Release Day Blitz: The Glittering Court by Richelle Mead (Excerpt + Giveaway)

If you follow this blog, then you know that I LOVE me some Richelle Mead – and of course her newest book, The Glittering Court, is right up my alley. I’m super excited to be able to participate in this release day blitz, which also comes with an excerpt from the book and a giveaway!

If you haven’t yet heard about this wonderful book by Author Richelle Mead, be sure to check out all the details below.

This blitz also includes a giveaway for a signed copy of the book and a $25 Sephora Gift Card courtesy of Richelle, Penguin Teen, and Rockstar Book Tours. So if you’d like a chance to win, enter in the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post.

Advertisement

Book Blitz: “My Date From Hell” by Tellulah Darling – Excerpt + Giveaway

Hey guys! Welcome to the book blitz for My Date From Hell by Tellulah Darling, hosted by Xpresso Book Tours! You may remember my review of the first book, My Ex From Hell – I had so much fun reading that one! That’s why I’m super excited to bring you all these goodies for the second book! Let’s get started…

Book Blitz: “Leap of Faith” by Jamie Blair – Excerpt + Giveaway!

Welcome to the Leap of Faith Book Blitz hosted by Xpresso Book Tours! I’m excited to be able to offer you guys a giveaway, an excerpt and some knowledge of a great sounding book! Let’s get things started with an introduction to the author, shall we?

Book Blitz: “Contrition” by Lee Strauss – Excerpt + Giveaway!

Hello, and welcome to the Book Blitz for Contrition by Lee Strauss, hosted by Xpresso Book Tours! Today I get to tell you about a great book, share a fantastic excerpt AND give you a chance to enter to win a HUGE giveaway! Let’s get this party started by first introducing author Lee Strauss!

Book Blitz: “Rush” by Eve Silver – Excerpts + Giveaway!

Rush (The Game #1)

by Eve Silver

Release
Date: June 11, 2013

Publisher:
Harper Teen

Summary
from Goodreads:

So what’s the game now? This, or the life I used to
know?

 

When Miki Jones is pulled from her life, pulled through time and space into
some kind of game—her carefully controlled life spirals into chaos. In the
game, she and a team of other teens are sent on missions to eliminate the Drau,
terrifying and beautiful alien creatures. There are no practice runs, no
training, and no way out. Miki has only the guidance of secretive but
maddeningly attractive team leader Jackson Tate, who says the game isn’t really
a game, that what Miki and her new teammates do now determines their survival,
and the survival of every other person on this planet. She laughs. He doesn’t.
And then the game takes a deadly and terrifying turn.

Available from:

    

Book Blitz: “Haven” by Laury Falter – Excerpt + Giveaway!

Title: Haven, Part I of the Apocalypse Chronicles

Author: Laury Falter

Release date: June 22, 2013

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Age Group:  Young Adult

Event organized by: AToMR Tours

Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16621789-haven

Haven, the first book in the Apocalypse Chronicles…

On an ordinary day in early September, Kennedy Shaw leaves for school unaware that within a few minutes the world she knows will be gone – succumbed to an outbreak of epidemic proportions. After finding a safe haven inside the security of her enclosed high school, she learns that four others have survived, one being a bold, mysterious transfer student from Texas whose unruffled demeanor harbors more than a cool interest in her. As they struggle to survive the dead fighting their way inside, will Kennedy discover there is more to life than survival? And will she and the others find a way to live in this terrifying new world?

About the Author

Laury Falter is the author of the bestselling Guardian Trilogy. She writes young adult paranormal romances and urban fantasy when she’s not taking her stray dogs for a walk or enjoying a date night with her husband.

Laury has released two series, the Guardian Trilogy and the Residue Series (a spinoff of the Guardian Trilogy books), and is currently releasing her third series, the Apocalypse Chronicles.

To learn more about Laury and her novels, visit her at:

Website: lauryfalter.com

Twitter page: twitter.com/LauryFalter

Facebook page: facebook.com/pages/Laury-Falter/196033543803745

Goodreads page: goodreads.com/author/show/4061922.Laury_Falter

EXCERPT

The first Infected who came into view was balding. The half moon of white hair around the back of his head was severed in half by a gash that left his neck and the collar of his light blue business suit a crusty red. His hand on the railing was the same ruby color. The one coming up behind him was a girl in her twenties with bleached blonde hair and a tattoo that curled up the side of her neck. The Infected trailing her was a woman with an afro and oversized gold hoop earrings. There were more – I could hear their feet on the stairs – but they hadn’t located me yet. Once they did, I knew nothing could tear them away. This was why I had the rifle pointed at Mr. Suit. If I hit him just right there was a possibility he would collapse against the wall and topple backwards, into the crowd, momentarily blocking the rest from advancing. That might buy me enough time to run for the next set of stairs and, possibly, to safety.

My heart was pounding so hard that I was afraid it would interfere with my aim, even at this short distance. The muzzle was bobbing so rapidly it reminded me of peaks on a hospital pulse monitor. As I’d been trained, I stopped, took a deep breath, and attempted to steady my heart rate. One of my dad’s favorite sayings coursed through my mind, reminding me how to take an accurate shot and calming me instantly. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast, Kennedy. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.

As I contemplated my plan, biding my time to get the right shot off, something happened on the floor below. It started with a roar, which was odd because I’d never heard a single Infected roar. Then a commotion followed that caused Mr. Suit and the others to seek the source of the interruption behind them. Apparently, their judgment hadn’t been so dramatically impaired that they knew enough to turn around. This took their focus away from me and I immediately stepped toward the stairs I’d been eyeing. But then I froze…because Ms. Afro had suddenly been yanked out of sight. I watched as Ms. Biker Girl prepared to lunge but also quickly disappeared down the stairs. Mr. Suit was then yanked away, his head snapping back as he vanished in the same direction as the others. Whatever was making its way up the stairs was cutting through the Infected like they were paper dolls. Then the turmoil came to a sudden end and the warehouse settled back into silence, with only the wind whistling through the openings in the building to fill the void. Beneath that hushed sound came another one. A footstep. It was sturdy, landing solidly and with intent. The sound came again. And again. And then there before me stood Harrison, chest heaving, eyes bulging, lips drawn back in a snarl.

My heart leapt at the sight of him, both because I didn’t expect him to appear and because I didn’t expect him to appear like this. What I saw in him was the same behavior so visibly obvious in the Infected. Only one word could describe them both: enraged.

“Harrison?” I whispered, which seemed to bring him back to me.

He had been inspecting the upper floor before his eyes stopped on me. He blinked and straightened out of his crouch, relaxing his face until it returned to the same gorgeous Harrison so familiar to me. He came forward, up the remaining step, but no farther, as hesitancy spread across his face. I was vaguely aware of it wavering as I found myself running for him.

Before I knew it, I was in his arms and my face was pressed against his firm chest and his warm, secure arms were encircling me.

“Kennedy,” he whispered back, hoarsely, full of the emotion he held for me and vowed he would never show.

GIVEAWAY 

(1) eBook copy of Haven (Part I of the Apocalypse Chronicles). Books will be gifted from Amazon or Barnes and Noble. Open internationally. To enter, leave a comment with your name and email!

Book Blitz: “The Queen of the Realm of Faerie” by Heidi Garrett – Excerpt + Giveaway!

Welcome to The Queen of the Realm of Faerie Book Blitz hosted by Xpresso Reads, which celebrates the release of two of Heidi Garrett’s titles The Dragon Carnivale and True Love’s First Kiss. Let’s take a look at them, shall we?

The Dragon Carnivale (The Queen of the Realm of Faerie #3)

Energies in the Enchanted World are shifting and new alliances are forming; the Battle of Dark and Light has begun. The half-faerie Melia is desperate to make things right with Ryder, the young priest from Idonne, but first she must warn the halfbloods in the Mortal World that Umbra is coming for them, and face the powerful Dragonwitch and her spectacular Dragon Carnivale

True Love’s First Kiss (The Queen of the Realm of Faerie #1-3)

In the Enchanted World, true love’s first kiss is magic.

Nandana’s Mark, Book 1: When two half-faeries—Melia and her younger sister—are cursed under dreadful circumstances, true love’s first kiss is the remedy.

The Flower of Isbelline, Book 2: Nothing but true love’s first kiss can save Melia’s younger sister from blind ambition and ruin.

The Dragon Carnivale, Book 3: Melia must choose the freedom she cherishes or true love’s first kiss—and a relationship that promises to secure her place in the Whole.

The Queen of the Realm of Faerie is a fairy tale fantasy series that bridges the Mortal and Enchanted worlds. The main character, Melia, is an eighteen-year-old half-faerie, half-mortal. She lives in Illialei, a country in the Enchanted World, with her two sisters and their mother. Melia’s father has been exiled to the Mortal World, and her best friend is a pixie.

When the story opens in the first book, Melia is troubled by her dark moon visions, gossip she overhears about her parents at the local market, and the trauma of living among full-blooded faeries with wings—she doesn’t have any.

As the series unfolds, the historic and mystical forces that shape Melia’s life are revealed. Each step of her journey—to find the place where she belongs—alters her perceptions about herself, deepens her relationships with others, and enlarges her world view.

True Love’s First Kiss is a compilation of the first three books in this ongoing series.

AUTHOR BIO

Heidi Garrett is the author of The Queen of the Realm of Faerie series. Her personal message to all her readers is:

Once upon a time, you lived in an enchanted world, too…

May you always see the magic in your life.

The Queen of the Realm of Faerie includes many strong female characters within an intricate fantasy land. It is also a fairy tale fantasy.

The first book, Nandana’s Mark, is one of those free ebooks; the second book, The Flower of Isbelline, is now available; and the third book, The Dragon Carnivale, will be released in June 2013.

Heidi’s hope is that when you read her books, you will rediscover the enchantment in your own life. 

She currently resides in Eastern Washington State with her husband and their two cats. So far, she loves the snow. Being from the South, she finds it very magical.

LINKS:

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter 

EXCERPT FROM THE DRAGON CARNIVALE

Melia kicked her legs hard.

An invisible wall blocked her every effort.

She sensed what was happening: the ancient door between the worlds was closing. She felt with her fingers for a seam, a crack, any open sliver, but all she could think of was Tatou. Had her friend made it through?

She opened her eyes; the river water had become something more like wind. It pushed her eyes shut. She opened her mouth and choked on a gust. If she didn’t push through to the other side…

Her frantic fingers found an edge. She shoved with the heel of her hand. Her head and neck passed through before a weight slammed into her chest. Immobile, she kicked harder.

She pulled up on her arms. Pressure caught one of her wrists. Frantic, she yanked with all her strength. The bracelet on her left hand burst; the individual pearls scattered between the worlds, lost to her forever.

Melia heaved. Her legs remained trapped. She found a plane with her palms. She pressed down. The door wanted to close; she focused her mind. She imagine fluttering through an archway. Resistance scraped her thighs, her knees, her shins.

When it slammed her toes, she screamed.

THE GIVEAWAY 

To celebrate this dual release, I’m giveaway one ebook of True Love’s Kiss AND a silicon bracelet, which is pictured. This giveaway is open internationally and ends July 10th. To enter, just leave a comment with your email. For extra entries, make up a tweet about this and link me to it!

Book Blast: “15 Minutes” by Jill Cooper – Excerpt + Giveaway!

Welcome to the book blast for 15 Minutes by Jill Cooper, hosted by AToMR Tours. I’ve got a lot of goodies for you about this book, so let’s get started!

15 Minutes (The Rewind Series #1) by Jill Cooper

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N

I have 15 minutes to save my mother’s life….

15 minutes is all the Rewind Agency gives you in the past, but for Lara Crane it’s enough time to race through the city, find her mother, and stop her from being killed in a mugging that happened over ten years ago.

But that’s not how it happened. The story she’s been told all her life is a lie and when Lara takes a bullet meant for her mother, her future changes forever.

The love of her life acts like a stranger. Her simple life is replaced with a giant house, glamorous clothes and a new boyfriend.

Except someone knows her secret. And he will try to stop her at every turn as she races against the clock to unravel a dangerous conspiracy.

15 Minutes is an edgy high octane YA thriller that can be described as Back to the Future meets Inception where the people Lara trusts change in an instant. She is in a timeline she doesn’t understand, and is about to make one fatal mistake as she faces an enemy so familiar, he’s family.

Blog Tour: “Broken Wings” by Shannon Dittemore – Promo Post + Giveaway!

Welcome to my stop on the Broken Wings blog tour hosted by YA Bound.  Click HERE to see the full blog tour schedule!

***

Angel Eyes (Angel Eyes Trilogy #1)

Once you’ve seen, you can’t unsee. Everything changes when you’ve looked at the world through . . .

ANGEL EYES

Brielle’s a ballerina who went to the city to chase her dreams and found tragedy instead. She’s come home to shabby little Stratus, Oregon, to live with her grief and her guilt . . . and the incredible, numbing cold she can’t seem to shake.

Jake’s the new guy at school. The boy next door with burning hands and an unbelievable gift that targets him for corruption.

Something more than fate has brought them together. An evil bigger than both of them lurks in the shadows nearby, hiding in plain sight. Two angels stand guard, unsure what’s going to happen. And a beauty brighter than Jake or Brielle has ever seen is calling them to join the battle in a realm where all human choices start.

A realm that only angels and demons—and Brielle—can perceive.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble

 

Broken Wings (Angel Eyes Trilogy #2)

Giant angels with metal wings and visible song. A blind demon restored from the pit of darkness. And a girl who has never felt more broken.

Brielle sees the world as it really is: a place where the Celestial exists side by side with human reality. But in the aftermath of a supernatural showdown, her life begins to crumble. Her boyfriend, Jake, is keeping something from her—something important. Her overprotective father has started drinking again. He’s dating a much younger woman who makes Brielle’s skin crawl, and he’s downright hostile toward Jake. Haunting nightmares keep Brielle from sleeping, and flashes of Celestial vision keep her off kilter.

What she doesn’t know is that she’s been targeted. The Prince of Darkness himself has heard of the boy with healing in his hands and of the girl who sees through the Terrestrial Veil. When he plucks the blind demon, Damien, from the fiery chasm and sends him back to Earth with new eyes, the stage is set for a cataclysmic battle of good versus evil.

Then Brielle unearths the truth about her mother’s death and she must question everything she ever thought was true.

Brielle has no choice. She knows evil forces are converging and will soon rain their terror down upon the town of Stratus. She must master the weapons she’s been given. She must fight.

But can she fly with broken wings?

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble

 

About the Author

Shannon Dittemore has an overactive imagination and a passion for truth. Her lifelong journey to combine the two is responsible for a stint at Portland Bible College, performances with local theater companies, and a focus on youth and young adult ministry. The daughter of one preacher and the wife of another, she spends her days imagining things unseen and chasing her two children around their home in Northern California. Angel Eyes is her first novel.

Website / Twitter / Goodreads / Facebook / Pinterest

 ***PROMO POST***

An excerpt from Broken Wings…

Silence consumes the assembly now, imposed on them by the sight of an icy white figure dropping into the hall from above. His wings, spread wide, are white save the tips, which retain a char he’s never rid of.

Black-tipped wings for the Prince of Darkness. Healthy wings. Strong wings. His skin shines like polished marble. His hair lies in curls of midnight around his face—still fresh, still bright, still retaining the beauty that seduced a third of the angels. Human eyes would have a hard time distinguishing the Prince from a Warrior like Michael. But the absence of light behind those pale blue eyes hints at the creature’s true nature. And they are pale, so pale the blue seems buried far below, glinting like coins at the bottom of a well.

He’s exquisite. Majestic.

And he’s afraid.

Celestial light has been banned from this place, but even here among the arctic shadows, fear cannot hide. Its blackness swirls in a controlled spin down his right arm, over his well-formed bicep, around his elbow, circling around his forearm and sliding from his palm down his middle finger where it puddles beneath his throne. Tendrils branch out across the stone floor seeking, seeking.

He cups his hand, allowing the fear to pool there. His fingers close around the sticky substance and he prods it, molds it like a human child playing with a handful of clay. All the while, his eyes rip into the demon before him.

After a slow descent, the Prince’s feet touch upon the seat of his throne—the graven dragon behind him. His legs and waist are wrapped in cords of white. His torso and arms are bare. Very little separates him from the other archangels. And yet so much.

Pearla watches the Prince. The Creator gave him beauty—a beauty unrivaled—and he’s taken great pains to preserve it. His time here in Abaddon has kept him from the damage his hordes have suffered in the light of the Celestial. Pearla’s heard stories of the Prince venturing above, but his untarnished appearance alone is proof that his time to heal greatly exceeds that of his minions.

“Sit.” His celestial lips are still, unable to vocalize anything but animalistic rages—like those assembled, like the demon chained to the floor, like every angel he led astray—but they all hear. They all obey. It’s sad, really. His song, like his face, was far superior to all others. Now his mouth is good for nothing.

Wings rustle and talons scratch as countless demons crawl and flap toward rough shelves cut into the cliffs surrounding the hall. The demon chained to the floor drops to his knees.

Humility, even false humility, is appreciated here.

The Prince doesn’t sit, though. No. He stands on his throne, his legs spread wide, looking down at the demon trembling on the floor.

“It’s unfortunate, brother, to see you in chains. Again.”

***GIVEAWAY***
(1) Print copies of Angel Eyes and Broken Wings (US Only)

(5) Print copies of Broken Wings (US only)

CLICK HERE TO ENTER!

Blog Tour: “Interred” by Marilyn Almodóvar – Excerpt + Giveaway!

Welcome to my stop on the Interred Blog Tour hosted by YA Bound! Click HEREto check out the rest of the tour schedule!

Interred (Chronicles of the Interred #1)

by Marilyn Almodóvar

Release Date: 01/22/13

Summary from Goodreads:

Time has never been an issue for Baxter Jacobs, but then she never knew she had the ability to Bend it.
As her sixteenth birthday approaches, Baxter inherits a pendant that will change her life. Connected to the pendant is a dark and mysterious young man named Declan Ashdown. Trapped in a Time loop for the past 122 years, Declan needs Baxter’s help to escape. The only problem is, she has no idea how to do it.
To acquire the power she needs to free him, she’ll become one of the Interred, those whose Magical abilities emerge as they come of age. When she does, she’ll discover that Declan isn’t the only one interested in the fact that she’s a Time Bender.
As the Interment arrives, Baxter knows this will be no Sweet Sixteen. A vengeful relative and ruthless Council are determined to control her. Declan’s powerful and charming descendant, Jack Ashdown, claims he can save her. She’ll soon have to decide who she can trust, and how to master her new abilities before Time runs out.

Goodreads link:

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13450348-interred

About the Author:

Marilyn Almodóvar is the author of a series of YA paranormal novels. Born in Ft. Huachuca, Arizona, Lyn is a lover of words whose reading tastes range from Victorian novels to the books of Stephen King. Her favorite past-times have always been reading and writing, two activities that let her escape to other worlds.
It was this love that propelled her to choose Theater and French as majors in University, with a minor in English Victorian Literature. Lyn lived for almost a decade in England followed by three years in France before returning home to the States. A self-confessed citizen of the world, she is fluent in English, French and Spanish, with basic knowledge of the Italian language. Lyn could happily exist breathing the clean air of Narnia, trapped in a cupboard under the stairs with Harry, fighting alongside Captain Jack Sparrow, doing an internship in Torchwood, or traveling around time and space with the Doctor…as long as she can have Mr. Spock, Captain Kirk and Captain Mal as companions.
Lyn currently lives in Central Florida with her French husband, English-born eldest son, and French-born youngest son. Her debut YA Novel, Interred, will be published by Iambe books on 01/22/2013.

Website/ Twitter / Goodreads/ Facebook

Excerpt from Interred by Marilyn Almodóvar

When we reach the front porch, I turn around and try to spot the car while Dickie continues around to the back of the house to check the fuse box. Through the heavy snow, the black sedan continues down the road at a snail’s pace. Something about the slow-moving vehicle inching through the storm strikes me as ominous. I shrug the feeling away, figuring the driver is just lost.

“It’ll be okay,” Dickie assures me as he returns to the front porch. “This is normal for Vermont this time of year.”

I swallow my response. Sure it’ll be okay…easy to say for people who grew up in the North. The only blizzards I’ve witnessed have been through the magic of television. This amount of snow should be illegal.

“Come inside before you really do freeze your butt off.” Dickie opens the door and I pull away from the view.

“Baxter, can you make some tea please?” Mom asks as I walk by the living room.

Nodding, I move to the kitchen where the lights flicker like mad. The storm must be wreaking havoc with the power. As I reach for the kettle, the lights turn off for a few seconds, then back on. It’s unnerving, especially with the wind outside roaring like a wounded animal.

Fighting my unease, I carry the kettle to the sink and glance out the window facing the front garden. My heart stops.

My brain has surely overdosed on scary movies. My hand presses against the window, leaving an imprint. It’s suddenly midnight black outside and I have to glance at the kitchen clock. Four minutes ‘til two in the afternoon, yet the only visible thing on the field is a boy who looks about my age with long black hair, a top hat and a coat. Around him shines a bright, eerie light, as though a permanent spotlight focuses on him. He walks toward the house.

I’m rooted to the spot, unable to move, my body shaking as if I’m under a spell. Even though I can’t see his eyes, I’m convinced he’s looking at me. I’m convinced he knows me.

GIVEAWAY

The giveaway includes:
– One signed paperback of Interred – One autographed Interred tote bag – One onyx pendant inspired by the book – One angel pin inspired by the book – Misc. book swag (magnet, wristband, postcard, phone skin)

Open Internationally!
a Rafflecopter giveaway