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🌟 Please join me in welcoming author Amy Tasukada to Stories That Make You Smile! Amy is here today celebrating the release of the gripping fifth story in her Yakuza Path series, Flowers of Flesh and Blood. Amy has brought along a nice excerpt, a generous giveaway, and her character Aki, who’s kindly consented to answer a few questions for us! 🌟
Flowers of Flesh and Blood by Amy Tasukada
A killer. A traitor. A deadly war that could take their love and their lives…
Series: The Yakuza Path (book #5)
Publisher: Macarons & Tea Publishing
Cover Artist: Natasha Snow
Release Date: Thursday, May 28, 2020
Length: Novel / 80k words / 366 pages
Pairing / Genre: M/M Gay Romance Thriller, organized crime, boss/secretary, forbidden romance, unrequited love, yakuza, mafia, tea
Warnings: blood, violence, gore
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Series Blurb
Kyoto—beautiful, tragic, and for Nao Murata—deadly.
Nao Murata never anticipated stumbling upon a stranger on the brink of death would thrust back into a world he thought was in his past. Now, he’s back among the ranks of the Yakuza, fighting for both his life and his honor. Struggling against older members undermining him at every turn, Nao must navigate the dark and gritty criminal underworld discovering who he can trust, and who is hell-bent on betraying him.
Aki Hisona jumped to the top ranks of the syndicate when he gained favor with Nao, but it left animosity brewing among his would-be friends. When an assassination attempt disguised as a celebration leaves Aki with blood on his hands, he isn’t certain how Nao will react. Will he lose his rank, his life? Or worse…he might lose the chance to ever have Nao return his affection.
All the while, the Korean mafia are deadlier than ever. Having ruthlessly killed the Godfather of the Matsukawa syndicate once, they’re now determined to murder the newest in line. Nao may have survived them once. They won’t let him out of their sights again.
Discover how much blood is hiding underneath Kyoto’s cherry blossoms in this shocking and brilliant series today!
Story Blurb
A killer. A traitor. A deadly war that could take their love and their lives…
Ruling the Kyoto yakuza makes Nao Murata a perpetual target, especially with the Koreans encroaching into their territory. An attempt on his life at his mafia headquarters crosses a line. Setting up his beloved ally Aki as the would-be assassin crosses another. Nao knows the only way to save his friend’s life is to sever their growing bond and force Aki to fake his own death…
But Aki Hisona refuses to stay dead. Determined to expose Nao’s would-be killer and save the man he loves, Aki goes deep undercover in the Korean underworld. But when he’s asked to prove his loyalty, he risks becoming caught in a web of his own lies…
With Aki gone and the Kyoto mafia in grave danger, Nao fears his trust in others could be fatal.
Will Nao and Aki find the assassin in time, or will Nao’s rule end in bloody chaos?
Flowers of Flesh and Blood is the powerful fifth installment of The Yakuza Path thriller series. If you like gritty Japanese crime, richly nuanced characters, and slow-burning gay romance, then you’ll love Amy Tasukada’s high-octane novel.
Buy Flowers of Flesh and Blood to slice into the Japanese underworld today!
Excerpt
Aki closed his fingers around the paper brim of his empty coffee cup and ripped another small piece off. Without looking, he added it to the pile on the table. Mindlessly stuck on repeat, he ripped, added, ripped, added, over and over.
He’d spent the night in the twenty-four-hour Korean café, trading off between sleeping in the bathroom and eating cake to justify staying. He’d been hoping to improve his Korean, but the speakers played nothing but pop songs. Aki learned a million new ways to tell Nao how he felt but doubted he’d gained the right words to impress Namjoon.
Another rip.
Another one on the pile.
Another turn of the mangled cup… Another rip.
His ribs tightened in his chest, crushing his heart until it screamed. He didn’t deserve to be by Nao’s side.
Another turn.
Another rip.
Another sugarcoated song about love.
Aki’s thumb hit the bottom of the cup. Nothing more to tear up but himself.
He stood, bones aching from napping on the bathroom floor. He needed a bed, and the only way was with Namjoon’s help.
☆ Character Interview ☆
Full Disclosure: An interview with Aki Hisona.
Tell us a little about yourself?
I’m Aki. I’m 21 years old and have been with the Kyoto mafia about a year, and six months after joining I became Nao’s secretary.
What’s your claim to fame?
This is a little embarrassing, but it’s this false rumor that Nao and I screw each other each morning. I would be more than happy for the rumors to be true, but they’re not.
What are you absolutely determined to do?
I’m going to confess my undying love for Nao. I have it all worked out. I bought some wonderful chocolate covered strawberries. I know Nao needs just that little extra push to see how we could be something wonderful.
How different was your life one year ago?
A year ago, I had just joined the Kyoto mafia. I tried a few other places first, but got fired from my last job assembling office furniture because I ended up assembling all the chairs backwards. They would lean forward instead of back. Haru, one of my high school friends was in the Kyoto mafia. So I decided to join too. The mob has really become my family.
Is there anyone special in your life?
Nao is my everything.
What challenging thing are you working through these days?
Trying to keep Nao calm during this whole mess with the Korean mafia is hard. Things aren’t going well and he’s not taking it well.
Meet the Author
International best-selling author Amy Tasukada writes thrilling times of crime, love, and gore. Readers who crave diverse characters, unique settings, and edge-of-your-seat action will devour her Yakuza Path series. Readers who seek less blood and more love will swoon over the Yakuza Path Romance and Would it Be Okay to Love You? series. Amy is an atheist, queer author who enjoys drinking tea, Japanese street fashion and visual kei music. Her calico cat, O’Hara, is never far from her side. Amy lives in North Texas, but is always planning her next trip to Japan.
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Giveaway
Amy is giving away five eBook box sets of books 1-4 of The Yakuza Path with this tour. Enter via Rafflecopter:
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