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).

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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.

If above link is not working, please copy & paste this HTML link:

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

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Hardly a Gentleman by Eloisa James

Hardly a Gentleman (Accidental Brides, #2)Hardly a Gentleman by Eloisa James

Tracy’s Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Accidental Brides, #2

Release Date: April 29, 2025

For years, Prince George has pursued, harassed and humiliated Miss Clara Vetry making her social life a nightmare, but all that comes to a shocking end at a garden party in which Clara is pushed beyond her tolerance and she does the unthinkable, she hits the prince with her reticule. Her horrified mother decides to wash her hands of Clara, she sends her to live with a distant cousin and giving her control of her dowry. But while waiting for the carriage her mother hired, Clara decides to take control of her own future and enters a carriage bound for the highlands, claiming to be Mrs. Potts, the housekeeper the driver, Mr. Cobbledick was waiting for, never imagining how this would change her life. She arrives at Castle CaerLaven and is enchanted, she heads inside ready to assume the position of housekeeper, until she sees the state of the dwelling. She then decides that she will wait for Mr. Cobbledick to return from picking up his daughter and convince him to take her away – she will find her own castle and fill it with books and live happily ever after. As the castle seems abandoned, so she goes looking for the owners to inform them she is not staying, and she finds a very naked Caelan MacCrae, Laird of CaerLaven fishing in the loch. They return to the castle and Clara is even more horrified by the kitchen and makes it clear she isn’t staying. Convinced Caelan has let his house fall into disrepair because his is grieving for his late wife, whom everyone has told her is the love of his life. She agrees to stay for a few days and recruits help to clean the castle. Falling in love was never part of the plan, especially to a man who is still in love with his dead wife! When he proposes, she declines, but when her identity is uncovered, she doesn’t have a choice – but is determined not to lose her heart to a man who has sworn to never fall in love again.

Caelan MacCrae, Laird of CaerLaven is perfectly happy living alone in his castle, fishing, making whisky, writing books about fishing and whisky and improving his tenant’s lives. It is his sister Fiona who has decided he needs a housekeeper from England and informs him she is on her way. Everyone believes that Caelan is heartbroken and that the state of his castle is a reflection of that grief – but that isn’t quite right. When Clara arrives and starts bringing the castle back to life, Caelan who was at first was opposed to a housekeeper, is determined to keep her. Too bad she keeps saying no to his proposals – especially since he has everything she wants – A castle and books! When her true identity is revealed, Caelan is ecstatic that she will have to marry him and is sure they can be happy together, as long as she doesn’t want more than he is able to give.

I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this book! It was the perfect book to segue into my spring reading, it was a fun well-written, nicely paced story with wonderful characters. I loved Clara and Caelan together, they have both had pain in their lives, but they don’t lock themselves away, instead they find new joy. This book has a bit of a grumpy/sunshine trope, amazing characters, steamyish love scenes, witty banter, laugh out loud moments, fabulous secondary characters; including a “rabbity chicken”, naked fishing, a dramatic rescue and finally a HEA complete with an epilogue. The book does touch on grief, loss of a loved one, and sexual abuse/harassment – but I felt like these subjects were handed respectfully and compassionately with plenty of levity to keep this book from becoming a dark read. This is the second book in the series, but they are very loosely connected and can definitely be read as standalone titles with no problems. Overall, if you are looking for your next favorite book – this is that book, which I happily and highly recommend to my fellow HR readers and can’t wait for the next installment in this outstanding series!

*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. *