Tuesday, February 10, 2026

Book Blitz: The Vacation Bubble by Marcella Steele


Welcome to the book blitz of The Vacation Bubble by Marcella Steele, a romantic comedy. Don't forget to check out the excerpt and enter the giveaway below to win a $25 Amazon gift card & 5x ebook copies of The Vacation Bubble (open INTL).
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The Vacation Bubble: A Second Chance Romantic Comedy by Marcella Steele
(To Barcelona with Love Trilogy, #1)
Publication date: September 1st 2025
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance

Readers’ Favorite
Perfect for fans of Beach Read, The Unhoneymooners, and Part of Your World—this witty second chance romance is a sun-drenched escape with heart, heat, and humor.

A fling wasn’t on her vacation itinerary. Neither was falling in love with the one man she’d already run from.

Romance has ghosted, gaslit, and gone full Shakespearean tragedy on Sofia Drake. She’s officially a one-woman rom-com with no third act in sight, ready to bolt if love sneaks up on her again.

Freshly dumped and jobless, Sofia is mid-pity-party (yes, wine and ice cream are involved)‌ when a friend drags her to a job fair. If she’d known how a chance meeting would blow up her carefully constructed life, she would’ve stayed home. One look into Ryan Hunter’s crystal blue eyes and she can tell he’s trouble. He’s gorgeous, charming, and way too young. He’s also the first man in years to make her feel a real, rocket-exploding kind of heat. But when the jet-setting Ryan invites her on a spontaneous trip to Barcelona, Sofia does what she does best: she runs.

It takes a kick from her best friend (a “get a life” lecture) to move Sofia out of her comfort zone and onto a plane to Barcelona—alone. No men, no pressure, just a solo adventure. At least… until she runs straight into the one man she swore she’d never see again.

Now, Ryan is offering to be her personal tour guide, and Sofia is breaking her own ‘no men’ rule for a new one: keep it vacation-only. Sun, sangria, and maybe a little sizzle. They make a pact for the summer: Thirty days—no falling in love, no risky complications. Really.

Sometimes the best adventures happen when you finally stop running from what scares you the most.

“The Vacation Bubble will resonate with readers who crave wanderlust, sizzling chemistry, and second chances.” Readers’ Favorite

Goodreads / Amazon

Only 99c for a limited time!


EXCERPT:

Sofia – the meet cute #1 San Francisco job networking event

It was his voice I heard first—deep, with a sexy tone that rumbled through me.

“I’m in the mergers and acquisitions department. Possibly you’re acquainted with the bank?” he asked the balding man next to him. “It’s a global company whose headquarters are located here in San Francisco and in London. We’re looking for fresh talent, someone with experience in finance. The organization has an excellent training program.”

The line moved up, but I hung back, waving at people to take the place in front of me. Obvious? A few sideways glances confirmed that my chivalry wasn’t going unnoticed.

His voice came from my right, only a few feet away. I shifted in my high heels and casually pretended to brush a piece of lint off my shoulder, then caught sight of him. It may have been only four or five seconds, but as my eyes raked across his features, time seemed to slow, as if watching a movie at half speed. To say he was gorgeous wouldn’t do him justice. That face belonged on the cover of GQ magazine. Tall, dark, and handsome with refined, perfectly symmetrical features, luscious full lips, and, God help me, a chiseled jawline resembling Adonis. That was the moment I knew I was in trouble.

He continued his pitch to the short man in a suit. The man wasn’t over thirty-five, but the back of his head was already thinning. Sexy guy stood over six feet tall, his bronzed olive skin and tousled dark curls effortlessly stylish without seeming overdone. Even his clothes were sexy, although it was more about the way they fit his frame. My eyes scanned him from bottom to top, taking in his leather shoes, indigo-blue designer jeans, a white-collared shirt, and a black sport coat cut close to his body, revealing broad shoulders that led to a slender waist in a V shape. When he raised his arm to retrieve a business card, his bicep bulged against the sleeve of his jacket. Holy shit.

A buzzing sound rang in my ears, muting the conversation, but I watched as his face broke into a wide smile, dimples forming like perfect punctuation marks on his cheeks. Without warning, his head swiveled a fraction to the right and his eyes caught sight of mine—sparkling, deep blue eyes that held me transfixed for a split second. Then, in one swift (not obvious at all) move, I brought my hand to my hair and, as I flicked it over my shoulder, my gaze shifted to the blond woman directly in front of me. Thank God I was next in line.

A flush bloomed on my face, not solely due to the hot flash racing up my neck. Stop right there, missy, I told myself. He’s too young, probably in his thirties. I’d never needed a drink so desperately. Forcing my view straight ahead, I ordered a gin and tonic when I reached the edge of the bar.

“Make it two, please,” his voice rang in my ear.

Author Bio:

Marcella Steele is an American author/screenwriter who now writes with her laptop precariously balanced on a cafĂ© table in Barcelona, but can sometimes be found dreaming up stories on a terrace in Bali or on a balcony in Paris. Marcella champions the radical idea that women over forty are just getting started and her contemporary romance/women’s fiction novels celebrate love, passion, and self-discovery at any age. With her passion for travel, she delights in bringing the reader along to discover the magic of faraway places. When she’s not writing, she’s planning her next adventure or practicing her spins on a salsa dance floor.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram / TikTok


GIVEAWAY!

The Vacation Bubble Blitz






Monday, February 9, 2026

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?


It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn @ The Book Date.




What I Read Last Week:




What I'm Reading Now:


The Fox and the Devil by Kiersten White
She Made Herself a Monster by Anna Kovatcheva


What I'll Read Next (maybe):

We Who Will Die by Stacia Stark




Have you read any of these books? Do you want to?











Friday, February 6, 2026

DNF Review: When Vengeance Bleeds Royal by L.Z. Cathcart

Title: When Vengeance Bleeds Royal
Series: The Blood Descent #1
Author: L.Z. Cathcart
Publication: November 12, 2025
Genre: Fantasy
Find it on: Amazon
Rating: DNF - No rating



She swore vengeance for her sister’s murder.
The gods demand a bloodier price.

Dark, addictive, and laced with forbidden desire, When Vengeance Bleeds Royal is the first book in the Blood Descent series—a brutal fantasy romance perfect for fans of Carissa Broadbent and Sarah J. Maas.

“You shattered him,” he says, steady and sure. “And gods help me, you remain the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen.” He leans in. “I should fear you, but all I want is to kneel.”

In the fractured land of Cyrathea, every territory hides a cursed artifact, relics forged by gods who were betrayed and imprisoned. The Brotherhood of Eternal Shadow hunts them all, weaving lies through court politics and blood-soaked bargains.

Lumira Kyrvayne has only one goal: kill the man who murdered her sister. But her vow of vengeance drags her into a deeper game—one where secrets rot beneath every oath, magic bleeds from forbidden relics, and a hooded Shadowspire guard keeps crossing her path with eyes she cannot forget.

Enemies close in. Allies shift like smoke. And the man who should be her enemy might also be the one person who can unravel her resolve.

When Vengeance Bleeds Royal is a dark fantasy romance brimming with:

A morally gray heroine who refuses to be tamed

An enigmatic, hooded antihero with secrets of his own

Forbidden attraction, brutal magic, and deadly politics

Cursed artifacts and imprisoned gods

A slow-burn obsession that cuts as deep as any blade

Please note: This series contains dark themes, twisted loyalty, and romance with sharp edges. Check content warnings before reading.




DNF at 60%

I really tried to give When Vengeance Bleeds Royal a chance but unfortunately this wasn't the right book for me at the moment. It wasn't a bad read, not at all. And I'm sure other readers will enjoy it more than I have. 

I, in fact, really liked the main character Lumira who is trying to solve her sister's murder. At the start and throughout the first half of the book there was a lot of world-building and many secondary characters I didn't much care for to keep track of. It felt like a lot of information being thrown at me which made for a really slow kinda book. And usually I don't mind the stories that are a bit more slow or take a bit to pick up the pace but in the end I found it all a bit too complex. 

The same goes for the romance. It was very much a slow-burn. We hardly see Lumira's love interest for the first half of the book and it made me lose interest a bit. The story, at least for the first 60% is definitely more focused on the politics. 

The author's writing was beautiful for sure, but sometimes the writing also felt a bit too flowery. This, together with everything else I mentioned made the book in general just convoluted and overwhelming to read.

No rating since this book is a DNF.