Today's Featured Books

Congratulations to Rachel Stolzman Gullo and Vine Leaves Press on the release of Confuse the Wind, a novel in which a skyscraper engineer's worldview shifts as his son's illness reveals unexpected connections and discoveries.

★★★★★ “A deeply humane story that lingers long after the last page is turned.” ~Gayle Forman, New York Times bestselling author of If I Stay

Confuse the Wind

As a skyscraper engineer, Jonathan Brooks has always believed that a skyscraper is either made correctly or incorrectly, and all problems have solutions. He has yet to learn that people are made differently.

When his son, Theo, fell ill with encephalitis at fourteen months old, Jonathan and his wife, Carly, were devastated to learn that Theo’s setbacks would be long-lasting, possibly permanent. Theo is now seven years old and not yet walking or fully verbal, and Jonathan and Carly are living apart.

The broken family’s world is upturned by the arrival of Aimee, a complicated young Irish woman who begins working as Theo's nanny in ways Jonathan does not trust. But as Aimee brings about new advancements for Theo, their bond grows, until Aimee’s own personal crisis rocks the family and shows them all a new way forward.

Confuse the Wind is a book about our human interdependence and how we desperately need one another to survive and hopefully thrive. If you enjoyed A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore, Wonder by R.J. Palacio, Bee Season by Myla Goldberg, or Commonwealth by Anne Patchett, you will love Confuse the Wind.

Praise for Confuse the Wind
★★★★★ “A wonderful, strange, and astounding masterpiece.” ~Amanda Boyden, author of I Got the Dog

★★★★★ “A love song to love itself, as sturdy and astounding a thing, it turns out, as a well-designed skyscraper, built to confuse the wind.” ~Amy Hassinger, After the Dam

★★★★★ “A heart-wrenching, deftly told story that reminds us that sometimes you have to break a thing before you fully understand how it works.” ~Colin Broderick, Church End

★★★★★ “A beautifully written novel about one family traversing that divide and learning to love one another, not as they might be but as they are.” ~Gayle Forman, If I Stay

First of all, congratulations to Anita Renee of New York City, winner of $100 in books in the LitNuts Spring Giveaway.

And now (drum roll, please)...the LitNuts Summer Giveaway is here! Enter for a chance to win a set of silver resin octopus bookends or a $75 Amazon.com gift card (winner's choice). 

"And I wonder if, in the dark night of the sea, there, deep within its own sphere of instinct, the octopus dreams of me." ~N. Scott Momaday

"A tense, haunting story that I had to finish in one sitting." ~Amazon Review. Ten years after Emma’s son disappeared into a flooded river, the boy returns. Emma can’t believe he’s alive—but as she attempts to connect with distressed, silent Aiden, she starts to suspect he’s hiding something. Goodreads Choice Award Nominee. 4.2 stars, 59,000+ ratings. From $0.99 SHOP NOW / 

An escape. A rescue. A clandestine affair. An imprisonment. While fleeing the horrors of war, a young woman's quest for survival becomes an affair of the heart in this World War 2 historical romance novel that explores themes of love and war among friends and among enemies. "Deeply moving and meticulously researched." ~Goodreads Review. 4.8 stars, 33 ratings. From $0.99. Free via KU. SHOP NOW / 

A must-read for booklovers who enjoy a complex, emotive narrative with a strong, passionate protagonist.

Today, LitNuts is shining a spotlight on Love Lost Adventure: The Lie by Roseann Gargiulo, a thrilling blend of romance and suspense, transporting readers across time from the Civil War era to the 1990s. 
 

Recipient of five 5-star reviews from Readers' Favorite.

Love Lost Adventure: The Lie

Surrounded by the whiteness of the blizzard’s snow, Theodora Hayes was determined to rekindle a flame she had walked away from many years ago. But can one ever truly go back? "Teddy" didn’t give it a second thought. Passion drove her need. Cole was the love of her life, and nothing was going to keep her from finding him…except maybe danger, murder, and yes, love—and its wicked dark past.

Love Lost Adventure: The Lie written is a story of many plots, all threaded together in a mixture of romance, history, murder, mystery, and adventure, with a dash of humor thrown in for good measure. Set in the 1990s and the Civil War era, the story jumps effortlessly between dual timelines, but in a way that you always know where you are and what era the story is in. It's packed with twists and turns and plenty of suspense. It is both heart-stopping and heartwarming, with an eclectic mix of characters that you will adore.

Five-Star Reviews from Readers' Favorite
★★★★★ “People will do crazy things for love and there is no better example of this than Love Lost Adventure: The Lie. The characters were all quirky and unique and added something to the plot. This is a wonderfully written book. Anyone who loves a romance that isn’t just a romance would appreciate this work.” ~Miche Arendse, Readers' Favorite

★★★★★  “Gargiulo’s characters are richly developed, and their deep connections evoke a range of emotions, taking readers from laughter to tears at the turn of a page.” ~K.C. Finn, Readers' Favorite

★★★★★ “The alternating perspectives from several characters provided transitions that built suspense. The sudden twists in the plot made it unpredictable, and I was on edge as I read each page.” ~Stephanie Chapman, Readers' Favorite

★★★★★ “An awesome story told by a master storyteller.” ~Anne-Marie Reynolds, Readers' Favorite

★★★★★ “It’s all fun and games until somebody ends up in an incinerator!” ~Jamie Michele, Readers' Favorite

About the Author

Roseann Gargiulo is a multimedia artist, musician, and visual storyteller. She studied Motion Picture and Theatre Arts at the University of Miami and then received her Master’s in Information Technology at Florida State University.

Gargiulo’s writing style is not that of the typical romance writer. Instead, her multi-plot storylines are usually seen from a camera’s lens. Love Lost Adventure: The Lie is the first novel in the series, and she is currently working on the second. 

Learn more at LoveLostAdventure.com, sign up for the Love Lost Adventure free monthly newsletter, and be sure to follow Roseann online: 

          

Free online: Summer Solstice Meditation. The summer solstice is a time of new beginnings, a time to embrace the new and let go of the old. This free 30-minute meditation session will give you an opportunity to pause and reflect on what you want to celebrate and invite into your life as the summer begins. Saturday, June 22, 1 – 1:30 PM EDT. 

Speaking of free: Today's Featured Books include three freebies and three ebooks priced at only 99 cents! See all of our Featured Books at LitNuts.com.

"This is the solstice, the still point of the sun, its cusp and midnight, the year's threshold and unlocking, where the past lets go of and becomes the future, the place of caught breath." ~Margaret Atwood

"I love the storyline and the writing...there is nonstop action!" ~Modupe Hendricks, Vine Voice. The starship Freedom is just a museum ship. Until the aliens attack! Battlestar Galactica meets Starship Troopers in this sci-fi adventure from Daniel Arenson, the USA Today bestselling author of Earthrise. Grab the first book for FREE, then grab books two and three at deep discounts. 4.2 stars, 2,500 ratings. FREE - SHOP NOW / 

The course of true love never did run smooth.

New release! Get Midsummer: A Contemporary Enemies-to-Lovers Adaptation from Jena Doyle, a book that involves politics, fairies, and intrigue in this dark enemies-to-lovers adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

"I've read and seen many variations of the play and this is one of my fave takes on it." ~Amazon Review

Midsummer: A Contemporary Enemies-to-Lovers Adaptation

When a Midsummer party turns into a nightmare, we learn there are consequences to making a vow in a magical place. And the fairies never play fair.

"The sexual encounters in this story were off the charts hot - smoking hot." ~Goodreads Review

"An intense, incredibly beautiful retelling of A Midsummer Night's Dream." ~Amazon Review

"It’s a hot book that’s for sure. This has fairies, enemies to lovers, arranged marriage, and orgies in the woods." ~Goodreads Review

"Smutty, intertwined storyline. The story is told from dual POV and each of them have a very different feel." ~Amazon Review

Ivy: As the daughter of the president, I've had my life planned out for me: college, law school, politics. I should have guessed that my mother would plan my marriage, too. She needs a political success, which means I have to wed my enemy for publicity. I hate Lex Fairfax so much, it burns. I don't know how I'll spend three weeks at a remote castle in Ireland with him, his girlfriend, and my boyfriend without our secrets tearing us apart. When a mysterious stranger overhears my drama, she takes pity on me...in her own way.

Lex: I hate Ivy Washington. She's annoying and frustrating, and she gets under my skin like no one else. Marrying her would be a special kind of hell. I just need to get through this without my past coming back to haunt me. Everyone keeps secrets for their own reasons, but mine will destroy all four of us. 

About the Author

Jena Doyle writes smut for smut’s sake. No apologies. No shame. And definitely no judgment. When she’s not dreaming up dirty words for wild hearts, she enjoys traveling, binge watching trash TV, and dabbling in tarot or astrology. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English / Creative Writing and has been known to ramble at great length about Shakespeare’s gay agenda. She lives in Western Maryland with her partner and furbaby. Learn more at JenaDoyle.com, get a free sexy motorcycle club story when you sign up for Jena's newsletter, and be sure to follow her online: 

              

Free online: Touring a Black culture museum is a great way to celebrate Juneteenth. Here are five museums you can visit free via virtual tours:

• Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (Washington DC)
• Tuskegee Airman National Historic Site at Moton Field (Tuskegee, Alabama)
• Dance Theater of Harlem (New York, New York)
• The British Museum (London, England)
• The Black Archives of Mid-America (Kansas City, Missouri)

"The more I wonder, the more I love." ~Alice Walker, The Color Purple

This page-turner is a humorous, PG-rated, amateur sleuth mystery featuring a code enforcement officer in a fictional city near Seattle. Kaitlyn Willis’s job usually involves writing tickets for untrimmed trees and cars parked on lawns. But when an animal hoarding case turns up a dead body, Kaitlyn investigates, aided by the enormous cat that "adopts" her. Book 1 in the Road Signs Mystery Series. 4.1 stars, 300+ reviews. From $1.99. Free via KU. SHOP NOW /