I am thrilled to be hosting a spot
on the RED by M.K. Harkins Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out
my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!
About The Book:
Author: M.K. Harkins
Pub. Date: June 2, 2024
Publisher: M.K. Harkins
Formats: Paperback, eBook
Pages: 299
Find it: Goodreads, https://books2read.com/RED-MKHarkins
Read for FREE with a Kindle Unlimited Membership!
The big, bad wolf is the least of her
worries…
Breaking free from her homeschooled cocoon of isolation and rejection, Lily is
ecstatic to head off to college. She’s waving goodbye to her mom’s
doom-and-gloom speeches about the big, scary world, ready to embrace freedom
without a care.
George is every girl’s dream—funny, smart, and handsome. But he’s still wrecked
by the mysterious disappearance of his high school sweetheart. He yearns for
closure but wallows in self-pity, pining for his lost love.
Sparks fly when Lily and George meet, and their mutual attraction is
instantaneous. But George resists their electric connection and retreats.
Frustrated by his repeated rejections, Lily is ready to walk away for good.'
Behind the scenes, an inexperienced fairy godmother teams up with an annoyingly
handsome and arrogant guardian angel to stop Lily from ditching her true
soulmate, George—a potentially catastrophic decision. While they debate their
strategy, an enemy from George’s past devises a greedy and revengeful plot that
could destroy everything. Can George save Lily, or will he suffer a lonely
future—this time, forever?
When fairies, guardian angels, and mortals collide, anything can happen.
While this novel is a complete tale in itself, delving into the first book,
Ashes, will enrich your understanding of the characters and their journey.
Grab the companion book ASHES now!
Excerpt:
Prologue
Fairy Castle
Merilee/Laura
What a disaster.
Merilee rubbed her temples.
Would an easy solution be
too much to ask?
For the life of her, she
didn’t know what to say about her botched-up visit to Earth. Her stomach
churned and twisted, adding to her headache that throbbed with each beat of her
heart.
In awe, Merilee watched as
the queen floated into the lush and overgrown garden room, her gown shimmering
and twirling on currents of air, reflecting off the sparkling gown of diamonds
and sequins. The speckles of sunlight displayed every color in the universe.
Her three-foot-tall silver crown reflected colored light almost as much as the
dress. A hush fell across the seventy fairies in attendance, their wings
fluttering in anticipation as they turned their attention toward her.
Gracefully, she floated above their heads with fluttering wings before landing
softly on the jewel-encrusted throne at the front and center of the room. With
her head held high, she removed a wisp of golden hair from her forehead and let
her gaze wander around the space.
“Now, let us commence.” The
Queen Godmother tapped her scepter on the armrest.
The room fell silent as the
fairies sat straighter in their chairs, eager to hear what the queen had to
say. “It seems we have two major problems,” she began, her voice ringing out
across the chamber.
Understatement.
“Ashley Adams will soon find
herself in grave danger.” The fairies broke out into a buzz of chatter, their
wings fluttering with concern and excitement.
“Additionally, there is an
issue concerning George Sparks.”
The room fell silent again.
Merilee couldn’t help but
feel a pang of guilt. She had failed in her mission. Well, part of it. She
wanted to unfurl her wings, fly right out of the room, and hide for a thousand
years in the hopes that everyone would forget that she’d messed up.
Ashley Adams, her
assignment, was doing great. Ashley’s heart was open, and she met her soulmate,
Harry. They were in love and happy to be alive. Merilee wished the queen might
instead focus on that.
“Merilee, your report,
please?” With folded hands, the queen leaned forward.
Merilee fidgeted in her
chair. Despite being elevated into the Fairy Godmother program hundreds of
years ago, she still found herself as nervous as the first day of training.
She stood and cleared her
throat. “Yes, My Queen. Um…While Ashley is doing great, there seems to be an
issue with George Sparks.”
“I heard. He’s spiraling
into a deep depression.” She pursed her lips. “How did things get this bad?”
Merilee gathered herself.
“Well, it seems I miscalculated George’s affections toward me when I visited
Earth last year. The plan was to open his heart so he’d be receptive to love
when he met his actual soulmate. As you know, he was quite the player before he
moved to Washington.”
“Yes, yes, I know.” The
queen sighed. “The assignment was for you to assist Ashley in finding her
soulmate, Harry. Instead, you included a plan to fix Harry’s best friend,
George.”
Ugh, multitasking. The
queen’s directive had always been to focus on one thing at a time. Guilt
flooded Merilee for the hundredth time. “Well, uh, to sum things up, yes.”
“You opened him up to the
possibility of love, but you overshot, and now he’s in a deep depression
because he thinks you left him behind. Am I understanding this correctly?”
Fannetta, Merilee’s best
friend, leaned over and whispered, “I think you broke George.”
Not helpful.
Merilee widened her eyes, signaling Fannetta to keep her mouth shut. She didn’t
need to pour acid on an already festering wound. Yes, she messed up, but now
was not the time to dwell on mistakes. Merilee cleared her throat. “That’s
correct. George continues to have a hard go of it. I realize he’s suffering
right now.”
“The goal of a Fairy
Godmother is to reduce suffering.” The queen’s voice softened.
“That’s true. I was
successful with Ashley, as you recall. But George is different. We’ll need to
play the long game until he meets his soulmate,” Merilee said.
“So, will this poor young
man be experiencing wretched heartbreak until she shows up? By then, will he
even care enough to recognize his soulmate?”
Merilee closed her eyes
briefly because she didn’t know. Ashley Adams was her first assignment as a
Fairy Godmother-in-training, and this was all uncharted territory. “We are
working on setting George up to meet people and make new friends. Our hope is that
the memories of me pretending to be Laura Vanetta will fade when that happens.”
The queen raised a brow.
“Your hope?”
“I believe George will get
back on track once his college courses begin. He has a passion for animals, and
he’s perfectly placed in the veterinarian program at UC Davis.”
But evil lurked. Merilee had
two problems to solve—helping George heal his broken heart and keeping Ashley
alive.
The queen nodded. “You
aren’t soulmates with George, but he believes you are. That kind of strength of
emotion can create miracles. At least you accomplished the goal of opening his
heart.”
Merilee nodded. “Yeah. So,
he’d know his true love when he meets her.”
“I’ll commend you. In
theory, your plan wasn’t without logic,” the queen said.
A rush of warmth filled
Merilee’s body.
“But…”
Ugh. Always a but.
“As you might remember from
the Celestial Handbook, passage 1062e,” the queen said, pursing her lips and
staring directly at Merilee, “if you fail at your endeavor to fix this
unfortunate situation with George, I’ll strip you of your wings and demote you
to Fairy Second Class.”
The blood drained from
Merilee’s head, and black dots obscured her vision. No, it couldn’t be. She
had read that passage eons ago but never expected it to be enforced. It would
take Merilee thousands of years to work her way back up to the Fairy Godmother
training. And with a black mark on her file, she might never get the chance.
Fannetta trembled beside her. She drew in a deep, shuddering breath.
Fannetta reached over to
hold her hand. Merilee knew Fannetta would have her back. With her innocent
soul and wide-eyed wonder about almost everything, she was certain her best
friend would give her life to protect her. Merilee felt the same and hoped it
would never come to that.
“You have your work cut out
for you. Because Fannetta was also involved in the original plan, I’d like you
both to go to the library and put your heads together. You’ll need to plan your
strategy moving forward. Remember, the clock is ticking. The assignment with
George has a short deadline, one year max.”
“Of course.” Merilee glanced
at Fannetta.
“You may get to work on your
plan.” The queen pointed her scepter to the exit.
“Yes, of course,” Merilee
said with a curtsy, grabbed Fannetta’s arm, and tugged on it to leave.
“Thank you for this
opportunity,” Fannetta said. “We won’t let you down.”
They’d let the queen down
once, so Merilee’s hopes weren’t high. They made the trek down to the
subterranean cave-like halls chiseled from rock thousands of years ago. Merilee
breathed in, trying to calm herself. She loved the lilac and lavender smell of
the garden room, but the stone walkways held a unique scent that reminded her
of the Earth right after a rainfall. After about thirty twists and turns, they
entered the library.
Merilee flopped into a comfy
chair and breathed in the smell of centuries-old leather-bound books. The
library was her go-to place for information you couldn’t get anywhere else in
the universe, but better yet, it was almost always empty, so she could enjoy
the solitude. But not today. She sat forward. “What are we going to do about
George?”
She wouldn’t let herself
fail this mission and get demoted. She couldn’t.
Fannetta sighed. “I don’t
know, but I’d love to have someone fall for me like that.”
“He didn’t fall for me. Or
should I say, Laura. He’s just stuck in denial right now. He fell for a version
of his soulmate. To be honest, I only studied his soulmate for a week and then
copied what I thought she’d be like. Once he meets his true love, the memory of
me will be a thing of the past, buried and gone.” Merilee almost felt sad for a
moment. “But you’re right. Having someone love the real me that deeply would be
thrilling.”
“How about Zuriel? Maybe
he’ll be your true love.” Fannetta giggled.
Zuriel, Ashley Adams’
guardian angel, would help Merilee keep Ashley safe from her stepmother’s
revenge. “Stop it,” Merilee said. “You know it’s taboo for fairies and guardian
angels to fall in love.”
Fannetta tsked. “That rule
is so silly and outdated. Just because some angel got his heart broken two
thousand years ago by a fairy, it ruined it for everyone else. That provision
needs to be changed. They haven’t made it into a law yet, so…”
Merilee let her mind wander
for a moment. Ahhh, Zuriel. With his chocolatey-brown eyes, high
cheekbones, and strong jaw… “He’s the prettiest of the pretty.”
Fannetta rolled her eyes.
“He’s mega handsome and hot. That’s what he is.”
Merilee’s heart rate
catapulted.
“Have you met him yet?”
Fannetta asked.
“No. I’ve only seen a
picture. It was a few hundred years ago, though. I’ve never met any of the
angels. They’re usually too busy saving humans. They’ve brought out the big
guns for this one.” Merilee rubbed her hands together. “He’s supposed to come
to our meeting today to talk strategy.” She plucked a mirror out of her
oversized bag and peered into it. “How does my makeup look?”
Fannetta shook her head.
“You’re gorgeous as always. That smokey-eye thing you have going on is… what do
they say on Earth? Lit? Oh, wait. It’s hot.”
“Thanks.” Merilee smiled.
She didn’t like social media in general, but YouTube had its advantages when it
came to makeup and fashion.
“Back to Zuriel. Do you know
anything about him?” Fannetta asked.
“Not a thing. There hasn’t
been a need for him to enter our realm. Do you think he’ll be excited to meet
us?”
“Of course. Who wouldn’t
be?” Fannetta said as she flipped her raven hair over her shoulder. The two
fairies shared a laugh.
The library doors flew open,
the queen breezed in, and good heavens, Zuriel beside her was even hotter in
person than in the photo she remembered. They both paused about twenty feet
away. Merilee wondered if anyone had ever passed out just by looking at his
beauty. Dark wavy hair, expressive brown eyes, full lips, also tall at six
three, and devastatingly handsome in every way. Even his ears were sexy. Was
that even possible?
He stood next to the queen
with crossed arms, wearing a scowl.
He’s scowling?
Merilee had assumed all guardian angels were happy, kind, and patient. But this
one? Zuriel seemed to have a storm cloud over his head. She leaned toward
Fannetta and whispered, “I guess he’s not too excited to meet us.”
Zuriel’s eyes zipped to
Merilee. “That’s correct.”
Merilee’s face flamed. Did
he hear that?
He sighed. “Why would I be
excited to interrupt my important cases to clean up your mess on Earth?”
That arrogant jerk. She
straightened her back. “I’ll have you know that Ashley would have needed your
help regardless. And who knows? If it wasn’t for me, her stepmother might have
killed her with the allergen-laced cookie.”
Zuriel rolled his eyes.
Oh! He was grumpy and
cocky. Merilee’s hands clenched, and her eyes narrowed.
Fannetta gently touched her
arm. She knew when her friend was about to detonate.
Merilee wanted to wipe the
know-it-all expression from his face.
The queen harrumphed. “Let’s
focus on the solution.”
Merilee resisted the urge to
stick her tongue out at Zuriel and say, “See? The queen agrees with me.”
“It appears I don’t need to
introduce you,” the queen said. “Zuriel, I want you to work closely with
Merilee to protect Ashley from her stepmother.”
Zuriel closed his eyes
briefly.
Merilee cringed inside.
Ashley’s stepmother was pure malevolent darkness. Sometimes they had the
ability to save a human, but not every time. Evil had always been one of the
strongest forces on the planet. No, she wouldn’t even allow herself to
contemplate that scenario.
“Why do I have to
collaborate with her?” Zuriel glanced at Merilee and back to the queen.
Humiliation washed through
her like an ocean wave, strong and powerful. Did he find her repulsive? Was he
so beautiful that it was painful to work with someone ordinary like her?
“She knows Ashley better
than anyone. They spent many months together as best friends,” the queen said.
Zuriel kept his arms crossed
and gave a curt nod. “She also played with the emotions of an innocent human.”
Molten anger raced through
her veins. “George is smart; he can take care of himself. Not everyone wallows
in heartbreak for two thousand years,” she said.
Fannetta stiffened beside
her.
Zuriel’s eyes narrowed.
“George doesn’t have the luxury of thousands of years. You may have ruined his
entire life on Earth.”
Could that be true?
“Listen. I’m going to fix George—you need to concentrate on Ashley.”
“As I said,” the queen
interrupted, “you will need to find a way to work together. I don’t want any
animosity about past decisions. Things need to improve now.” The queen gave
Zuriel and Merilee a stern look that said don’t mess with me. “Do I make
myself clear?”
Merilee glared at Zuriel.
His eyes weren’t shooting daggers anymore, but his mouth stayed in a firm line.
Were all guardian angels spoiled or something? No wonder the realms didn’t
cross often.
“Yes, I’ll do what I can to
help George recover. And I’ll also assist Zuriel with all the information he
needs,” Merilee said with perfect professional delivery. She’d let the pouting
angel deal with her being the mature one.
Zuriel straightened. “Yes,
Your Highness. I don’t agree with what’s happened, but I’ll use the information
to ensure that Ashley stays safe.”
“Very good.” The queen
finally smiled. “Fannetta,” she called out. “I want you to assist Merilee and
Zuriel as needed. You also know a lot about George and Ashley. Your insights
could be helpful.”
Fannetta beamed. “Of course,
My Queen.”
“Now that it’s settled, the
three of you need to go to the war room and plot your strategy.” She fluttered
out of the room.
Merilee and Fannetta stood
and waited for Zuriel to say something. Instead, he walked out the door. The
arrogant fool planned to find the war room with hundreds of twists and turns
through the tunnels. “I hope he gets lost,” Merilee whispered.
“I have the castle
blueprints,” he called back over his shoulder.
“Very well, then. Lead the
way!” Fannetta turned to wink and giggle at Merilee.
Merilee loved to laugh with
Fannetta, but this situation was anything but funny.
This wasn’t just a
disaster—it had all the makings of a catastrophe.
About M.K. Harkins:
MK has always been a voracious reader. After hitting a dry
spell of reading material, she decided to write the kind of book she'd like to
read. This resulted in the creation of her debut novel, Intentional. (Award for
Best Sweet Romance - eFestival of Words- August 2014) Unintentional, Breaking
Braydon, Taking Tiffany, The Reader, Famous by Default, soon followed. The
follow-up to The Reader, The Jack, released August 2018.
Ashes, the first book in a new series of modern-day fairy
tale retellings released in May 2022. (Five more books in the series to follow)
When she's not writing novels, she likes to spend her free
time traveling the world, splashing in mud puddles (She lives in Seattle, what
can she say?), watching movies and reading (!) She LOVES to hear from her
readers!
Subscribe to M.K.’s newsletter!
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub
Giveaway Details:
1 winner
will receive a finished copy of RED, US Only.
Ends July 16th, midnight EST.
a Rafflecopter giveawayTour Schedule:
Week One:
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6/17/2024 |
Excerpt/IG Post |
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6/18/2024 |
Excerpt |
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6/19/2024 |
Excerpt |
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6/20/2024 |
Excerpt |
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6/21/2024 |
Excerpt |
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6/22/2024 |
Excerpt/IG Post |
Week Two:
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6/23/2024 |
Excerpt/IG Post |
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6/24/2024 |
Review |
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6/25/2024 |
IG Review |
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6/26/2024 |
Review/IG Post |
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6/27/2024 |
Review/IG Post |
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6/28/2024 |
IG Review |
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6/29/2024 |
Review/IG Post |
Week Three:
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6/30/2024 |
IG Review |
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7/1/2024 |
IG Review |
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7/2/2024 |
IG Review |
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7/3/2024 |
Review/IG Post |
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7/4/2024 |
IG Review/TikTok Post |
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7/5/2024 |
IG Review/LFL Drop Pic/TikTok Post |
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7/6/2024 |
Review/IG Post |
Week Four:
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7/7/2024 |
Review/IG Post |
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7/8/2024 |
Review/IG Post |
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7/9/2024 |
IG Review/LFL Drop Pic/TikTok Post |
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7/10/2024 |
Review/IG Post |
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7/11/2024 |
IG Review/TikTok Post |
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7/12/2024 |
IG Review/TikTok Post |
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