Blog Tour for The Winter Sorcerer and the Summer Witch by D. Lieber

The Winter Sorcerer and The Summer Witch

By D. Lieber   Available May 20, 2025

Modern witches from rival factions. A marriage of convenience. Spells and sparks fly in this slice-of-life fantasy romance.

Whittaker Crawford is the perfect winter sorcerer—practical and self-reliant—but his quiet life is turned upside down when his grandfather gives him an ultimatum. If he wants to inherit the ancestral home he’s spent years restoring, he has to get married. In need of cheering up, his friend convinces him to do something dangerous: crash a summer witch party.

Clover Bronwen is an average summer witch—free-spirited and optimistic. But lately she has longed for a change. A masked stranger at a Halloween party is just the sort of intrigue she’s looking for.

The centuries-old feud between the summer and winter factions may no longer be an all-out war, but their rivalry and disdain are still very much alive. As Whit and Clover adjust to one another, their bonds with family and friends fray. How much are they willing to sacrifice for an enemy they just met?

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Lieber has a wanderlust that would make a butterfly envious. When she isn’t planning her next physical adventure, she’s recklessly jumping from one fictional world to another. Her love of reading led her to earn a Bachelor’s in English from Wright State University.

Beyond her skeptic and slightly pessimistic mind, Lieber wants to believe. She has been many places—from Canada to England, France to Italy, Germany to Russia—believing that a better world comes from putting a face on “other.” She is a romantic idealist at heart, always fighting to keep her feet on the ground and her head in the clouds.

Lieber lives in Wisconsin with her husband (John) and cats (Yin and Nox).

Website ~ Goodreads ~  BookBubFacebook ~  Instagram ~  TikTok

EXCERPT

Releasing the breath she’d been holding, Clover pulled back a little from the shelter of her savior’s arms though she didn’t yet release his hand. “Thank you,” she said in a hushed voice, still trying to see something of him in the darkness.

“You’re welcome, Clover.” His voice caressed her name.

She smiled as her stomach fluttered. “I’m at a disadvantage. You know my name, but I don’t know yours. Who are you?”

He hesitated.

Clover huffed a laugh through her nose. “You want to stay a mystery, huh? Well then, I’ll just think of you as a merry elf out for a stroll while the veil is thin. Shall I? That way, I can excuse you not sharing your name. What would you have in trade for your assistance? I’d hate to be in debt to one of the Fair Folk.”

Silence answered her question. But a moment later, he unlaced their fingers and brushed his thumb over her cheek, wiping away a stray snowflake.

Her breath caught at the gentle stroke. There was something so tantalizing about not being able to see him properly. It made his every move, his feathery touch, his soft breath, all the more vivid.

She tilted her face upward, wetting her lips. “Would a kiss suffice, my merry elf?”

She could hear his smile. “A kiss is far more precious. That is not a fair exchange.”

(Excerpt from The Winter Sorcerer and The Summer Witch, copyright D. Lieber 5/2025,

do not copy or use without written permission from D. Lieber)

Tracy’s Review

The Winter Sorcerer and the Summer WitchThe Winter Sorcerer and the Summer Witch by D. Lieber

Tracy’s Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Standalone

Release Date: May 20, 2025

Winter sorcerer, Whittaker “Whit” Crawford has poured his heart and soul into renovating and restoring his family home, under the assumption that he will inherit the property when his grandfather passes. But his dream is shattered when his grandfather tells him that he has decided to leave the house to Whit’s older cousin. Angry and hurt, he confronts his grandfather and makes a bargain with him – Whit will marry a witch by the time his grandfather returns from his cruise on the winter solstice and his grandfather will change his will, if Whit doesn’t marry, his cousin gets the house. Not sure how he is going to accomplish that feat, he agrees to crash a summer witch party hoping for a diversion, but instead he finds a summer witch, who makes him question everything he thought he knew about the faction. Whit and his family are winter witches, and he thought that they were the complete opposite of the summer faction. But Clover makes him feel things that he hasn’t felt in a very long time, and he wonders if she would be willing to consider a marriage of convenience, basically roommates with no feelings involved.

Summer witch Clover Bronwen has been in a slump, and it is more than just the end of summer and the waning of her powers, she just needs a change. She has made a good luck charm and prayed to her gods for a sign. So, when she is at the end of summer party and is rescued from an annoying – can’t take a hint – guy by a handsome stranger, Clover happily shares a kiss and then sees a crow – a sign of change! But she doesn’t know the man who saved her and wonders how she will find him again. But she doesn’t have to look for him, because her last flower delivery of the day turns out to be him and his floral choice convinces her, that he is the change she has prayed for. So, when he asks if she would be willing to marry him, she immediately agrees. But neither of them could anticipate the aftereffects of their marriage. Will they make their own magic or are they doomed to lose everything that they hold dear?

I loved this book – LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it – I can’t think of one thing I didn’t like – NOT ONE THING! I loved Clover and Whit together, I loved their instant connection and their pre-conceived notions about their marriage, I loved their families, I loved their bumbling attempts to please each other and honor each other’s traditions. I couldn’t put this book down, it was that good and while I did want a bit more steam, the author knew better and gave me the perfect amount for this story. I am so happy that I got to read this book by a new to me author and will definitely be checking out her backlist while waiting for her next book!

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *

 

GIVEAWAY

D Lieber will be awarding a $10 Bookshop.org Gift card to a randomly drawn winner.

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**Giveaway NOT sponsored or fulfilled by Flippin’ Pages Book Review Blog **

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Making Friends Can Be Murder by Kathleen West

Making Friends Can Be MurderMaking Friends Can Be Murder by Kathleen West

Tracy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Standalone

Release Date: June 10, 2025

After breaking up with her fiancé, Personal Trainer, Sarah Jones aka 30, relocates from Vermont to her late mother’s hometown of Minneapolis and starts a new life. In Minneapolis, Sarah joins a group of other women all named Sarah Jones, that was formed by a 17-year-old girl (also Sarah Jones) that she tutors in biology. The group named “The Sarah Jones Project” was created when Sarah aka 17, got into some trouble in school and was advised to start a positive social experiment – she decides to create a multigenerational, whimsical club of people all sharing the very common name of Sarah Jones. The group has 6 members, 17 and 30, as well as a grad student/nanny 27 (who also works for a Sarah Jones), two teachers, 39 & 44, a retired lawyer who now runs a Murder She Wrote Blog, 69. They gain a bit of fame when they start an Instagram account and they post images of them “yarn-bombing” one of St. Paul’s most Iconic trees. Life seems to be going well; her “fame” has gained her some new clients, and she has met a new guy – George Nightingale, who is an FBI agent. When 27’s boss dies under questionable circumstances, the Sarahs decide to solve the murder, and 30 is recruited by George to help with the case – but she plans to use him for information to help the Sarahs. As her relationship with George deepens, surprising connections are discovered, but some stunning betrayals soon having her question everything.

George Nightingale never expected to be an FBI special agent, he always thought he would take over his family business – Birdson Camp. But a traumatic incident that occurred when he was a child, changed him forever. His friend Henry went missing and was never found. George was one of the last people to see him and never got over his disappearance, leading him to join the FBI in hopes of solving Henry’s case. But rather than being assigned to the case, he is assigned to the fraud unit and is given the case of Gabriella Johnson, who is believed to be responsible for assuming the same name as her victims and then stealing their trust funds, she is now in Minneapolis and George believes she is one of the “Sarahs” and upon the advice of his superior, he encouraged to cultivate an informant within the group. He chooses 30, she works at his gym, and he cannot deny that he is attracted to her. He tells her as much as he can, and when his fraud suspect becomes a suspect in a murder, he will need 30’s help more than ever. But he is soon torn between his feelings for her and his duty, and his past omissions may cost him everything he has worked for.

I really enjoyed this story, the mysteries were good, and the characters were likable. I loved all the twists and turns and definitely got a “it’s a small world” vibe. While I enjoyed this book, I will be honest, there were a lot of characters and a lot of POVs, and sometimes it was a bit much. I also felt like 30 was a bit hypocritical with George, she planned on using him for information without disclosing anything to him but is angry when she learns he didn’t tell her everything he knew – causing her to become somewhat petty and immature. Overall, it was a good book, and I would happily recommend the title to anyone who enjoys a good mystery and a bit of romance.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *