Tag Archives: Tillie Cole

Blog Tour + Excerpt + 5 Star Review + Giveaway: A Veil Of Vines by Tillie Cole

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412ja0z1nylA Veil Of Vines
By Tillie Cole 
Synopsis 
To most people, princes, princesses, counts and dukes are found only in the pages of the most famous of fairytales. Crowns, priceless jewels and gilded thrones belong only in childhood dreams.
But for some, these frivolous fancies are truth.
For some, they are real life.
On Manhattan’s Upper East Side, people have always treated me as someone special. All because of my ancestral name and legacy. All because of a connection I share to our home country’s most important family of all.
I am Caresa Acardi, the Duchessa di Parma. A blue blood of Italy. I was born to marry well. And now the marriage date is set.
I am to marry into House Savona. The family that would have been the royals had Italy not abolished the monarchy in 1946. But to the aristocrats of my home, the abolition means nothing at all.
The Savonas still hold power where it counts most.
In our tight-knit world of money, status and masked balls, they are everything and more.
And I am soon to become one of them.
I am soon to become Prince Zeno Savona’s wife…
… or at least I was, until I met Achille.
And everything changed.
______________________________________________

Caresa

As my papa’s G5 began its descent, I looked out of the window beside me and waited for the plane to break through the clouds. I held my breath, body tense, then suddenly the burnt-orange remnants of daylight flooded the plane, bathing the interior with a soft, golden glow. I inhaled deeply. Italia.
Fields and fields of green and yellow created a patchwork quilt below, rolling hills and crystal-blue lakes stretching as far the eye could see. I smiled as a sense of warmth ran through me.
It was the most beautiful place on earth.
Sitting back in my wide cream leather chair, I closed my eyes and tried to prepare myself for what was coming. I was flying to Florence airport, from where I would be swiftly taken to the Palazzo Savona estate just outside of the city.
I would meet Prince Zeno.
I had met him twice before—once when I was four, of which I had no memory, and again when I was ten. The interaction we’d had as children had been brief. If I was being honest, I had found Zeno to be arrogant and rude. He had been thirteen at the time and not at all interested in meeting a ten-year-old girl from America.
Neither of us had known at the time that that our betrothal had been agreed upon two years prior. It turned out that the trip my papa had taken to Umbria when I was eight was to secure a forever-bond between the Savonas and the Acardis. King Santo and my father had planned for their only children to marry. They were already joined in business; Zeno’s arranged marriage to me would also strengthen both families’ place in society.
I thought back on my New York farewell of nine hours ago and sighed. My parents had driven me to the private hangar and said their goodbyes. My mama cried—her only child was leaving her for a new life. My papa, although sad to see me go, beamed at me with the utmost pride. He had held me close and whispered, “I have never been more proud of you than I am right now, Caresa. Savona Wines’ stock has plummeted since Santo’s death. This union will reassure all the shareholders that our business is still strong. That we are still a stable company with Zeno at the helm.”
I had given him a tight smile and boarded the plane with a promise that they would see me before the wedding. And that had been that.
I was to marry Zeno, and I hadn’t protested even once. I imagined to most modern-day women living in New York, the process of arranged marriages sounded positively medieval, even barbaric. For a blue blood, it was simply a part of life.
King Santo Savona died two months ago. The shareholders of his many Italian vineyards, the stakeholders in Savona Wines, had expected his son, Zeno, to immediately step up and take charge. Instead, Zeno had plunged himself into the party scene even harder than before—and that was quite a feat. Within weeks my papa had flown out to Umbria to see what could be done.
The answer: our imminent union.

 

 

 

 

 

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5Star+
 Michel’s Review

A Veil of Vines by Tillie Cole is a must read.  I could not put this book down.  It was a beautiful romance that blossomed in a world where neither of them fit.

A Veil of Vines is heaped with Italian traditions and royal hierarchy.  Although Italy no longer recognizes the royal family as a ruling class, they are still prominent in the traditional customs of the Italian people.

Duchess Caresa Acardi has come to Italy to marry the heir to the Italian throne.  By blood she is bound to the life long traditions of the people of Italy.  She is to become their queen.  Being raised in America has altered her views of love and marriage.  Tradition and the family winery are at stake.  In order to save the winery, the royal family has to show solidity and stability.  The soon to be king has a notorious playboy reputation.  He is a spoiled prince living off his family legacy. She is conflicted about her upcoming marriage to a man that she met briefly as a child.  Her love for her family and their deeply tied roots is the only reasoning she can abide by.  Once she arrives in Italy she finds that her heart may not be tied to the future king but is tied to the land itself.

Achille is the winemaker for the royal winery.  His deep ties to the land and his innate sense of taste has made his wines beyond excellent.  He will always be tied to the land.  It’s his life force until he meets Caresa, his future queen.

Achille and Caresa were meant to be together.  They are true soulmates.  Their blood ties will never allow them to together.  Achille has secrets that will always keep him bound to the land.  The royal family also has secrets that will keep Achille tied to their land and their winery.

I won’t say much more except Tillie Cole did a phenomenal job writing this book.  The beautiful descriptions brings the reader to Italy.  This emotional story is more than a royal romance.  It is a book of deep abiding love for tradition and love for the land.  It is a special  love story that truly shows what matters most in the heart.

I highly recommend A Veil Of Vines by Tillie Cole.

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Giveaway

 

One winner gets a Signed Copy of A Veil of Vines + Limited-Edition The Future Mrs. Marchesi T-Shirt

Enter HERE

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img_1648Tillie Cole hails from a small town in the North-East of England. She grew up on a farm with her English mother, Scottish father and older sister and a multitude of rescue animals. As soon as she could, Tillie left her rural roots for the bright lights of the big city.

After graduating from Newcastle University with a BA Hons in Religious Studies, Tillie followed her Professional Rugby player husband around the world for a decade, becoming a teacher in between and thoroughly enjoyed teaching High School students Social Studies before putting pen to paper, and finishing her first novel.

Tillie has now settled in Austin, Texas, where she is finally able to sit down and write, throwing herself into fantasy worlds and the fabulous minds of her characters.

Tillie is both an independent and traditionally published author, and writes many genres including: Contemporary Romance, Dark Romance, Young Adult and New Adult novels.

When she is not writing, Tillie enjoys nothing more than curling up on her couch watching movies, drinking far too much coffee, while convincing herself that she really doesn’t need that extra square of chocolate.

 

Release Blitz + Excerpt + 5 Star Review: A Veil Of Vines by Tillie Cole

Posted on by
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412ja0z1nylA Veil Of Vines
By Tillie Cole 
Synopsis 
To most people, princes, princesses, counts and dukes are found only in the pages of the most famous of fairytales. Crowns, priceless jewels and gilded thrones belong only in childhood dreams.
But for some, these frivolous fancies are truth.
For some, they are real life.
On Manhattan’s Upper East Side, people have always treated me as someone special. All because of my ancestral name and legacy. All because of a connection I share to our home country’s most important family of all.
I am Caresa Acardi, the Duchessa di Parma. A blue blood of Italy. I was born to marry well. And now the marriage date is set.
I am to marry into House Savona. The family that would have been the royals had Italy not abolished the monarchy in 1946. But to the aristocrats of my home, the abolition means nothing at all.
The Savonas still hold power where it counts most.
In our tight-knit world of money, status and masked balls, they are everything and more.
And I am soon to become one of them.
I am soon to become Prince Zeno Savona’s wife…
… or at least I was, until I met Achille.
And everything changed.
______________________________________________

I opened the window beside me and stared at the illuminated entrance. I swallowed hard and placed my empty glass on the bar. Metal groaned, breaking through the twilight, as the massive black wrought-iron gates began to open. The limo slowly pulled onto the property’s lane, and I drank in the thick forest that shielded the estate. I inhaled the freshness of the lush green trees. The unpolluted sky was thick with stars—not a single cloud in sight.
A few minutes later, the thick woods cleared, and I gasped. Acres and acres of gold and green vineyards covered the landscape. The scents of plump grapes and damp soil permeated the warm air. I closed my eyes. It reminded me of being a child. It brought me back to the days before I was taken to New York. I could still feel the heat of the Emilia-Romagna sun on my face, the deep smell of olives, grapes and flowers drifting in the breeze as I ran around our Parma estate.
I smiled a nostalgic smile and allowed my eyes to drift open again. I rested my arms on the window and leaned my chin on them as the limo drove on. There were several small villas peppered over the landscape, their lights twinkling in the distance. They must have been the winemakers’ residences. It was not only the Bella Collina merlot that was made on this land; other reds were too—particularly the Chianti from the region’s finest Sangiovese grapes. The Bella Collina olive oil was also up there with the best. But nothing compared to the famed merlot.
The limo turned right, and my breath caught in my throat. I lifted my head and stared disbelievingly at the property ahead. Bella Collina was a veritable Palace of Versailles tucked away in the Umbrian wilderness.
“Mio Dio,” I whispered as I took in the imposing stone structure, the sweeping steps and the vast number of windows set in the building’s walls. Large pillars of red-veined marble flanked the entrance. Cypress trees framed the estate as if it were the shining star of a fine Renaissance painting. Sculptures of famed Savona monarchs of old stood proudly on the manicured lawns, and strategically placed lighting illuminated the sheer perfection of every piece of topiary.
As a child, I had been to the Palazzo Savona in Florence. It was widely regarded to be one of the finest estates in all of Italy, if not western Europe. But this . . . this . . . there were no words. It was perfectly placed, as if it had always been there. As if it had grown naturally from the Umbrian earth just as sure as the vines and woods that kept this architectural treasure hidden from view.

____________________________________________________

5Star+
 Michel’s Review

A Veil of Vines by Tillie Cole is a must read.  I could not put this book down.  It was a beautiful romance that blossomed in a world where neither of them fit.

A Veil of Vines is heaped with Italian traditions and royal hierarchy.  Although Italy no longer recognizes the royal family as a ruling class, they are still prominent in the traditional customs of the Italian people.

Duchess Caresa Acardi has come to Italy to marry the heir to the Italian throne.  By blood she is bound to the life long traditions of the people of Italy.  She is to become their queen.  Being raised in America has altered her views of love and marriage.  Tradition and the family winery are at stake.  In order to save the winery, the royal family has to show solidity and stability.  The soon to be king has a notorious playboy reputation.  He is a spoiled prince living off his family legacy. She is conflicted about her upcoming marriage to a man that she met briefly as a child.  Her love for her family and their deeply tied roots is the only reasoning she can abide by.  Once she arrives in Italy she finds that her heart may not be tied to the future king but is tied to the land itself.

Achille is the winemaker for the royal winery.  His deep ties to the land and his innate sense of taste has made his wines beyond excellent.  He will always be tied to the land.  It’s his life force until he meets Caresa, his future queen.

Achille and Caresa were meant to be together.  They are true soulmates.  Their blood ties will never allow them to together.  Achille has secrets that will always keep him bound to the land.  The royal family also has secrets that will keep Achille tied to their land and their winery.

I won’t say much more except Tillie Cole did a phenomenal job writing this book.  The beautiful descriptions brings the reader to Italy.  This emotional story is more than a royal romance.  It is a book of deep abiding love for tradition and love for the land.  It is a special  love story that truly shows what matters most in the heart.

I highly recommend A Veil Of Vines by Tillie Cole.

_____________________________________________________________ 

img_1648Tillie Cole hails from a small town in the North-East of England. She grew up on a farm with her English mother, Scottish father and older sister and a multitude of rescue animals. As soon as she could, Tillie left her rural roots for the bright lights of the big city.

After graduating from Newcastle University with a BA Hons in Religious Studies, Tillie followed her Professional Rugby player husband around the world for a decade, becoming a teacher in between and thoroughly enjoyed teaching High School students Social Studies before putting pen to paper, and finishing her first novel.

Tillie has now settled in Austin, Texas, where she is finally able to sit down and write, throwing herself into fantasy worlds and the fabulous minds of her characters.

Tillie is both an independent and traditionally published author, and writes many genres including: Contemporary Romance, Dark Romance, Young Adult and New Adult novels.

When she is not writing, Tillie enjoys nothing more than curling up on her couch watching movies, drinking far too much coffee, while convincing herself that she really doesn’t need that extra square of chocolate.

 

Release Blitz + 5 Star Review: Ravage by Tillie Cole – The Scarred Soul Series – Book 3

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51A-FsrAU4L

Ravage

Scarred Soul Series – Book 3

By Tillie Cole

Buy: Amazon / B & N / IBooks / Kobo

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Synopsis

Is finding one’s true love worth committing the greatest sacrifice of all?

Taken as a teen, prisoner 194 was stripped of his name and freewill, meticulously honed to be a ruthless machine. Even as he tries to fight his captors hold on him he knows that obedience is the only way to save his sister, who is the one person that keeps him from turning into a monster.

As a young girl Zoya Kostava barely escaped the brutal attack that killed her entire family. Now twenty five she lives in secrecy. That is until she hears her brother also survived and is living with their greatest enemy.

Zoya risks her safety and anonymity to find the brother she thought dead and is captured by a beautiful, brutal man. A man who both captivates and scares her, in him she sees a soul as lost as her own.

They both have so much to lose will they be able to save each other…and survive.

5Star

Michel’s Review

We have all read books about the underworlds of organized crime. Whether it is the Italian Mafia, the Russian Mafia, or street organizations, the one thing they all have in common is criminal intent and violence. They are the rulers of the underworld. They are the parasites of humanity. They are ruthless, heartless, and without conscience. They are in it for the power and the money. The ruling sanctions are the ultimate power.

The Scarred Souls series dives into the world of the Russian and Eastern European organized crime. There is a power struggle within the infrastructure of these organizations. The powerful families are vying for the power. They will do anything to gain the ruling power including using their children as pawns. Their children are being stolen. Their children are being sold into slavery. By taking the heirs they are leaving these powerful families weak.

It’s not only the children of the ruling elite being stolen.  The lost and forgotten orphans are also being taken to build an army for another secret powerful organization.  An organization that even the ruling factions know nothing about.  An organization that is vying to ruin and take over the established organizations. The Arzianis, known as the Night Wraiths, is an international empire, like a new stalin, vying to takeover all the Bratvas.

Ravage is the third book in the series.  I strongly recommend reading the first two books in order before tackling this book.  Tillie Cole has created a complex world in the Russian Bratva organizations.  Their organizations and violent interactions span the old world as well as their new world in the U.S.  The first two books lay most of the ground work for the Ravage story.

Valentin was taken when he was eleven.  He and his younger sister were taken in the middle of night from the Russian orphanage.  He vowed to take care of his sister and would do anything to keep her alive.  He became 194, the most ruthless and highly trained assassin in the Night Wraith army.  His mistress was on a mission of vengeance after her lover was killed by 221, Zaal Kostava, the Georgian heir.  Using his sister as collateral motivates 194 to become a killing machine he was trained and drugged to be.  He is no longer a human being.  He is a brutal and murdering monster.

As a child Zoya Kostava survived the massacre that killed her family and Georgian Bratva. She barely survived and the remaining members have kept her hidden from the world.  When she finds out her older brother Zaal not only survived but has formed an alliance with their enemies, she’s shocked.  She no longer has to stay in hiding.  She is no longer alone in the world.  She is free to meet her brother she hasn’t seen in years.

Standing outside the street, watching her brother fraternize with the enemy is heartbreaking.  She must decide if she wants to reunite with him or remain dead.  The choice is taken out of her hands when she’s taken by a monster.  A monster that will torture her, hurt her, and kill her to get to her brother.

Zoya sees something more than a monster.  She sees another victim like herself and her brother.  When the rage drugs wear off, he’s a different kind of man.  He’s not necessarily kind but he is not brutal or cruel.  The man beneath the monster is a survivor and man of honor.

Zoya and 194 fall in love in an impossible world where they are both pawns in a high stakes war.  A war that may destroy every person in the Bratva.  If they are going to die, it’s going to be on their own terms, they are going to die knowing they are loved.

Tillie Cole has raised the stakes in Scarred Souls series.  I could not put this book down.  This complex series has taken a new direction that starts a new war. The Bratva world has taken on a new enemy.  There are numbers that need to be rescued and souls to be found.  The new Bratva will die trying to save these Scarred Souls.

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Scarred Soul Series

51HK58kgD7L._SX331_BO1,204,203,200_Raze – Book 1

TO TAKE BACK LIFE, ONE MUST FIRST FACE DEATH…

Conditioned in captivity to maim, to kill and to slaughter, prisoner 818 becomes an unrivaled and unstoppable fighter in the ring. Violence is all he knows. After years of incarceration in an underground hell, only one thought occupies his mind: revenge… bloody, slow and violent revenge. Revenge on the man who wronged him.
Kisa Volkova is the only daughter of Kirill ‘The Silencer’ Volkov, head of the infamous ‘Red’ bosses of New York’s Russian Bratva. Her life is protected. In reality, it’s a virtual prison. Her father’s savage treatment of his rivals and his lucrative and coveted underground gambling ring-The Dungeon-ensures too many enemies lurk at their door. She dreams to be set free. Kisa has known only cruelty and loss in her short life. While working for her church-the only reprieve in her constant surveillance-Kisa stumbles across a tattooed, scarred, but stunningly beautiful homeless man on the streets. Something about him stirs feelings deep within her; familiar yet impossibly forbidden desires. He doesn’t talk. Doesn’t communicate with anyone.

He’s a man beyond saving. But Kisa becomes obsessed with him. Yearns for him. Craves his touch. Needs to possess this mysterious man… … this man they call Raze.

Buy: Amazon / B & N / ITunes / Kobo

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51FtI-nCfxL._SX331_BO1,204,203,200_Reap – Book 2

Raised as a prototype for the Georgian Bratva’s obedience drug, 221 fails to think, act, or live for himself; he’s his master’s perfectly-crafted killing puppet. Standing at six-foot-six, weighing two-hundred-and-fifty pounds, and unrivaled in to-the-death combat, 221 successfully secures business for the Georgian Mafiya Boss of NYC, who rules the dark world of the criminal underground. Until his enemies capture him.

Talia Tolstaia dreams to break from the heavy clutches of Bratva life. She dreams of another life–away from the stifling leash of her Russian Bratva Boss father and from the brutality of her work at The Dungeon, her criminal family’s underground death-match enterprise. But when she stumbles upon her family’s captive who is more monster than man, she starts to see the man underneath. A powerful, beautiful, damaged man whose heart calls to hers. But sacrifices must be made–blood for blood…life for life…souls for scarred souls…

Buy: Amazon / B & N / ITunes / Kobo

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51A-FsrAU4LRavage – Book 3

Is finding one’s true love worth committing the greatest sacrifice of all?

Taken as a teen, prisoner 194 was stripped of his name and freewill, meticulously honed to be a ruthless machine. Even as he tries to fight his captors hold on him he knows that obedience is the only way to save his sister, who is the one person that keeps him from turning into a monster.

As a young girl Zoya Kostava barely escaped the brutal attack that killed her entire family. Now twenty five she lives in secrecy. That is until she hears her brother also survived and is living with their greatest enemy.

Zoya risks her safety and anonymity to find the brother she thought dead and is captured by a beautiful, brutal man. A man who both captivates and scares her, in him she sees a soul as lost as her own.

They both have so much to lose will they be able to save each other…and survive.

Buy: Amazon / B & N / IBooks / Kobo

 

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Author Bio:

7074846Amazon & USA Today Best Selling Author, Tillie Cole, is a Northern girl through and through. She originates from a place called Teesside on that little but awesomely sunny (okay I exaggerate) Isle called Great Britain. She was brought up surrounded by her English rose mother — a farmer’s daughter, her crazy Scottish father, a savagely sarcastic sister and a multitude of rescue animals and horses.
Being a scary blend of Scottish and English, Tillie embraces both cultures; her English heritage through her love of HP sauce and freshly made Yorkshire Puddings, and her Scottish which is mostly demonstrated by her frighteningly foul-mouthed episodes of pure rage and her much loved dirty jokes.

Having been born and raised as a Teesside Smoggie, Tillie, at age nineteen, moved forty miles north to the ‘Toon’, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, where she attended Newcastle University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts honours degree in Religious Studies. She returned two years later to complete a Post-Graduate Certificate in Teaching High School Social Studies. Tillie, regards Newcastle to be a home from home and enjoyed the Newcastle Geordie way of life for seven ‘proper mint’ and ‘lush’ years.

One summers day, after finishing reading her thousandth book on her much loved and treasured Kindle, Tillie turned to her husband and declared, “D’you know, I have a great idea for a story. I could write a book.” Several months later, after repeating the same tired line at the close of another completed story, she was scolded by her husband to shut up talking about writing a novel and “just bloody do it!” For the first time in eleven years, Tillie actually took his advice (he is still trying to get over the shock) and immediately set off on a crazy journey, delving deep into her fertile imagination.

Tillie, ever since, has written from the heart. She combines her passion for anything camp and glittery with her love of humour and dark brooding men (most often muscled and tattooed – they’re her weakness!). She also has a serious side (believe it or not!) and loves to immerse herself in the complex study of World Religions, History and Cultural Studies and creates fantasy stories that enable her to thread serious issues and topics into her writing — yep, there’s more to this girl than profanity and sparkles!

After six years of teaching high school Social Studies and following her Professional Rugby Player husband around Europe, they have finally given up their nomadic way of life and settled in Calgary, Alberta where Tillie spends most of her days (and many a late night) lost in a writing euphoria or pursuing a dazzling career as a barrel-racing, tasselled-chap wearing, Stetson-sporting cowgirl… Ye-haw!

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