DarkSide DownUnder: DarkSider News: Catch Up Spotlight 4 - Janni Nell, Riley Stone, Lilliana Rose, Lily Rose, and M.J. Scott!

Today we feature the spotlight on more than one author - Janni Nell, Riley Stone, Lilliana Rose, Lily Rose, and M.J. Scott!

~Eleni

"Riven

The tires shrieked, a high-pitched, desperate protest against the black ice glazing the mountain road, but my foot remained welded to the gas pedal. Jindabyne blurred into a receding nightmare in the rearview mirror, a smear of distant lights swallowed by the storm. Stopping was not an option.

Not now.

Not ever."

- Ember and Obsidian by Lilliana Rose

NEW RELEASES

Janni Nell

Cousins, Covens & Murder

Book 8, Little Shop of Spells Cozy Mysteries

Released:

4 June

Illegal love potions are turning up in Silver Moon Falls.

After one turns up in Maddie Goodcharm’s drink, she is visited by the head of the Ethics Committee, who demands that Maddie track down all the potions. Wise witches don’t say no to the head of Ethics, and Maddie’s search for potions leads her to the crooked house, where she finds a body. It’s a clear case of murder—even the sheriff agrees with her—but is there a link between the potions and the victim?

Maddie’s search for the truth uncovers an illegal coven and a group of wannabe witches, who may or may not have used their love potions. As she digs deeper, she becomes convinced that the murder is linked to the love potions. Then another body turns up and changes everything.

Is there a link between the two victims? Could there be two killers? More importantly, will Maddie ever track down all of those pesky love potions and avoid being charged with an Ethics violation?

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The following two Ava Silver books have a rebrand to Riley Stone to suit the tone of the books better.

Riley Stone

The Shadowflame Crown

Book 1, Threads of Fate

Released:

22 April

My ambition will cost me my soul. Her defiance might cost me the throne.

I will stop at nothing to thwart the Unity prophecy and secure the Crimson Throne. It is my vampire bloodline's birthright, and I will burn the world down to claim it—even if it means kidnapping a fate-weaving witch with the power to reshape destiny.

Cressida.

She defies me at every turn. She refuses to weave the threads I demand, no matter the punishments I inflict. But where others would break, she burns brighter. Her unyielding resolve sparks an unsettling obsession I can’t afford, not when my kingdom teeters on the brink of ruin.

I am driven to darker, more desperate measures. My shadowmancy can control her body, but I want her mind. Each time I compel her to yield, the line between punishment and blinding pleasure blurs. And as her reluctant obedience deepens, I find myself wanting to claim more than just her magic.

I want to claim her.

But the tighter my grip becomes, the more I risk extinguishing the very fire that captivated me. What began as a ruthless bid for power has twisted into an all-consuming need. I crave her willing submission, but my ambition is unrelenting. I will never allow her to fulfill that prophecy.

Even if it means destroying the only woman who makes me question the monster I am.

Fans of dark, unhinged heroes and intense captor/captive romances will fall under the thrall of this addictive fantasy.

Tropes & Themes:

🖤 Dark Vampire / Witch Romance

🖤 Captor & Captive

🖤 Shadowmancy & Blood Magic

🖤 "Touch her and you die"

🖤 Forced Proximity

🖤 High Heat / Explicit Spice

(Author's Note: This is a dark paranormal romance intended for mature readers. It contains themes of psychological manipulation, dubious consent, and explicit content. Please see the Note to Reader inside for full content warnings.)

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Riley Stone

The Shadowflame Crown

Book 2, Threads of Fate

Released:

22 April

I broke her to win my crown. Now, I will burn the world to put her back together.

Kael Damaris bathed in blood to claim the Crimson Throne. He won his kingdom, but the victory is ash on his tongue because the witch he bound to his side is dying. Cressida’s mind and magic are fracturing—shattered by the very fate-weaving he ruthlessly forced upon her. He thought he only wanted her power to secure his reign. He was wrong. He wants her. All of her.

To heal her broken soul and cement his unstable rule, Kael must hunt down the Shadowflame Crown—an ancient, abyssal artifact demanding a sacrifice written in blood. But the fragile peace of the vampire realm is already tearing at the seams, and new enemies are circling the throne, eager to strike the king where he is most vulnerable: his consuming obsession with a captive witch.

Cressida knows she should let the darkness take her. Surviving means trusting the ruthless monster who caged her, the vampire who stripped away her choices and claimed her fate as his own. But as their twisted, blood-forged bond deepens into something darker and far more intoxicating, the line between captor and savior begins to blur.

To save her, he might have to surrender his crown. To save his kingdom, she might have to surrender her soul. Will their toxic bond be the salvation of the vampire realm, or the spark that burns it to the ground?

What to expect:

🖤 Dark Paranormal Romance

🖤 Morally Black/Villain MMC

🖤 Captor & Captive Dynamics

🖤 "Burn the World for Her" Energy

🖤 Vampire King x Fate-Weaving Witch

🖤 Forced Proximity & Magical Compulsion

🖤 High Angst & Toxic Bond

🖤 Explicit Spice

Fans of dark, obsessive vampires, captive romance, and villains who will burn the world for "her" will fall under the thrall of this addictive dark fantasy romance.

A Note to the Reader:

This book is a dark fantasy romance intended for mature audiences. It contains popular tropes that also serve as content warnings. Readers will find a morally black/gray love interest, captive romance dynamics, magical compulsion, and forced proximity. These themes are accompanied by scenes of explicit spice, graphic violence, psychological intensity, and loss of bodily autonomy. Please read with care.

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Lilliana Rose

Ember and Obsidian

Released:

7 May

Rival packs. One deadly storm. No escape.

I ran.

From my pack. From my mistakes. From the crushing weight of a life that smothered the wolf within.

I thought the blizzard would hide me. That the brutal mountain cold would protect me.

I was dead wrong.

Now, I’m trapped in a crumbling cabin with the last person I should ever be alone with: a rival she-wolf. She hates my guts, she’s lethal, and she is entirely too tempting. We are supposed to be enemies, but the longer we are snowbound, the harder it is to remember why.

To make matters worse, the storm isn't the only thing howling outside. Something ancient and hungry is stalking us from the shadows.

Running was the easy part.

Now, survival is the real fight. But the greatest danger might just be the heat burning between us.

Fans of enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, and steamy shifter romance will devour this snowbound standalone!

Enemies to Lovers

Rival Wolf Packs

Forced Proximity / Snowbound

Alpha Energy

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Lilliana Rose

Currents of Desire

Released:

15 September

She’s the ocean’s most lethal predator, and she has just claimed him as her mate.

For ex-rescue worker, Jack Ford, the ocean is a graveyard. Haunted by the tragic ghosts of his past, he lives a solitary, brooding existence on the edge of Deception Point, a paranormal small town where the storms are fierce, and the shadows hide secrets. But when a catastrophic Category 4 cyclone batters his home, the floodwaters wash up something that defies all logic.

Nerida isn’t a helpless, fairy-tale mermaid. She is a bioluminescent apex predator from the crushing, freezing depths of the Mariana Trench. Lethal, alien, and dying in the dry air, she is completely at Jack’s mercy.

Against his better judgment, Jack saves the monster.

In return, the monster claims him.

Bound by a sudden, primal, fated mating bond, Jack and Nerida are forced into intimate proximity as the storm rages outside. But Nerida is a deserter from a brutal deep-sea war, and the ruthless trackers of the trench have caught her scent. They think Jack is just a fragile human. They are about to learn that Nerida will slaughter anything that threatens what is hers.

Jack thought the water only took things away. Now, he’s about to discover that being claimed by the most dangerous creature in the sea is the only way to survive.

Currents of Desire is a steamy, high-stakes paranormal-monster romance. If you love fierce, protective heroines, grumpy broken heroes, and small towns with dark secrets, dive in.

🖤 Tropes:

✨ Steamy Monster Romance

✨ Grumpy x Lethal

✨ Hurt/Comfort & Healing

✨ "Touch Him and Die" Energy

✨ Fated Mates

(No dark romance/non-con themes!)

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Lilliana Rose

The River God's Bride

Released:

30 July

The river demanded a sacrifice. It didn’t expect a queen.

For generations, the village of Grimweir has lived in fear of the rising waters. When the floods refuse to recede, the Elders demand a Tithe: a bride for the River God. Mina, the sharp-tongued and unloved miller’s daughter, volunteers to take her fragile sister’s place. She walks off the end of the pier expecting death—a cold, watery grave to escape a life of grey drudgery.

But the river doesn’t kill her. It catches her.

Rhyos is the apex predator of the deep, a creature of scales, claws, and crushing strength who has ruled the sunken darkness alone for centuries. He is a monster who can snap a ship in two, but when he catches the fierce mortal from the surface, he doesn’t find a meal. He finds a spark. A fire that refuses to go out even in the freezing black.

Trapped in his bioluminescent cavern, Mina discovers that the beast who dragged her down is not the villain of her story. He is a lonely god who brings her shiny river stones, purrs when she touches him, and uses his massive body to shield her from the cold.

But the surface world isn’t done with them. When the village hunters return to claim the monster’s hoard, Mina must make a choice. She can return to the sun and the safety of the shore, or she can let the river rewrite her very blood and take her place beside the beast who would drown the world to keep her safe.

In the deep, love isn’t just a feeling. It’s a transformation.

Dive into this atmospheric fantasy romance featuring:

🖤 Monster Romance

🥀 Beauty and the Beast Retelling

✨ Fated Mates

🔗 Forced Proximity

🗡️ “Touch Her and You Die” Energy

📏 Size Difference

🩹 Caretaking

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Lily Rose

The Artisan's Parade

Book 6, Adventures of the Misfit Monsters

Released:

6 August

Mon has always been the creative soul of the group, but lately, she feels like just another face in the crowd. With the hunting grounds empty and morale at an all-time low, the community is desperate for a spark of joy.

Mon has a plan: The Artisans Parade. It’s the perfect way to welcome the mysterious new arrival and remind everyone of the beauty they can create together.

But convincing a group of grumpy monsters to pick up paintbrushes instead of pitchforks is harder than she thought. When the others dismiss her dream as a waste of time, Mon has to decide, does she give up, or does she prove that art can save them all?

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M.J. Scott

Wicked Words

Book 7, Techwitch

narrated by Suzanne T. Fortin

duration: 9.1 hours

Released in audio format:

18 May

Some people might be happy to find out they're a witch. In my case, magic came with a demon who wanted my power back under its control. I took out the demon but the price I paid was heartbreaking. Now all I want is to leave magic far behind…

They call me the TechWitch. A computer whisperer, who brings recalcitrant systems to their knees with a single keystroke. But now I know I’m more than just a geek, I’m a witch, too, a revelation that cost me the man I love and the life of my best friend. For the last nine months I’ve been mourning my losses and ignoring the magical world entirely.

But when my ex, virtual reality billionaire Damon Riley, needs help with a magical threat, I'll need every ounce of my tech mojo and my magic. Trouble is, I seem to have lost both. And without magic, I’m vulnerable to the demons who find me so tempting.

With a curse to break and a demon’s revenge to escape, I needs to find my power to save the day and Damon. Which means embracing the witches I’ve been avoiding. Because sticks and stones can break your bones but, when it comes to magic, words can be deadly...

Wicked Words is the second book in the TechWitch series, exciting dark and sexy futuristic urban fantasy from RITA® Award nominated author M.J. Scott. This series has witches, demons, an ongoing relationship that will have an HEA, sexy times, and a lot of computer geeks. Perfect if you like the idea of a strong heroine, a hot protective billionaire, second chances, and magic and technology colliding. Enjoy!

Author's note: For tropes and CW, please check the author's website.

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PRE-ORDERS

M.J. Scott

Wicked Lies

Book 7, Techwitch

Expected Release:

13 October

My mother was a wicked witch. Turns out my dad wasn’t so great either. I’ve paid for their choices and I use my magic for good. But that doesn’t mean the darker side of the magical world will leave me alone…

Wicked Deeds is the seventh book in the TechWitch series, exciting dark and sexy futuristic urban fantasy from RITA® Award nominated author M.J. Scott. This series has witches, demons, an ongoing relationship that will have an HEA, sexy times, and a lot of computer geeks. Perfect if you like the idea of a strong heroine, a hot protective billionaire and magic and technology colliding. Enjoy!

Author's note: For tropes and CW, please check the author's website.

Pre-Order

EVENTS

Lilliana Rose

will appear at the following events:

Readers Unleashed

Cairns, QLD

12-13 March 2027