Title: Stinky Sardines and Roses
Author: Natalina Reis
Genre: Gay Paranormal Romance
Release Date: April 9, 2026
Publisher: Hot Tree Publishing
Cover Designer: BookSmith Design
Available now!
All Links: http://books2read.com/stinkysardines
Blue only wanted to clear his name, not hook a brooding detective, but when sparks fly hotter than a Portuguese summer, resisting temptation becomes the hardest puzzle to solve of all.
Blue just wants to sell fish, flirt with the locals, and live a chill life by the sea. Sure, he’s a merman, but these days, no one cares about a little tail in their ancestry. That is, until a snobby millionaire drops dead after eating one of Blue’s sardines, and suddenly everyone’s looking at him like he’s serving murder on ice.
Enter Rose: detective for the Portuguese Paranormal Police, a man who hasn’t smiled for two decades and has no patience for seafood puns—or for Blue’s sunshine-in-a-bottle personality. He’s here to solve a murder, not babysit a charming fishmonger with big eyes and a bigger mouth.
But Blue is determined to clear his name, even if that means sticking to Rose like seaweed on a boat hull. As the investigation twists through ancient secrets, magical oddities, and supernatural politics, the two men are drawn together by more than just the mystery. Add in a ghostly white dog, a handful of eccentric locals, and a whole lot of unexpected chemistry, and you’ve got a case that just might end in love.
Magic, murder, and mermen collide in this charming paranormal romance set on the cobbled streets of Portugal.
Available now!
All Links: http://books2read.com/stinkysardines
“Want to go for a swim before dinner gets here?” he asked the other man.
For a moment, Rose blinked and stared at him as if not sure what to say or do, but in seconds his face was back to the icy threatening glare he normally sported.
“Swim? It’s getting dark,” he said, his eyes roaming to the window again. He seemed fascinated by the view as if something out there was calling to him.
“The waters are pretty warm this far south even at night,” Angel explained. “I’m going for a swim and recharge. Are you coming?”
Rose shook his head. “I didn’t bring a bathing suit,” he said.
Angel turned around and disappeared through the open doorway to the foyer, only to show up a couple minutes later with a piece of colorful cloth in his hand.
“I got you covered,” he announced with a smile. “There are always extra swim shorts in the closet.” He threw the trunks at Rose. “Get changed and meet me by the water.”
Without waiting for Rose’s response, Angel opened the glass door, stepped into the back porch, and took off running over the sand. His bare feet welcomed the warmth of the sun-kissed sand as he sprinted toward the ocean.
The sea was calm, the waves lapping at the sand as gentle as a caress. He buried his toes in the wet sand and groaned in pleasure. Nothing like it.
“Where’s your bathing suit?” The cop had changed and stood beside him now in comically bright shorts.
Angel’s gut clenched. The man was well-put together with strong shoulders, iron biceps, and—God have mercy—a hot six-pack that vanished into the low waist of the absurd swimming trunks.
Author of We Will Always Have the Closet, Desert Jewel, and Loved You Always, Natalina wrote her first romance in collaboration with her best friend at the age of 13. Since then she has ventured into other genres, but romance is first and foremost in almost everything she writes.
After earning a degree in tourism and foreign languages, she worked as a tourist guide in her native Portugal for a short time before moving to the United States. She lived in three continents and a few islands, and her knack for languages and linguistics led her to a master’s degree in education. She lives in Virginia where she has taught English as a Second Language to elementary school children for more years than she cares to admit.
Natalina doesn’t believe you can have too many books or too much coffee. Art and dance make her happy and she is pretty sure she could survive on lobster and bananas alone. When she is not writing or stressing over lesson plans, she shares her life with her husband and two adult sons.
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