Antonia Aquilante
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Rainbow Snippets August 28-29

8/28/2021

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​It's weekend, and time for more Rainbow Snippets! The Rainbow Snippets group on Facebook asks its members to share six sentence snippets from their work each weekend. Check out the group's Facebook page to read all the snippets and add lots of great books to your TBR. You'll find all sorts of books with the common thread that the main character identifies as LGBTQ+

Today's snippet is from The Merchant's Love. I always call this book a warm hug in book form because it's the one in which a bookish royal and the merchant utterly besotted with him fall in love over books and baked goods. It also overlaps a bit with The Dragon's Devotion, which I shared a snippet from last week—apparently I just wanted to make timeline headaches for myself—and Faelen and Maxen in this book meet at the same wedding that Bastien and Corentin did. Maxen sees Faelen during the wedding ceremony and is immediately fascinated. Faelen is demisexual and doesn't experience the same immediate attraction, but he does enjoy their eventual conversation that night. Here is Maxen's first sight of Faelen.
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​His attention was drawn almost instantly to a man seated in the second row. He was pale, his skin like porcelain, with large eyes the green of peridot. His face—an uncanny mix of pretty and sensual—was framed by dark hair that blazed red in the room’s light, falling in soft curls nearly to his shoulders. Maxen could see nothing else of the man, but what he saw pulled at him, and it was so strong, so unexpected, it took his breath. He’d never felt an attraction so sudden; he could do nothing but stare as time spun away from him.


Abruptly, the man seemed to sense his regard, his gaze snapping over to meet Maxen’s, giving him no time to look away. The unusual green eyes widened, but he didn’t look away for long moments—long moments when Maxen heard nothing but the pounding of his heart in his ears. And then the man looked away, severing the connection and leaving Maxen floundering.

You can find more about The Merchant's Love here. And you can also get 40% off this book and my others with code ABQPRIDE at NineStar Press through August 31st. Thanks for reading, and hope you're staying safe and well!
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Rainbow Snippets August 21-22

8/21/2021

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​It's weekend, and time for more Rainbow Snippets! The Rainbow Snippets group on Facebook asks its members to share six sentence snippets from their work each weekend. Check out the group's Facebook page to read all the snippets and add lots of great books to your TBR. You'll find all sorts of books with the common thread that the main character identifies as LGBTQ+

​I'm snippeting from The Dragon's Devotion this weekend. In The Dragon's Devotion, Corentin is a scholar keeping a big secret—he's a dragon shifter—and Bastien is an earl taking far too much on himself—including investigating an old mystery that brings with it very real danger. Here is Corentin's first glimpse of Bastien.
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​Then his gaze stalled on one particular man.

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The man was stunning, his features chiseled, his skin glowing in a way that only came from much time spent outdoors, and his thick bronze hair fell in neat waves around his face. From what Corentin could see of his clothes, they were of good quality but a bit sober, not as daring or fashionable as many of the ensembles worn that evening. The rich, warm brown wasn’t a poor color for him, though. He sat next to a young woman, who might have been wife or sister or some other relation, but she leaned away from him to talk to someone else, and he seemed to be doing much as Corentin was, studying the room.

Suddenly, the other man’s gaze collided with Corentin’s, and everything seemed to freeze for a moment as the connection held. Corentin couldn’t make out the color of his eyes from the distance—something dark, he thought. But he could see them go wide, a bit startled, and Corentin smiled, slow and sure. He had no idea why this man had captured his interest in one look, but he dearly wanted to find out if longer exposure would bear it out, perhaps deepen it.

You can find more about The Dragon's Devotion here. Grab The Dragon's Devotion or any of my books 40% off at NineStar with code ABQPRIDE through the end of the month. Thanks for reading today and stay safe and healthy!
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Release Blitz: A Scheme of Sorcery by Ennis Rook Bashe

8/19/2021

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Title: A Scheme of Sorcery

Author: Ennis Rook Bashe

Publisher: NineStar Press

Release Date: 08/16/2021

Heat Level: 2 - Fade to Black Sex

Pairing: Female/Female

Length: 74800

Genre: Fantasy, LGBTQIA+, Romance, fantasy, new adult, other-world, non-explicit, lesbian, cisgender, enemies to lovers, knights, magic users, royalty

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Description

Palace squire Edwynne Dovecote has discovered her life is a lie. She wasn’t born into the nobility- she’s a daughter of the North, an inhospitable country where people worship a mysterious goddess. Even if it puts her at odds with her adopted family, she’s determined to explore her heritage, as long as no one finds out who she truly is. But Sariva al-Beroth, an ambitious Northern girl who’s started working for the queen, is sick of rude outsiders gawking at her culture. She refuses to be in the same room as Edwynne, let alone share ancestral secrets. Then the queen falls under a curse, and only Sariva and Edwynne can rescue her. To save their country, they’ll have to survive a ruined underground castle infested with ghosts, a fascist uprising prepared to sway public opinion with mind-control magic… and each other.

Excerpt

A Scheme of Sorcery Ennis Rook Bashe © 2021 All Rights Reserved Sariva couldn’t finish the beaded bag before her caravan reached the castle, so she tidied away her supplies and peeked out the carriage window. “Are we—” “Don’t worry, miss, we’re not going past the haunted ruins.” Strange. She’d only wanted to know when they’d arrive. The carriage rolled over uneven streets made of pale mountain stone, passing low whitewashed houses with flat-eared cats on their doorsteps. The scent of daffodils and cyclamen filled the air as distant silver bells rang, calling people to pray to the sky. Even without the bag completed, her outfit seemed presentable. Everyone who noticed her would believe she belonged. Did she appear marriageable though? She touched the swirl of her plaits. Her rhinestone hairpins still held. Would anyone be able to tell how she’d altered her mother’s old dress? Would they think of her as resourceful or unfashionable? Shining gates swiveled open, presenting a terraced courtyard, a burbling fountain, and tall palm trees in painted pots. As the carriage driver halted his bay roans, she rubbed her heirloom moon pendant for reassurance as her mother had so often done. A slender woman with warm-olive skin hurried across the courtyard, sandals pattering on the stone. She bobbed a curtsy and shook Sariva’s hand in both of hers. “So pleased to finally meet you. I’ve had the honor of reviewing your list of qualifications and your letters of recommendation—we’ve all agreed you’d be a lovely addition to the queen’s service. Lady Ava of Valency, and you are Lady…Broth, is it?” “Sorry, it’s Be-roth.” No one ever got her name right. “Rolled R, accent on the second syllable.” “Well, I’m pleased to make your acquaintance. We have a formal dinner among the court tonight—I have time to show you your quarters.” They left the courtyard through an archway and turned onto a path between ornamental lemon trees. A young woman passing by in the other direction paused with a displeased moue, raising plucked-thin eyebrows. “Oh, I wasn’t aware of a foreign dignitary arriving today.” “Lisette, this is Lady Sariva Beroth. Her parents fled serving the sultan, and we’re even luckier to have her at our Almesian court.” Ava gestured to the woman. “Lady Sariva, may I introduce you to Lady Lisette? She is a splendid dancer.” “Bah-rroth?” Lisette’s delicate features creased, perplexed with worry. “I’m so sorry, your name is just so hard to pronounce. What does it mean?” “It means cypress,” Sariva began, feeling suspicious, “but—” Lisette beamed. “It would be so rude to get your name wrong, right? I mean, I’d absolutely hate myself for mispronouncing it. I’ll just call you Lady Cypress if I have need of you, and then we can be great friends.” Did Lisette think she’d change her surname just because fools kept mangling it? Absolutely not. Sariva made herself smile. “Indeed, I do look forward to us spending time together.” “Yes, of course! Northerners are always awfully clever. If I have any figures to evaluate, I’ll be certain to call on you.” She wanted to say “I’m horrid at sums” or “What next, will you accuse me of having killed infants for the Northern sultan?” Instead, she curtsied and nodded. Even though nearly everyone who’d fled the North did so because they objected to the government or refused to serve in the military, people accused them of lying. Didn’t a fortune in furs hide amongst the Northern mountains, and weren’t all its inhabitants mages? Didn’t most people in the North worship the Goddess of All-That-Is? How could anyone flee the North with less than a fortune in stolen gold? Once a new pupil at the village school had told all the others, “Sariva’s family drinks blood. They only came south ’cause the people who didn’t worship their nasty Goddess caught them. That’s why her little brother is so weak because everyone else drinks his blood.” Of course, a lady didn’t stab classmates with pens or hit them over the head with writing tablets, more’s the pity. Magazines included subtler taunts: concern about secret mages, wealthy Northerners harming trade, assuming even refugees from the North supported the sultan’s every policy. In the city, maybe people would only mangle her name, not her reputation. She remembered her mother’s words: “It’s much more cosmopolitan in the capitol, my dearest. Islanders, desert nomads, people of the tree faith, and of course, plenty of Northerners if you feel homesick or want others to pray with—even though many of them support the sultanate, my friends say you’ll meet some lovely young radicals.” Sword crashed against sword. Voices shouted. Would she need to run for her life? “Is there some sort of trouble?” Her town’s largest Northern specialty store had gone up in flames a few months ago. She’d heard about a timed fire-starting charm amongst the sacks of imported food, customers praying as they ran for their lives. Swinging her shopping sack, she’d turned the corner and stopped, mouth open. In childhood, she’d picked out ornately carved candles for the family’s rituals there. Ava gave a reassuring smile, waving off her concerns. “It’s only the squires practicing. In summer they stage mock sieges in the cellars, but this time of the year, they still use the outdoor ring.” “How…nice.” Her heart still pounded. Would it ever stop? “Indeed, our knights are some of the most adept on the continent. We might go watch them if you wish.” Sariva would rather stitch a tapestry of a battle than ride off to join one, but she liked the idea of strong warriors protecting her. “Of course.” She followed Ava down the path and into a field. In a makeshift arena of packed dirt and wooden stakes, surrounded by tiers of stone benches, trainees brawled with blunt weapons. The scrawniest one had the upper hand. His hair shone a muddy, undistinguished color, clay and ochre; his body appeared sparse of all but knees and elbows like an over-articulated marionette. But he fought like a mosquito the bigger boys attempted to swat—dodging, weaving, shoving others in front of him as impromptu shields. One by one, the others trailed from the arena, nursing bruises and casting baleful glares. Sariva saw the squire’s face—small pointy chin, full sulky lips. “That squire, the short one…are they a girl?”

Purchase

NineStar Press | Books2Read

Meet the Author

Ennis Bashe is a queer disabled graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, proud cat parent, and prolific writer of romance novels and novellas. Their poetry has appeared in Strange Horizons, Liminality Magazine, Writers Resist, and Cicada, and their short fiction has appeared in The Future Fire, Mirror Dance, and Resistor Vol. 2, among others. Find them on Twitter at @RookTheBird, and sign up for their newsletter at www.tinyletter.com/rookthebird

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Rainbow Snippets August 14-15

8/14/2021

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​It's weekend, and time for more Rainbow Snippets! The Rainbow Snippets group on Facebook asks its members to share six sentence snippets from their work each weekend. Check out the group's Facebook page to read all the snippets and add lots of great books to your TBR. You'll find all sorts of books with the common thread that the main character identifies as LGBTQ+

Today, I'm sharing a snippet from The Sorcerer's Guardian. In this book, an arrogant sorcerer and a loyal guard captain are sent on an important mission for the crown. They snark and snap at each other as they tumble into love (and of course, at one point, there's only one bed...). Loriot and Savarin have known each other for years at the beginning of this story, but I thought I would share a snippet of Loriot remembering his first impressions of Savarin.
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​Loriot took the opportunity to study Savarin surreptitiously.


​Savarin was a handsome man, far too handsome, really. When Loriot had seen him for the first time years ago, he hadn’t quite been able to believe the man was real, with his near-perfect features and tall, lean frame. Savarin’s aloofness and arrogance had convinced him otherwise. As always, Savarin was dressed well and fashionably, but Loriot was glad to see his clothing was also practical for travel. He didn’t think he had ever seen Savarin less than perfectly attired in anything except the more formal clothes appropriate for the palace or the city, in rich silks and velvets all in saturated colors and excellent cuts, certainly from the best tailors in Jumelle.

You can find more about The Sorcerer's Guardian here. Thanks for reading today, and I hope you're all staying safe and well.
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Rainbow Snippets August 7-8

8/8/2021

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​It's weekend, and time for more Rainbow Snippets! The Rainbow Snippets group on Facebook asks its members to share six sentence snippets from their work each weekend. Check out the group's Facebook page to read all the snippets and add lots of great books to your TBR. You'll find all sorts of books with the common thread that the main character identifies as LGBTQ+

Today I'm sharing a snippet from The Scholar's Heart. I seem to have started on a theme of first meetings, but Etan and Tristan, the main characters of this estranged friends to lovers story, met long before this book started. So, I thought I would share when Tristan first meets his newborn daughter.
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​She made a little snuffling sound, and he reflexively looked down. 
His first look at his daughter’s face...and he tumbled headlong into love.

She was perfect, from the wispy pale hair on her head to her delicate little fingers that came into view as the blanket wrapping her loosened. He walked carefully to the rocking chair near the hearth, the chair Dariela had specifically designed, and sat, careful not to wake the baby. He had no idea what to do with a baby, no idea how to raise a daughter, but sitting here, staring down at her sweet little face, he vowed he would learn anything he needed to know. Anything to keep her safe, healthy, and happy.

You can find out more about The Scholar's Heart here. Thanks for reading, and I hope you're all staying safe and well!
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My July Reading

8/4/2021

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Happy August, everyone! The world is still a mess and time is passing way too quickly somehow, but it's my birthday month and I'm looking forward to a visit from a dear friend I haven't seen since pre-pandemic times, so it isn't all bad. For now, let's talk books. July was a pretty good reading month for me:

Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell: I listened to the audiobook and didn't love the narration, but otherwise, I really enjoyed this sci-fi romance with it's arranged marriage trope and political intrigue. The main characters were both wonderful, and I loved watching them grow individually and together. Fingers crossed there will be more in this world and of these characters.

Lost and Bound by Eliot Grayson: I enjoyed this latest book in the Mismatched Mates series much more than the previous one. It brings Jared, presumed-dead cousin to the main characters of the first two books, back home and lets us know what really happened to him. Jared and  were both a bit oblivious when it came to their relationship, but I really liked them together, and I'm looking forward to more in the series. I'd start with the first book if you're beginning the series—while each book has a different couple/romance, there's an overarching plot that keeps deepening.

Cinderella is Dead by Kaylynn Bayron: The premise of this f/f YA fantasy is that the Cinderella story is real and has been used to oppress the people of the kingdom. Sophia doesn't want to go along with what she and the other women of the kingdom are being forced into, so she runs from the ball and encounters the last descendant of Cinderella, Constance. Together, they learn what the real story of Cinderella is and set about to change things. (And how gorgeous is that cover?!)

The Wolf Moon Rising series by Sam Burns and WM Fawkes: I binged through the currently published books in this series pretty fast, and I'm no experiencing that phenomenon in which I can't really separate which is which in my mind! I'm really enjoying this shifter series about a wolf pack dealing with a mysterious illness that has been sickening some wolves for the last twenty years or so. Each book is about a different couple, but the overall plot carries over through the series, so start at the beginning with this one. I will sit here and wait for the next book to see what it brings.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid: I've seen a lot of reviews describe this book as light beach reading about the glamour of old Hollywood, but I feel like it's much more than that. Evelyn is a bisexual Cuban woman who reinvents herself and does whatever she has to from the time she's a teenager to become a Hollywood star. She tells the story of the seven men she married and the woman she loved and considered her wife to a journalist she handpicked for reasons that are only revealed at the end of the book. My favorite part was the found family she created with Harry, a producer and gay man who became her best friend.

​What have you read and loved lately?

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Rainbow Snippets July 31-August 1

8/1/2021

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​It's weekend, and time for more Rainbow Snippets! The Rainbow Snippets group on Facebook asks its members to share six sentence snippets from their work each weekend. Check out the group's Facebook page to read all the snippets and add lots of great books to your TBR. You'll find all sorts of books with the common thread that the main character identifies as LGBTQ+

​I'm a little late posting a Rainbow Snippet this weekend, but I didn't wanted to miss. Today's snippet is from The Artist's Masquerade. In The Artist's Masquerade, Flavian is an artist on the run from his home country disguised as a companion to his friend Velia. She has come to Tournai to marry the son of a royal duke, Cathal, in an arranged marriage. Flavian assumes he'll disappear once they arrive, but things don't go quite as he imagined, especially with regard to Cathal. This is Flavian's first sight of Cathal as they arrive in Tournai. (I went over six sentences—sorry!)
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The man was Umber, duke and father of the man Velia was to marry. Which probably made the other man his son, Cathal, Velia’s betrothed.

And so it was. The duke motioned, and the younger man stepped up beside him. The duke introduced him, but Flavian hardly heard any of it. He was too busy looking at Cathal. He was tall. Very tall. Without these stupid heeled shoes, Flavian probably would barely stand as high as his shoulder. Deliciously broad shoulders. In fact, Cathal’s whole bodyseemed well muscled, thick but not bulky. Flavian could only imagine the lines of those muscles hiding under his fine clothing. The thought made him yearn for a sketchbook or, better, a canvas and paints. He could see the lines of those muscles taking shape on the page...but he would never paint them. He couldn’t even let himself think of painting them.

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The rest of Lord Cathal was just as nice. His hair was dark and thick and wavy, well ordered at the moment, but Flavian wondered if that was always true. It had the look of hair with a mind of its own. Cathal’s features were chiseled and quite handsome but set in serious lines. There was an easily identified resemblance to his father, but despite its seriousness, Cathal’s expression seemed to have less rigidity than his father’s. And his eyes...

Flavian nearly jumped to find himself the focus of Lord Cathal’s unusual gold eyes. Flavian had been so engrossed in studying the man that he must have missed the formal introductions making it around to him.

You can find out more about The Artist's Masquerade here. Thanks for reading today, and I hope you're all staying safe and healthy!
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    Author

    Antonia is a writer and a reader and a copy editor/proofreader. She loves books, travel, art, photography, baking, pasta, and shoes.

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