A Magical Christmas

A Novel Noel by Veronica Cline Barton

This book, the second in the Hygge & Bisous Holiday Mystery series by Veronica Cline Barton, is out today! I read the first book in the series (Christmas Bizarre, 2021) and enjoyed it immensely, so I have very much looked forward to the release of A Novel Noel. 

Here’s the premise of the series: In the days leading up to Christmas, main character Rikkhe St. Claire gathers her family and closest friends for an evening of magical storytelling. Every person at the gathering in the posh Malibu setting gets a turn to tell a story, and at the end of the evening Rikkhe’s guests vote on their favorite. The stories are accompanied by libations specially chosen to complement each story. 

The stories are fun and cozy, spooky and paranormal. They embody the concept of hygge, which is a Scandanavian “invention” that emphasizes serene contentment and cozy warmth, to grossly simplify it. 

Rikkhe and her guests share five stories, each one an immersive experience wherein the reader is invited to sink deliciously into the magic of the telling. I found myself wishing for more after each story concluded. The mystery and enchantment of the Christmas season is explored in each story, whether it was a possible Krampus encounter, a spellbinding snow globe, a mirror desperate to share its secrets, a visit from Mister Kringle, or a little girl in Paris who helps three friends deepen their connections to each other through acts of kindness and love. 

If I were sitting by that Malibu fire pit just before Christmas, would I be able to choose a favorite? I really don’t know. I do know this, though: I’m already looking forward to Book 3 in the Rikkhe St. Claire Hygge & Bisous Mystery series. 

If you’d like to order your own ecopy (for 99¢!), click the cover above and you’ll be redirected to Amazon.

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What I’m reading:

The Consequences of Murder by Michael Sinclair

Over Her Dead Body by Susan Walter

Blog Tour with Gus Kenney

Today I’m moving a little out of my regular genres to tell you about a book by Gus Kenney, author of The Complications of Being Lucy, a series described as “a fun-for-all-ages new series of modern day magic and adventure.”

Here’s a blurb about Book One in the series, The Changeling and the Cupboard:

NEVER GO INTO THE PARK.

​Lucy was never afraid of the dark. She never questioned her family. She never thought that the world of logic and science could be a lie. But on her ninth birthday everything changed when a strange boy came into her life from the very lands she was forbidden from ever entering and she finds herself immersed in a conspiracy that was created before she was born. Her reality is shattered by the existence of magic and things of legend. The bonds of family are tested by a lifetime of deception and the truth of who she actually is becomes the least of Lucy’s torments. For someone has unleashed a nightmare, and Lucy, her family, and her new friends are soon on the run from a creature that even darkness fears.

If you’d like to read more, you can click here for a larger sample.

And here’s a blurb of Book Two in the series, The Changeling and the Borrowed Family:

A NIGHTMARE IS JUST A DREAM IN THE LIGHT OF DAY.

Lucy was used to everyone hiding things from her. Now she is the one forced to hide. The Changelings have been discovered and to save herself, Lucy must slip into the life of a creature who shares her nightmares. With her family scattered in search for answers and her only friend powerless to help, Lucy must guard her heart from the world she always longed for and from the people that want her dead. But how can you fight the agony of your dreams and the secrets buried in your own blood?

If you’d like to read more, click here for a larger sample.

Meet Gus Kenney

Gus lives in western New York with his amazing wife and five four legged children. He decided he wanted to be a writer when he realized that he could never be a spy as good as Timothy Dalton’s Bond and that Hired Sword was not part of any growth industry. When he is not semi-busy writing, he spends his time pretending he knows what he is doing at a nine-to-five job and the rest of it complaining that it is taking way too long for them to start showing new episodes of his favorite cartoons. If you’re bored, or just a creeper, you can check out the insanity that doesn’t make it into his books on his social media outlets.

Facebook

The Complications Of Being Lucy

Twitter

Tumblr

Instagram

Linkedin

​Goodreads

Amazon (Both books are on sale now in the US and UK for 99c/p)

Website

As It Is Blog (Stop over and sneak a peek at Book Three)

Email: guskenney@yahoo.com

If you’d like to find out which scene is Gus’s favorite, click here.  Want to read an interview with him? Click here.

Gus has two offers to share with readers:

The first is a Rafflecopter giveaway: click here to read the rules and enter.

The second is a Name-the-Character contest. Here are the rules for a chance to name one of the characters in Book Three of The Complications of Being Lucy series, Traitor’s Niece:  

Purchase The Changeling and the Cupboard, snap a photo of you with the book (if it’s an eBook open it on your ereader device), tag Gus Kenney here and Margaret Daly here and post your picture! That’s it! The winner will be announced here.

And don’t forget to leave reviews of the books you read!

Until next time,
Amy