Hiya peeps, we have the brilliant co-authors Amber Kell & R.J. Scott stopping by today with their End Street release The Case of the Purple Pearl, there’s a fantastic excerpt & a fabulous giveaway so enjoy the post and click that rafflecopter link <3 ~Pixie~
The Case of the Purple Pearl
Amber Kell & R.J. Scott
After failing in a quest to win the Fae Queen’s approval, Halstein is locked in a world of stone. Forced to remain a gargoyle he spends his days on Sam’s desk pining for his lost love.
Prince Idris’s lover went missing and was presumed dead. Alone, Idris lives a life away from court, starved of energy but unwilling to sleep in the room he once shared with his beloved.
Can Sam and Bob save these fated lovers before it’s too late? And will Bob’s ultimate sacrifice be enough to free Hal from his prison?
Excerpt
Chapter One
“What are you doing?”
Sam sighed. This was the fifth time today their visiting gargoyle had asked him that. Three weeks had passed since it had decided to stay at the house and wait for Sam to find it a master. And those three weeks had lasted a very long time.
“Taxes,” Sam muttered. The same answer he’d given every single time he’d been asked.
“I don’t like math,” the little gargoyle said. He waddled across Sam’s desk, leaving small muddy footprints on a neatly filled-in form. Sam couldn’t even muster the energy to get angry.
“Are you going to tell me your name yet?” Sam asked. He placed his pen on the desk and leaned back with a stretch, eying the small gargoyle against the hulking monstrosity that sat immobile on the corner of his desk. They were so dissimilar, in size and expression.
“You know I can only tell my master.”
“I can’t keep calling you the little gargoyle. I’m going to have to give you a name.”
The little gargoyle turned in a circle to face Sam, then squatted into a pose with his mouth open in a snarl. It looked pretty mean, and Sam edged back.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
The gargoyle’s expression changed back to the one he usually had; that of a dopey baby.
“Nothing, I was just giving you my fierce face so you can give me the right name. I’m not having you calling me Sunshine or Cutie. I want something strong like Zephariel Angel of Vengeance.”
Sam couldn’t help the snort of laughter, then immediately felt guilty when the gargoyle’s expression fell. “Sorry,” he apologized. “It’s just, uhm, that name is taken. How about Leo, like a lion, a brave, strong lion.”
The gargoyle tilted his head in contemplation, then nodded. “Leo, I like Leo. I’m done with you now. You already have a gargoyle. I’m going to find my true master.”
That decided, he jumped down off the desk and waddled over to the door, sidestepping awkwardly when Smudge slunk in with intent in every step. In a leap, Smudge was up on the desk, sitting right on the tax forms and staring straight into Sam’s face.
“What are you doing?” Smudge asked telepathically.
“Taxes,” Sam answered. He didn’t add a sigh this time.
“You should be tracking down what kind of other your uncle’s pet gargoyle is.”
Leo, the newly named visiting gargoyle, had declared that the old paperweight on Sam’s desk that looked like a gargoyle, walked like a gargoyle, and was stone like a gargoyle, wasn’t actually a gargoyle at all, but other.
“Where do you suggest I start? And why can’t you tell what it is, oh powerful familiar.” Sam couldn’t help the sarcasm. Smudge was capable of putting souls back in bodies and using heavy magic, but he couldn’t track down what kind of paranormal had been transformed into an ancient crumbling gargoyle paperweight?
“I’ll forget you said that,” Smudge said condescendingly. “I’ve been busy.”
“With what?” Sam asked. Privately he thought Smudge spent too much time cleaning himself with his paws up in the air and his tongue—
“I can hear you,” Smudge warned. “And who else do you think can keep your attic spider infestation at bay?”
Sam shuddered. He didn’t like small spiders at best, let alone the giant ones Smudge had suggested lived only a few floors up. “Good work,” Sam praised. “And as to our paperweight friend here—” Sam tapped the solid stone thing on the head with a stapler. “—I’ve put out a request to everyone I know as to who may be missing someone. I used the ParaGoogle to see if anyone knows anything. Not sure what else I can do at this stage.”
Smudge gave a feline version of a huff, deliberately washed himself on the desk for a good five minutes, then disappeared out of the room. Sam shook off the fur that had fallen on his paperwork. This needed to be done and, unless he finished it soon, he’d have the authorities fining him all over the place.
A knock on his office door jerked Sam from his sad contemplation of the bills he had to pay. Although he’d earned some money recently and he owned the building where he worked and lived, the flow of money going out far exceeded the money rushing into his pockets.
Taxes were a bitch.
Volume 1 – Books 1 & 2
Book 1 – The Case of the Cupid Curse
Book 2 – The Case of the Wicked Wolf
Volume 2 – Books 3 & 4
Book 3 – The Case of the Dragon’s Dilemma
Book 4 – The Case of the Sinful Santa
About R.J. & Amber
RJ Scott is the bestselling gay romance author of over ninety MM romance books. She writes emotional stories of complicated characters, cowboys, millionaire, princes, and the men who get mixed up in their lives. RJ is known for writing books that always end with a happy ever after. She lives just outside London and spends every waking minute she isn’t with family either reading or writing.
RJ also writes MF romance under the name Rozenn Scott.
The last time she had a week’s break from writing she didn’t like it one little bit, and she has yet to meet a bottle of wine she couldn’t defeat.
rj@rjscott.co.uk | Website | Twitter | Facebook | Librarything | Tumblr (some NSFW (not safe for work) photos) Pinterest
Amber Kell
Amber Kell has made a career out of daydreaming. It has been a lifelong habit she practices diligently as shown by her complete lack of focus on anything not related to her fantasy world building.
When she told her husband what she wanted to do with her life he told her to go have fun.
During those seconds she isn’t writing she remembers she has children who humor her with games of ‘what if’ and let her drag them to foreign lands to gather inspiration. Her youngest confided in her that he wants to write because he longs for a website and an author name—two things apparently necessary to be a proper writer.
Despite her husband’s insistence she doesn’t drink enough to be a true literary genius she continues to spin stories of people falling happily in love and staying that way.
She is thwarted during the day by a traffic jam of cats on the stairway and a puppy who insists on walks, but she bravely perseveres.
Giveaway!
Prize$20 Amazon or ARe Giftcard
R.J. Scott Rafflecopter giveaway!
Review
Title: The Case of the Purple Pearl
Series: End Street Detective Agency Books #5
Author: R.J. Scott & Amber Kell
Genre: Gay Erotic Romance, Paranormal, Fantasy, Mystery
Length: Novella (112pgs)
Publisher: Love Lane Books Ltd (November 22, 2015)
Heat Level: Low
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 4.5 Hearts
Blurb: After failing in a quest to win the Fae Queen’s approval, Halstein is locked in a world of stone. Forced to remain a gargoyle he spends his days on Sam’s desk pining for his lost love.
Prince Idris’s lover went missing and was presumed dead. Alone, Idris lives a life away from court, starved of energy but unwilling to sleep in the room he once shared with his beloved.
Can Sam and Bob save these fated lovers before it’s too late? And will Bob’s ultimate sacrifice be enough to free Hal from his prison?
ISBN: 978-1-78564-034-6
Reviewer: Lisa
Purchase Link: Amazon (US) | Amazon (UK) | All Romance
Review: Each story in this series focus on two sets of couples. The first couple is Sam and Bob, whereas the second couple are new in a way. This is a series that would be best read in order, because each story starts in a previous book and finishes in the new one.
Now I must admit that this one was a bit different than the others. It seemed as each story progressed they seemed to lose the light heart theme it had. It did not seem to have any humor with this one like the others, which was a bit dull to me. It came off not flowing as well as the others did for some reason.
It would seem that the gargoyle in Sam’s office is not a true gargoyle at all. Hal is cursed to stay this way forever unless someone could find the cure. He had been tricked into leaving his mate, to do a trial governed by the Queen of the Fae. His mate was the prince, and the queen did not approve. It was going to take Sam to find out how to help Hal return to his true self and to get his love back.
Idris had told Hal not to go on the trial; Idris’ mother said Hal would never return. He had believed that Hal didn’t want to come home or was dead; he had not expected to learn Hal was a gargoyle these days. When Sam kills the Queen, it sets the motion of what is going to happen. It would seem his dream of having human cases, has once again led him astray. Let’s face it, Sam is just stuck.
Now I have to admit that I didn’t care for this particular story. I definitely didn’t care for the ending at all. I was disappointed to say the least. Now a foolish man should never try to prove his worthiness to keep a man, especially when a wicked mother is setting it into motion. It never turns out the way they would think. However this is a very action packed story that will have you on the edge of your seat. Although we do now have a hint of what Sam is.
Other than how I felt about this particular story, I do look forward to seeing what the next book will be like. The characters are a blast, and there are many characters. I would definitely recommend it.
