MY NEIGHBOR, THE ASSASSIN by Michelle Heard Release Day Blitz

MY NEIGHBOR, THE ASSASSIN BY MICHELLE HEARD

 

Release date: November 3rd

Genre / Tropes: God Tier ANGST!!! / MMC hates being touched / Grumpy Hero / MMC stalks MFC / He only smiles for her / Asocial MMC vs Broken MFC / MMC falls first & saves MFC / MMC keeps Dark Secret from MFC / Groveling / Action / OTT Possessive & Protective Hero

MY NEIGHBOR, THE ASSASSIN by Michelle Heard is NOW LIVE!

Make sure to grab this all-new COMPLETE STANDALONE, action packed mafia romance TODAY!

Amazon | Goodreads 

NOW AVAILABLE! 

COMPLETE STANDALONE! 

BLURB

From USA Today bestselling author Michelle Heard comes a scorching yet deadly romance about a waitress who falls for a mysterious coworker—only to discover his lethal past.

I thought Rowan was just the quiet bartender who watched me too closely and made me feel things I shouldn’t.

Then his past catches up to him, and I’m in for a rude awakening.

One minute I’m living my normal life, and the next, I’m on a trip across the country with a man trained to kill without hesitation.

A retired assassin. Possessive, violent, and deadly enough to leave a trail of bodies behind us.

Every mile between us and the men hunting him drags me deeper into Rowan’s terrifying world, where violence means survival and bloodshed comes way too easy.

I keep looking for redeeming qualities in him but quickly realize there are none, and there’s no escaping a man like Rowan Teller.

Not even if I wanted to.

About Michelle Heard:

 

Michelle Heard is a Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling Author who loves creating stories her readers can get lost in. She resides in South Africa with her son where she's always planning her next book to write, and trip to take.

 

Connect w/Michelle:

 

Website: https://michelleheardauthor.com

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

FB Readers Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/118971435201074

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

Amazon: https://amazon.com/author/michellehorst

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18108320.Michelle_Heard

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/michelle-heard

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@authormichelleheard

Newsletter Signup: https://preview.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/p6m4o4

The Guardians by Alys Mackay Release Day Blitz

For readers drawn to dark romantasy rooted in character, tension, and emotional consequence— The Guardians continues The Abandoned Gods series.

BLURB 

What if saving the world meant choosing what to abandon?
The gods are awakening.

But not all of them have risen.

Power is returning—uneven, uncontained, already beginning to divide those who carry it.

What was once whole is now fragmented, reshaping itself in ways they do not yet understand. Not all of it will be gentle.

Mereh is no longer willing to remain what he was.

Ankou finds himself no longer standing where he once did.

Aridanos is on the edge of something that was never meant to be his.

Tsunala holds more than even she realises.

What binds them is no longer simple— and may not survive what they are becoming.

Beyond them, Selene has already begun to move.

The world is shifting—quietly, violently—toward something it cannot yet name.

Not salvation. 

Not ruin.

A reckoning.

Because to save something means deciding what you are willing to abandon.

For readers drawn to dark romantasy rooted in character, tension, and emotional consequence—The Guardians deepens The Abando

ned Gods series.

BOOK LINKS🔗 

AMAZON | GOODREADS | STORYGRAPH 

AUTHOR BIO 

Alys Mackay is a fantasy romance author based in Melbourne, Australia. She writes immersive romantasy where magic is real, women come into their power, and love is rarely safe.

Drawn to slow-burn tension and emotionally charged stakes, Alys crafts stories about devotion tested under pressure, loyalty that comes at a cost, and relationships that can change the fate of entire worlds. When she’s not writing, she’s usually reading late into the night or dreaming up the next world waiting to be written.

Review: Spark of the Everflame by Penn Cole

 Book Links 🔗 

Amazon | Goodreads | Storygraph 

Blurb

***NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER, USA TODAY BESTSELLER, AND AMAZON TOP 15 BESTSELLER***

When old secrets catch fire, everything will burn.

In a mortal world colonized by the gods and ruled over by their cruel, magical offspring called the Descended, healer Diem Bellator yearns to escape her poor village.

Her mother’s sudden disappearance—and the discovery of a dangerous secret about her past—offer Diem an unexpected opportunity to enter the dark world of Descended royalty and unlock a web of mysteries left behind by her mother.

With the dying King’s handsome yet enigmatic heir watching her every move and a ruthless rebel alliance recruiting her to join the growing civil war, Diem must navigate the unwritten rules of love, power, and politics in order to save her family—and all of mortalkind.

Spark of the Everflame is the first book in The Kindred's Curse Saga, a four-book epic fantasy romance series that follows feisty heroine Diem Bellator in her fight against oppression, her struggle to survive in a royal palace full of intrigue, and her journey of self-discovery and finding true love. This enemies-to-lovers romantasy features a unique magic system, dragon-like mythical creatures, hilarious banter, mysteries that will leave you theorizing for weeks, and a true slow (slowwwwwww) burn. This book will appeal to fans of plot-heavy, character-driven series such as A Court of Thorns and Roses, Throne of Glass, From Blood and Ash, Gild, Fourth Wing, and The Serpent & the Wings of Night.

 Review

  Spark of the Everflame by Penn Cole
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

BOOK: Spark of the Everflame by Penn Cole (Format: Library Paperback)
​The book starts off with Forging Day, a celebration of when the Kindred (immortal siblings) bound their lives to mortal lovers in the name of peace, leaving their immortal children—the Descended—to rule in peace and prosperity... Unfortunately, the kids had other ideas...
TITLE: [Spark of the Everflame]  
Author: [Penn Cole]  
Status: Read Rating: 3.75/5 ⭐
Progress: Read  - Total Pages: 442
QUICK IMPRESSION  
As we join Diem and watch her adjust to her mother's disappearance, we learn that her origins have been kept from her and she was told she needed a herbal treatment to stay stable. Once her mother is gone, she starts thinking for herself and realizing how sheltered she's been. After a chance meeting and a cryptic message from an old woman, Diem knows her mother was mixed up in something and she's determined to find out what.
She quickly utilizes the skills her mother and her stepfather have taught her. I liked how determined she was, even knowing that it would be dangerous.
QUICK NOTES  
(view spoiler)[
• P[Page #]: [Major twist, prediction, or key scene note.]  
• [Your reaction or lightbulb moment.]
(hide spoiler)]
QUOTES TO KEEP  
“For anyone who has ever been told their spark shouldn’t burn so bright and for all the people who loved them precisely because it did.”  
When forgotten blood on heartstone falls, then shall the chains be broke, Life for life, old debt requires, or eternal be his yoke.  
Whatever you do or don’t do, sweetheart, do it for yourself. Don’t choose a mediocre life for a mediocre man. Go be exceptional.  
The goddess Lumnos and her siblings wanted the Descended to protect the mortals.  
KEY CHARACTERS  
• [Character 1 Diem Bellator]: [Role: Healer Class: Mortal]. [A mortal healer who uses a powder called flameroot. She is a healer, but has also been taught to fight from the age of 8 by the commander (her stepfather). Compassionate, she cares deeply about her family and the mortals in her city.]  
• [Character 2 Henri Alban]: [Role: Messenger Class: Mortal]. [Henri lost his mother as an infant to a treatable disease because the Descended refused to let his father travel to get medicine, and he hates them as a consequence. Childhood friend and now boyfriend of Diem.]  
• [Character 3 Luther Corbois]: [Role: Prince Class: Descended]. Prince and nephew to King Ulther, with the dual power of wielding both light and shadow magic. Grumpy, but loves his sister, Princess Lilian (Lily). He is drawn to Diem and intrigued by her origins.
(There are more, but these are my favorite characters 😁 Honorable mention to Sorae the Gryvern—I love mythical creatures!)
FINAL THOUGHTS  
• The Good: The worldbuilding is given easily, and the history is briefly introduced at the beginning. The pacing is slow to start, but it picks up midway through. Diem starts off with a get-it-done attitude. Her interactions with the prince were few and far between, so I didn't really get much of an opinion on his character yet.
• The Bad: The romance with Henri. I didn't like him as a character even from the beginning; a childhood friend, yes, but I am not a fan of the love triangle trope and it just didn't feel right. We also didn't get much background on Prince Luther, the scenes with Diem were limited and I because of the first person POV, we don't get to experience his side of their connection but hopefully we find out more in book 2.
• Verdict: Diem is the dominant character in this book, and because it is written from her POV, I think that is why the other characters didn't really connect with me. But in saying that, I enjoyed this book enough that I will definitely be reading book 2.
There are clues dropped in this book regarding Diem's origin, and I want to see if my predictions are correct!


View all my reviews

Author Bio 

Hi! I'm Penn Cole, a NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY bestselling author of fantasy romance.

While my life has taken me through a lot of ups and downs, my love for reading and writing has forever been my true north. I’ve been writing stories since my childhood, filling mountains of notebooks with wild worlds and angsty romances. After a detour as an attorney and small business owner, I am thrilled to finally be pursuing my lifelong dream of being an author. While I’m a Texas girl born and bred, I currently live in France with my husband, where I can usually be found eating way too many pastries and trolling my readers on Discord. Find out more here 

Review: His To Ruin by Alexis Noelle

Book Links 🔗 

AMAZON | GOODREADS | STORYGRAPH |

Blurb

Luca Falcone has spent years carrying the weight of ghosts.

Feared by enemies and respected by the Familigia, he's built his life on control, loyalty, and violence. Love was never supposed to find him again.

Especially not in the one woman who has quietly loved him all along.

Isabella Grassi has spent years standing in the shadows, believing she'll always come second to a memory she can never outrun. Becoming Luca's wife was never part of her plan, but neither was discovering the man beneath the ruthless reputation, the one who protects with unwavering devotion and loves with terrifying intensity.

As old enemies close in and long-buried secrets begin to surface, Luca and Bella are forced to confront the past before it destroys the future they're only just beginning to build together.

Because in the mafia, love is the greatest weakness.

And the most dangerous man in the room is the one who finally has someone worth losing everything for.

His To Ruin is a standalone HEA in the Empire Of Sin Series. This book can be read as a standalone or enjoyed with the other books in the series.

Review 

His To Ruin by Alexis Noelle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

​BOOK: His to Ruin by Alexis Noelle (Format: Beta Read)
​I absolutely loved Luca and Bella's story ❣️ The Empire of Sin series gets better and better 📈
​TITLE: His to Ruin
AUTHOR: Alexis Noelle
STATUS: Read | RATING: 5/5 ⭐
PAGE COUNT: 536
​QUICK IMPRESSION
⚠️ Have tissues at the ready... The prologue was devastating! I started this book with tears in my eyes and a heavy heart. Isabella was so isolated, and Luca... well, IYKYK.
​QUICK NOTES

What to Expect:

🖤 Arranged Marriage
🖤 Morally Gray Mafia Hero
🖤 He Falls Hard
🖤 Touch Her and Die
🖤 Possessive & Protective MMC
🖤 Emotional Angst & Healing
🖤 Forced Proximity
🖤 Found Family & Mafia Chaos
🖤 Dual POV
🖤 HEA
​QUOTES TO KEEP
• “You’re emotionally constipated.” — Honestly, some of the comments the girls come out with had me in stitches. This one is my favorite!
• “This feels like someone reached inside my chest and took my ability to breathe normally with them.”
• “Love just gives them something worth becoming monstrous for.”
​KEY CHARACTERS
• Luca Falcone: Ruthless and dangerous, he has been living with the ghosts of his past for years.
• Isabella Ricci: Mostly ignored as the youngest daughter of Andre Ricci, she has spent years standing in the shadows of her older sister.
(We get plenty of interaction with characters from previous books, too! 😁 And of course, there are new enemies for our favorite Capo and his loyal men to sort out.)
​FINAL THOUGHTS
• The Good: As I mentioned, the prologue was devastating. I started this book with tears and a heavy heart for Luca, but as the story unfolds, he’s forced to evaluate the walls he’s built. His resistance to letting anyone in is constantly chipped away by Bella's quiet, steady love. We also get lighter moments within the famiglia. The storyline flows so smoothly that before I knew it, I was 70% in and reluctantly forcing myself to go to sleep!
• The Bad: Honestly, I couldn't think of anything! I guess it makes me a bit vicious, but I only wish a certain someone had received a little more "special attention" before his final departure 😆.
• Verdict: I’ve really enjoyed this series, and it keeps getting better with every book. It’s dark romance, so expect dark themes, violence, and heavy angst—but what I love most is the camaraderie of the famiglia, along with the deep brotherhood and sisterhood at the Vittorio estate. (And, of course, Camilla steals every single scene she's in 😍!) If you like dark romance with deep emotional love stories, strong heroines, and "touch her and die" morally gray heroes, definitely check this series out—just make sure to read them in order!

Thank you to the author for the Gifted e-book via book. All opinions are my own."


View all my reviews

Author Bio 

Alexis Noelle lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania with her husband, and kids. She loves spending time with her kids, although she has to hide the computer from them when she is writing! She love being active and being outdoors, especially if it involves any kind of shopping.

She has always been passionate about writing. She loves to read romance books and feels like being able to lose yourself in a book is one of the more exciting aspects. The books she loves to read and write will be ones that make you feel for the characters. Alexis believes that you should have an opinion on every character in a book whether you love them, hate them, or think they are up to something.

She also believes that the most important critic is your reader, so she loves to hear from the readers. She want her fans to be open & talk to her about what they want for the characters in the story, and what they would like to see happen.

Instagram 

Review: His To Claim by Alexis Noelle

Amazon | Goodreads 

Blurb

She was never supposed to be his.

One desperate decision changed everything.

Marrying Sofia Barone was meant to solve a problem—not create one. Alessandro Moretti expected duty, obligation, and a wife who would always keep one foot out the door.

Dr

Instead, he got the one woman capable of bringing even the most ruthless man to his knees.

With every stolen glance, every quiet touch, and every battle they survive together, what begins as an arranged marriage slowly becomes something neither of them saw coming. Something real. Something worth killing for.

But in the world of the Famiglia, love is never allowed to exist without a price.

As old enemies refuse to let the past stay buried, Alessandro and Sofia find themselves caught in a war fueled by obsession, vengeance, and betrayal. The more fiercely they choose each other, the more dangerous their love becomes—and the moment they're finally brave enough to imagine a future together, someone decides to take it from them.


Now Alessandro isn't fighting for power.


He's fighting for his wife.


And there isn't a corner of the earth he won't burn to bring her home.


His to Claim is a dark mafia romance featuring an arranged marriage, possessive hero, protective husband, found family, emotional healing, and a guaranteed HEA.

Review 

His To Claim by Alexis Noelle

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book as a Beta Reader from the author. I am voluntarily leaving an honest, unbiased review. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own, page numbers may be different to the final version.

Tropes

🕴🏼Mafia Romance

💒Marriage of Convenience / Arranged Marriage

🔒Protective Hero / Forced Proximity

☯️Dark Themes / Healing & Recovery

The story opens brilliantly, with Sophia overhearing a meeting between her uncle and Carlo Santoro—Luciano’s father. The tension is sky-high right from the start, and the storyline stays riveting as the pages turn.
Sophia may be the younger sister of Nico Barone—controlled and protected by her family—but she soon realizes that her life is heading into a direction she desperately doesn't want. She comes to the harsh realization that her uncle sees her as a commodity, an "untouched" bargaining piece to further his own agenda. Knowing this would push her brother completely over the edge, Sophia calls the only person she knows will help: Alessandro.
Alessandro does the one thing he believes will save Sophia from being married off to Luciano (a man who definitely wouldn't treat her right)—he marries her himself! As the news detonates at a dinner meeting of the Mafia clans, the tension mounts, perfectly balanced with occasional splashes of humor from the supporting characters.
As Sophia adjusts to her new reality, there are some truly entertaining scenes—from shopping trips with Val and Nina to Sophia secretly researching "how to seduce your husband"—which offer great lighthearted contrast as friction mounts between the families.
I don't want to spoil anything, but be warned: this book gets significantly darker than the previous ones in the series. Please check the trigger warnings! ⚠️ This book made me cry, rant, and want to chuck my e-reader at the wall.
"Recovery happens strangely. Not in grand moments. Tiny ones."
To conclude, this book was an absolute emotional rollercoaster and a phenomenal addition to the series. The trauma incident affected me so deeply that I actually had to take a full day's break from reading before I could pick it back up. Alexis Noelle delivered a powerful, unforgettable story.

⚠️ Spoilers & Standout Moments

(view spoiler)

View all my reviews       

Author Bio 

Alexis Noelle lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania with her husband, and kids. She loves spending time with her kids, although she has to hide the computer from them when she is writing! She love being active and being outdoors, especially if it involves any kind of shopping.

She has always been passionate about writing. She loves to read romance books and feels like being able to lose yourself in a book is one of the more exciting aspects. The books she loves to read and write will be ones that make you feel for the characters. Alexis believes that you should have an opinion on every character in a book whether you love them, hate them, or think they are up to something.

She also believes that the most important critic is your reader, so she loves to hear from the readers. She want her fans to be open & talk to her about what they want for the characters in the story, and what they would like to see happen.

Instagram 

Review: His To Protect by Alexis Noelle

Blurb

His To Protect is a standalone HEA in the Empire Of Sin series. While it can be read on its own, I highly recommend reading Book 1 first to get to know Nico Barone and the rest of the characters from the start—he was such an incredible supporting character in the first book!

Nico has no intention of allowing anyone close to him besides his sister and his found family at the Vittorio Estate. That is, until Valentina.

Valentina Santoro has spent her entire life trying to earn a speck of affection from her blood family through obedience, sacrifice, and silence. When she's forced into a marriage with Nico Barone, she expects the same indifference.

Nico built his reputation on loyalty, control, and ruthless violence. But the longer Valentina stands beside him, the more she sees the real Nico beneath the surface. As tension boils across the city and enemies close in from every side, the Five Families alliance begins to fracture. Deep betrayals push Nico to the edge of burning down the city, forcing Nico and Val to decide if they're willing to risk everything for a love neither of them expected.

The synopsis ends with: "Because some vows are written in ink. The most dangerous ones are written in blood." Boy, is that true!

This book delivers all the tension, grit, and high-stakes drama mafia romance lovers crave. There were moments where I genuinely thought my heart would break 💔, and the suspense kept me reading way past my bedtime—I simply couldn't put it down until I knew they were going to be okay.

This is my second book by Alexis Noelle, and her writing style is sharp, direct, and brings the emotional weight straight off the page. I grabbed every free moment I had to read, finally finishing in the early hours of the morning. And that ending... oh boy! It’s not a cliffhanger for Nico and Val's story, but rather an explosive preview of what’s to come.

Please, Alexis Noelle, don't make us wait too long... Gimme Alessandro's book! 📖 🤯😍

Review 

His To Protect by Alexis Noelle to
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

His To Protect is a standalone HEA in the Empire Of Sin series. While it can be read on its own, I highly recommend reading Book 1 first to get to know Nico Barone and the rest of the characters from the start—he was such an incredible supporting character in the first book!

Nico has no intention of allowing anyone close to him besides his sister and his found family at the Vittorio Estate. That is, until Valentina.

Valentina Santoro has spent her entire life trying to earn a speck of affection from her blood family through obedience, sacrifice, and silence. When she's forced into a marriage with Nico Barone, she expects the same indifference.

Nico built his reputation on loyalty, control, and ruthless violence. But the longer Valentina stands beside him, the more she sees the real Nico beneath the surface. As tension boils across the city and enemies close in from every side, the Five Families alliance begins to fracture. Deep betrayals push Nico to the edge of burning down the city, forcing Nico and Val to decide if they're willing to risk everything for a love neither of them expected.

The synopsis ends with: "Because some vows are written in ink. The most dangerous ones are written in blood." Boy, is that true!

This book delivers all the tension, grit, and high-stakes drama mafia romance lovers crave. There were moments where I genuinely thought my heart would break 💔, and the suspense kept me reading way past my bedtime—I simply couldn't put it down until I knew they were going to be okay.

This is my second book by Alexis Noelle, and her writing style is sharp, direct, and brings the emotional weight straight off the page. I grabbed every free moment I had to read, finally finishing in the early hours of the morning. And that ending... oh boy! It’s not a cliffhanger for Nico and Val's story, but rather an explosive preview of what’s to come.

Please, Alexis Noelle, don't make us wait too long... Gimme Alessandro's book! 📖 🤯😍

View all my reviews

Author Bio 

Alexis Noelle lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania with her husband, and kids. She loves spending time with her kids, although she has to hide the computer from them when she is writing! She love being active and being outdoors, especially if it involves any kind of shopping.

She has always been passionate about writing. She loves to read romance books and feels like being able to lose yourself in a book is one of the more exciting aspects. The books she loves to read and write will be ones that make you feel for the characters. Alexis believes that you should have an opinion on every character in a book whether you love them, hate them, or think they are up to something.

She also believes that the most important critic is your reader, so she loves to hear from the readers. She want her fans to be open & talk to her about what they want for the characters in the story, and what they would like to see happen.

Instagram | Facebook 

Review: His To Keep by Alexis Noelle

439 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 1, 2026

Book Links 🔗 

 AMAZON | GOODREADS | STORYGRAPH 

Blurb 

Nina

He bought me at an auction.

I should hate him for it.

Instead, I can’t stop wanting the dangerously possessive man who watches me like I already belong to him.

Matteo Vittorio is everything I should fear. He is powerful, ruthless, and capable of terrifying violence with a single quiet command. In his world, people disappear, blood stains marble floors, and loyalty matters more than mercy. But behind closed doors, the man everyone fears treats me like something precious.

That should make me run.

Except every time he touches me, every time he calls me piccola vipera in that rough Italian accent, I forget I was ever trying to survive him in the first place.

The problem?

Men like Matteo don’t let go once they decide something is theirs.

And somewhere between fear, obsession, and the way he looks at me like I’m the only soft thing left in his world…

I think I stopped wanting him to.

Matteo

I bought her because I couldn’t walk away.

One look at Nina and every instinct I possess turned violent. Protective. Possessive. She was never supposed to matter. Never supposed to become the one weakness capable of bringing me to my knees.

But she did.

Now she’s everywhere in my house, my thoughts, my blood and losing her feels more terrifying than dying ever did.

I’ve built an empire through blood and fear. Men lower their eyes when I speak. Rivals pray they never end up on my bad side. I know exactly how to destroy threats before they ever reach my door.

What I don’t know?

How to survive loving a woman enough to let her break me.

Because Nina doesn’t belong in my world. She deserves peace, safety, freedom.

And I’m the man willing to burn cities to the ground to give it to her.

Review 

His To Keep by Alexis Noelle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Well I started this book late at night (always a bad decision, as it ends up with me looking like 😴)
The book starts off with a bang and hasn't stopped...
I have read a couple of books that are similar themed... Forced proximity, alpha male, morally grey.
Out of these recent books, I like how the character development is organic,

The situation between Nina and Matteo, the attraction and the connection. The 🔥 scenes feel believable, that Nina could feel the attraction and act on those feelings.

Nothing too over the top for the sake of making it dark romance. (Thank you Alexis) I'm over reading books where the spice is more or less BDSM 🌽 with a semblance of a storyline.

Things are progressing nicely in the relationship...
But then we get to chapter 23 and the situation changes...
That's all I'm going to say... I don't want to spoil it.
I have enjoyed reading Nina and Matteos story, how they negotiated the highs and lows of finding love and family.

Honorable mention for Nico and especially Alessandro, these two are so entertaining. Can't wait for their books 😁

🚨 One of my Top reads for 2026 ❣️

View all my reviews

Author Bio 

Alexis Noelle lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania with her husband, and kids. She loves spending time with her kids, although she has to hide the computer from them when she is writing! She love being active and being outdoors, especially if it involves any kind of shopping.

She has always been passionate about writing. She loves to read romance books and feels like being able to lose yourself in a book is one of the more exciting aspects. The books she loves to read and write will be ones that make you feel for the characters. Alexis believes that you should have an opinion on every character in a book whether you love them, hate them, or think they are up to something.

She also believes that the most important critic is your reader, so she loves to hear from the readers. She want her fans to be open & talk to her about what they want for the characters in the story, and what they would like to see happen.

Instagram | Facebook