Tuesday, February 3, 2026

Blog Tour: WITH THESE HANDS by T.R. Motley




Crime Thriller

Date Published: December 3, 2025


At the age of 13, Aurelia’s entire life changes when her parents begin to align themselves with the Juarez Cartel, running drugs and trafficking women through Rio Bravo, their small town off the Rio Grande River. Determined to get away from this life, Aurelia collects years of evidence on the cartel.

At the age of 17, she is forced to run when her parents arrange a marriage to a cartel member. After working with the FBI to take down most of the cartel, she is placed in a protection program. Unbeknownst to her, the Juarez Cartel has rebuilt and is stronger now than before.

In a twist of fate, Aurelia is kidnapped, forced to marry Diego, son to the leader of the cartel, and produce an heir. Diego, who becomes an unseen ally, along with Aurelia begin to align themselves with individuals throughout Mexico to take down the cartel. They will fight, blackmail, and kill to protect those they love.

In an act of desperation, Diego makes the ultimate sacrifice and enlists the help of Daniel Zimmerman, a U.S. FBI agent and Aurelia’s first love. On the day of the raid, will everyone make it out of Mexico alive?


 


About the Author


T.R. Motley. I have lived in Oklahoma all of my life. For the last 28 years now, I have dedicated my life to taking care of my family and other families as a nurse. I worked in the Pediatric ICU for 25 years taking care of extremely sick children. There were highs, when I was able to place a child in his parent's arms after a being on life support to watch the smile on both of their faced for a very long time. There were lows, when I placed a child in their parent's arms, which would be the last time they would ever hold them.

My love of books started as a teen when life was not the best, and I would place myself in the characters shoes and get lost in the story. As an adult, it was my escape from reality in a sometimes cruel world. Along the way, my own stories began to swirl in my head. I always wanted to put those stories on paper, but needing to be a responsible adult, took the safe route.

On my last week in the PICU, my fellow coworkers and I went on a float trip. Several people asked if we had it to do over again, would we still have become a nurse. Surprisingly, only two people said they would. When going around and asking what everyone would have done instead, I said I would have become an author. Silence ensued for a minute, before there was a chorus of, "Go for it!" Two months later, I did a ton of research and started my first novel. Seven months later, I had a completed piece of work. Months of beta reading and changes along with and editor, helped round out what my book has become.

Now, twenty years later, I am pursuing that dream of storytelling.

Aurelia's story is about overcoming any obstacle, even when being pushed down from every angle for most of her life. It is about seeing some of the worst circumstances in life, facing those head on and fighting back to make her life better. It is about believing that just because you were born into a certain life, you can fight for what you want and make your way out. It is about finding love in the worst circumstances and having life ripped away once more. It is about a woman fighting in a man's world and excelling. It is about finding friends in the misted of tragedy and realizing sometimes people will fight for you just as hard.

We see the mark drug cartels not only leave on the U.S. and Mexico in general, but in the lives of real people. We see how easy human trafficking and bringing drugs in from Mexico can be. We learn that people are so greedy for power and money, that they allow these things to happen. People that should protect us. This is a powerful story of how Aurelia, who is immersed into this world, not only fights for herself, but others who have been drug in along with her. There are powerful characters that Aurelia meets along the way who join forces to not only help her with this fight but become the family she never had.

This is a romantic suspense novel, appropriate for ages 18+ (adult only).


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RABT Book Tours & PR

Monday, February 2, 2026

Blog Tour: FOREVER KIND OF LOVE by Susan Elizabeth Bagby



This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Susan Bagby will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.


Willow Barton’s life crumbles at her husband’s arrest for fraud, forcing her to return to her Ohio hometown to rebuild. Running a small bookstore and helping her best friend care for her ailing father offers solace—until Zachary Hayes, her best friend’s brother and a charming country music star, shows up. Struggling to revive his career and reconnect with his estranged father, Zach sparks an undeniable yet unwelcome chemistry with Willow. As her estranged husband seeks forgiveness, and Zach battles his own demons, Willow must confront her painful past and decide if she’s willing to risk her heart again. Caught between heartbreak and hope, can they overcome their fears and build a future together?


Read an Excerpt

He browsed the shelves, stopping in front of a framed photograph on the wall of a close-up picture of a couple, sitting in a park somewhere in New York City. The woman was laughing, and the man held her outstretched hand. “The carefree expressions on their faces strike me with a feeling of wistfulness. Not an easy emotion to capture in an image. Who did this?” Zach pointed to the picture.

“I did.” Willow felt warmth spreading across her cheeks. Oh, God. I’m blushing.

“You’ve got talent—another surprising quality you possess. And this one?” He indicated another photo on the opposite wall.

“Yes.” She chewed on the end of her pen, watching him.

“Why aren’t you pursuing this as a career?”

She lowered her pen. “I’ve always wanted to, but life got in the way.” She was determined to stay tight-lipped about her endeavors in New York and failed career as a fine arts photographer.

“Don’t let adverse circumstances prevent you from following your dreams, Willow. No matter what happens externally, don’t lose touch with your inner calling.” He lifted the photo and placed it by the cash register. “I want to buy this, please.”

Willow observed his facial expression, which bordered on flirtatious. “You don’t have to. Please don’t feel you need to buy one because we know each other. I won’t be offended.”

“You see, your problem is you don’t believe in yourself. I want this because the photo is an exquisite piece of art. I have a perfect place for it in my house. Don’t argue.” He grinned and eyed her with both hands on his hips, then slapped his credit card onto the counter.

***
 

Review: Willow was a soon-to-be divorced woman starting over in her hometown in Cedar Hill. Zach was a country music star who ain’t had a hit song in years and was asked to come back home to help his ailing father.

Growing up together, Willow always fantasized about Zach, her best friend’s older brother who never even looked at her once. One look at her now and Zach realized that Willow was no longer the shy and nerdy kid. There was no doubt that Willow was still attracted to Zach, who only got more handsome as an adult, but could she risk getting hurt again?

This was a sweet and easy read to get into. You admire both of these characters for chasing their dreams (Zach in music and Willow in photography.) I liked how they started off with an easy camaraderie of friendship and companionship. It was hard not to fall for Zach’s good country-star looks, swoony voice, easy charm, and gallant chivalry. No doubt Willow was falling for this man. But it could never work out as he led a star-studded lifestyle and could never commit to one woman.

Story was kind of long, but it was a nice journey of personal growth, resilience, and love. Boy, Zach and Willow do waste a lot of time dilly-dallying around this thing. Kinda wished they would’ve gotten to it already. The pace was very slow. But it was really nice.

Ultimately, this was a story about strength and love. A nice, sweet read!

Rating: 4 stars




About the Author:
Susan is a retired speech and language pathologist and full-time writer of romance books. She has three novels published with independent presses and her newest release is slotted for February 2026 with The Wild Rose Press entitled, Forever Kind of Love. In addition to being a Maggie Award finalist, Sweet Ridge Hearts, her last book, was also a Literary Titan gold award winner. She lives in Ohio where she relishes the four seasons, (well, maybe not winter), and loves yoga, jazz, golf and walking anywhere outdoors. Susan belongs to the Great Lakes Fiction Writers organization and to Romance Writers of America (RWA). She loves seeing new characters come to life and is a firm believer that dreams do come true.

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Saturday, January 31, 2026

Review: NEVER LEAVE ME by Boris Bacic

 


A young woman gets giddy when she meets a new guy, who seemed to be great. But he wasn’t. Jealousy shows, then neediness, and finally obsession. It’s when Amy tries to break up with Mark is when it starts to get scary. Never leave me…or I’ll kill you. Yikes!

 

This was a good, scary read. Story mostly details Amy’s fear and paranoia in a diary entry format. Thing is that Mark doesn’t really hurt her physically; he hurts her emotionally by ruining her life with fake videos and images.

 

Friendless, jobless, and now under arrest. Wow, that’s very thorough. What else could he do? The worst part was when she becomes his property and starts inflicting physical pain on her. What a sick bastard! I was interested in seeing how this would end for Amy.

 

A good read!

 

Rating: 4 stars

Review: JET SETTING ESCORT Book 8 by Monique DuBois

 


Steve and Ariella were engaged to be married. But will meeting his overbearing mother ruin it? The people at the party just made Ariella feel so insignificant and small, especially the girl his mother wanted to set him up with. How heartbreaking it was to hear his mother’s plan to break them up. The couple’s loyalty is tested in this sweet and dramatic story. The best sex is with someone you love! A nice read!

 

My rating: 4 stars

Review: JET SETTING ESCORT Book 9 by Monique DuBois

 


“Christmas in Seattle” – Ariella was married to the love of her life and the sex was better than ever. The sex was good, of course, but it would seem Ariella was still obsessing about her curves and still worried about what others thought of her. So, she got a little embarrassed at a Christmas party. So what? But they were still treating her like trash. But now that they were married, the story wasn’t as titillating as before. I’m mainly referring to the tension and drama that we had all throughout the series that seemed to be lacking in this one. Maybe at this point I was getting a little too tired of the “curvy girl.” And how can you count this as part of the Jet Setting Escort series when she was no longer an escort? The read was slightly stale and certainly not as amusing as the others. Makes me glad that this is the last book in the series. It was a good ride while it lasted, but, unfortunately, it ended on a bad note.

 

My rating: 2 stars