertips across his scarred cheek softly, barely a touch, and despite his frozen state, I saw his pupils dilate. He liked that I touched him.

His small reaction made me bolder somehow and I traced the scars with my forefinger. I traced the one going down in an almost straight line from the side to his forehead, down the corner of his eyes, the corner of his mouth to his chin. It tipped the corner of his mouth in a small pout.

“The scars are not ugly,” I whispered softly, worried that I’d break the spell and he would pull away—retreating in his shell of self-hatred. “You’re handsome. I like both sides of you.” I kept my eyes locked on his—showing him that my words were nothing but the truth. It was not pity talking; it was the attraction I felt for him despite knowing how wrong and hopeless it was to feel something for a man like him.

“You don’t have to say that,” he whispered but remained immobile, letting me trace all the scars.

“I know I don’t. But I mean it, every word. Please don’t hide your face from me.”

I didn’t realize he had moved until he gently brushed his fingers along the seam of my bottom lip. He had removed his gloves while I was engrossed with his face and he seemed as mesmerized as I was.

AUTHOR BIO

R.G Angel is a trained lawyer, world traveler, coffee addict, cheese aficionado, avid book reviewer and blogger.

She considers herself as an ‘Eclectic romantic’ and wants to write romance in every sub-genre she can think of.

When she is not busy doing all her lawyerly mayhem, and because she is living in rainy Britain, she mostly enjoys indoor activities such as reading, watching TV, playing with her crazy puppies and writing stories she hopes will make you dream.

AUTHOR LINKS

Website: https://www.rgangel.com

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GIVEAWAY

There is a giveaway for 2 x $10 Amazon gift cards (2 winners)

Monday, March 1, 2021

Broken Prince-Cover Reveal!!

BLURB

Cassie

Being the daughter of the Riverside monsters is a heavy cross to bear, one that twenty-one-year-old Cassie West can’t escape. But first she needs to get her ten-year-old brother out of social care.

Social pariahs can’t be choosy and she finds a job as a live-in housekeeper at Hartfield Manor—a cursed job that no one wants.

But as the days pass, she is intrigued and determined to figure out who is the man in the shadows. The mysterious owner of the manor whose obvious pain resonates with hers.

Luca

How the mighty have fallen.

Luca Montanari turned from an adulated powerful mafia underboss to a recluse, clinically alcoholic beast with a death wish in the blink of an eye.

Who better than the daughter of monsters to love a beast?

GOODREADS LINK: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52809919-broken-prince

PRE-ORDER LINKS – $2.99 for pre-order only!

US: https://amzn.to/2NR9kZO

UK: https://amzn.to/3qX0Xdy

CA: https://amzn.to/3qMtyCm

AU: https://amzn.to/3shmmhT

AUTHOR BIO

R.G Angel is a trained lawyer, world traveler, coffee addict, cheese aficionado, avid book reviewer and blogger.

She considers herself as an ‘Eclectic romantic’ and wants to write romance in every sub-genre she can think of.

AUTHOR LINKS

Website: https://www.rgangel.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorRGAngel

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2402797533291884

Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/902c069744e8/authorrgangel

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/author_rg_angel

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/r-g-angel

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18849410.R_G_Angel

Tuesday, January 12, 2021

Destructive King-Review!!!

Destructive King by Rachel Van Dyken is now live!

A mafia romance about love and loss by Rachel Van Dyken, the number one New York Times bestselling author of the Eagle Elite series.

BLURB:

...When you awaken in the morning's hush

I am the swift uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circled flight.

I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry;

I am not there. I did not die.

-- Mary Elizabeth Fyre

"I'm sorry for your loss." I would rather be tortured for an eternity than hear those damn words from one more person, as if Claire, my dead fiance, was a cell phone or car keys.

How about, I'm sorry your life is over.

I'm sorry you want to die too.

I'm sorry you see her in your dreams and wake up only to relive the nightmare.

I'm supposed to be the strongest of them all. Ash Abandonato, ruler, assassin, made man, brother, friend--instead, I hurt everyone I touch in hopes that they'll feel even a sliver of the pain that bears down on my shoulders.

I didn't lose.

It was taken from me.

And it's all her fault, Annie Smith.

I daydream about her death.

And then I close my eyes, and I see her soft smile. I feel her touch, her kiss--it was a mistake what we did that night, but I can't take it back, and now she's under my father's protection--my protection.

My worst enemy.

The woman I'm the most attracted to.

I can't decide if I want to strangle her or kiss her, and now that she's stuck in my life, my only goal is to make her feel the same loss I do and destroy her in the process.

I'll trick her with my touch.

Seduce her with my kiss.

And in the end, when my enemy is at her most vulnerable--I'll bring down an entire Empire and continue my reign as King.

Bow down, I'll say as I bring the Five Families to their knees.

Blood in.

Never out.

Damned.

Download today on Amazon, Apple, Audible, Kobo, Barnes & Noble!

Apple Books: https://smarturl.it/DestructiveKingApple

Amazon: mybook.to/DestructiveKing

Nook: https://smarturl.it/DestructiveKingBN

Kobo: https://smarturl.it/DestructiveKingKobo

Add to Goodreads: https://smarturl.it/DestructiveKingGR

My Review:
My Rating: 5 Stars

"Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside of us while we live." Norman Cousins. This was one of the quotes opening the chapter and honestly hit me hard after reading it. Losing someone you love is not easy and if you let if grief can pull you under. That's what happened to Ash. After the loss of his fiancée Claire, Ash only feels anger and despair. He blames Annie for Claire's death and because of that feels she needs to pay for it. Except, even as much as he hates her he can't help his attraction to her.

Annie is an orphan and under the protection of the Abandonato family. She's just trying to keep a low profile and and survive until graduation. She has a soft spot for Ash and wants to help him grieve and keep living, after all Claire was her friend too. However, Ash can't see past his grief and continuously hurts Annie emotionally as payback. Will Ash finally be able to see past his grief? Will we find out more about Annie's past? Will Annie make Ash pay for hurting her?

I truly enjoyed the angst and strength of these characters. I love that even though these are heavy angsty books, Rachel slips in human moments to lighten things up. There are some moments where your heart just aches and then a few pages later a character makes a joke or you see a family moment and you know that even though it hurts it will get better. I love we get to see the original Eagle Elite characters and all the other kids and see how this family has grown. Grief is a hard thing to write because of the complexities but Rachel has a way of taking it and making the words wrap around your heart and understand the loss. This was my first 5 star book of the year and I can't wait to read more of the Mafia Royals and find out their stories.

Meet Rachel

Connect with Rachel

Newsletter: http://bit.ly/RVDNewsletter

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Rachel's Rockin' Readers: http://bit.ly/RachelsRockinReaders

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/rachelvandyken/

Book+Main: https://bit.ly/2X9ztF5

Saturday, November 7, 2020

Scandalous Prince-Review

I thought I posted this months ago!! If you haven't read this book yet, you need to!

"Stop what you're doing and read Scandalous Prince by Rachel Van Dyken RIGHT NOW! It's action packed with plenty of secrets and full of smoldering romance! If you love mafia romance, you will LOVE this book!" - New York Times bestselling author Monica Murphy

Scandalous Prince by Rachel Van Dyken is now live!

A mafia romance about secrets and soulmates by Rachel Van Dyken, the number one New York Times bestselling author of the Eagle Elite series.

BLURB:

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep, but I have promises to keep and miles to go, before I sleep. --Robert Frost

I was born under fire and swore to protect her until my dying day, I just never knew that one day, I'd be the very monster I was protecting her from.

She didn't know it was me.

She didn't know that I had no choice and would do it again and again to save her.

I may as well have given her the mark on her finger.

The one that shows where her loyalty must lie.

Because we don't sin in silence.

And eventually, you have to pay up what you owe.

My need to protect her turned into a lie to save her.

And when she found out--I turned in to the very monster I was trying to protect her from.

Watching Violet Abandonato walk out of my life was like a knife to the chest, a wound that refused to heal.

The bosses sent me to protect her, to watch over her even though I was the demon she fled.

We both carry scars.

But if all I can have is her hate for as long as I breathe.

I'll take it.

Because at the end of the day, I should burn in Hell forever thinking Chase Abandonato's perfect angel would pick me--over her perfect life.

"I broke you," I confessed.

"The worst part... is that you liked it," she snapped right back.

Welcome to the second generation of the mafia, may the best man or woman, be left standing.

May God bless our tainted souls.

Download today on all platforms!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Bc3MT7

Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/ScandalousPrinceRVD

Apple: https://apple.co/3gyy1Eh

Nook: https://bit.ly/2XhZEd5

Kobo: https://bit.ly/3eL2u0b

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3cji6X0

My Review:
My Rating: 5 Stars

Where do I start in this review? Breaker is the adopted son of the Capo, Tex, and Mo and the bodyguard and best friend to Violet Abandonato. Violet is the daughter of Senator Chase and Luc. With being the Senator's daughter comes a perfect image to uphold. After one night and one innocent choice leads to a whole new fate that neither Violet or Breaker saw coming.

I felt the pain between Violet and Breaker and their relationship. There was a certain scene in the beginning of the book that I still don't know how I feel about. It happens about 9% in the story. I understand why it had to happen, but I still don't like that it happened. I did think one of the chapters focused too much on Ash when it should have focused more on Breaker and Violet.

I enjoyed the journey of this story even though I had guessed what happened there were still a few secrets I was surprised by. Sometimes it's not the ending, but the journey of getting there and I enjoyed this journey with Violet and Breaker. This was one of my favorite quotes, "I love you. And sometimes love asks us to do the impossible, and all we can do is hope it's strong enough, big enough, to cover a multitude of sins." Will Violet and Breaker's love be enough to save them?

Remember "Blood In, No Out."

Meet Rachel

She keeps her home in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, adorable son, naked cat, and two dogs. For more information about her books and upcoming events, visit www.RachelVanDykenauthor.com.

Connect with Rachel

Newsletter: http://bit.ly/RVDNewsletter

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/RVDGR

Rachel's Rockin' Readers: http://bit.ly/RachelsRockinReaders

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/rachelvandyken/

Book+Main: https://bit.ly/2X9ztF5

Tuesday, September 22, 2020

Scandalous Prince-Release Blitz

Scandalous Prince by Rachel Van Dyken is now live!

A mafia romance about secrets and soulmates by Rachel Van Dyken, the number one New York Times bestselling author of the Eagle Elite series.

BLURB:

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep, but I have promises to keep and miles to go, before I sleep. --Robert Frost

I was born under fire and swore to protect her until my dying day, I just never knew that one day, I'd be the very monster I was protecting her from.

She didn't know it was me.

She didn't know that I had no choice and would do it again and again to save her.

I may as well have given her the mark on her finger.

The one that shows where her loyalty must lie.

Because we don't sin in silence.

And eventually, you have to pay up what you owe.

My need to protect her turned into a lie to save her.

And when she found out--I turned in to the very monster I was trying to protect her from.

Watching Violet Abandonato walk out of my life was like a knife to the chest, a wound that refused to heal.

The bosses sent me to protect her, to watch over her even though I was the demon she fled.

We both carry scars.

But if all I can have is her hate for as long as I breathe.

I'll take it.

Because at the end of the day, I should burn in Hell forever thinking Chase Abandonato's perfect angel would pick me--over her perfect life.

"I broke you," I confessed.

"The worst part... is that you liked it," she snapped right back.

Welcome to the second generation of the mafia, may the best man or woman, be left standing.

May God bless our tainted souls.

Download today on all platforms!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Bc3MT7

Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/ScandalousPrinceRVD

Apple: https://apple.co/3gyy1Eh

Nook: https://bit.ly/2XhZEd5

Kobo: https://bit.ly/3eL2u0b

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3cji6X0

Meet Rachel

She keeps her home in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, adorable son, naked cat, and two dogs. For more information about her books and upcoming events, visit www.RachelVanDykenauthor.com.

Connect with Rachel

Newsletter: http://bit.ly/RVDNewsletter