Cover Reveal: “Daughter of Isis” by Kelsey Ketch + Excerpt!

Daughter of Isis (Descendants of Isis, #1)

by Kelsey Ketch

Release Date: 10/26/13

Cover Designed by: Steven Novak

Summary from Goodreads:

“Her mouth parted slightly, waiting for Seth to breathe life into her own body, just like in the story. She wanted him to awaken her senses.”

Their worlds collide in California’s high desert.

The last thing Natara “Natti” Stone wants to do is to start anew at Setemple High School. She wished she had never left London. Yet the brutal murder of her maternal grandmother has made her life very complicated. The only clue related to her murder is an ancient, encrypted necklace Natti discovered after her grandmother’s death. And if trying to adjust to American life is not enough, Natti is being stalked by a mysterious, charming high school senior, Seth O’Keefe, who is annoyingly persistent in his attempts at seduction.

Seth O’Keefe is secretly a member of the Sons of Set, an order that worships the Egyptian god of chaos. Seth’s blessing from Set, his “charm,” never failed, except with one person: Natti Stone. Her ability to elude him infatuates and infuriates him, and he becomes obsessed with the chase. But the closer he gets to her, the more his emotions take a dangerous turn, and he risks breaking one of the most valued covenants of his order. The punishment for which is a fate worse than death.

The adventure this unlikely couple becomes engulfed in could cost them their lives and their souls.

*Note: Content for Upper YA*

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Sizzling Summer Giveaway: Guest Post from Author Tia Silverthorne Bach + Kindle Fire HD Giveaway

Time for an event I have been waiting for: welcome to the Sizzling Summer Giveaway! This event features not only 50 different authors, but also a giveaway of two Kindle Fire HD’s that are PACKED with new adult and ya titles. See the kickoff post HERE for a list of blogs and authors. Get ready to meet my author, Tia Silverthorne Bach, author of Chasing Memories!

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:

    

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

Blog Tour: “Caterpillar” by Kate Oliver – Review + Giveaway!

Caterpillar (The Metamorphosis Trilogy #1) by Kate Oliver

Goodreads | Amazon

In a small college town in northern California, a lonely young man is working himself to the bone to solve a sixty-year-old problem … a stranger with a will of iron and eyes the color of ice is searching for someone he can’t identify … and a girl who loves plants is about to grow roots of her own.
When Cara Gallagher’s parents are transferred overseas again, she’s off to spend her senior year of high school living with her sister, a graduate student at the famed McNair University. Cara, a girl with a passion for science and an indifference to people, hopes this move will be her first step in claiming the independence she craves. Cara has her future planned down to the letter: her college, her major, her career.
Then she saves Will Mallory’s life, and both of their futures are completely rewritten.
The last years of Will’s life have been spent shifting from one identity to the next, dodging the FBI, and trying desperately to find a way home. But Will’s home is forty-four light years away, and to reach it he’ll have to outwit the man who’s hunting him–and leave behind the only love he’s ever known.

3 1/2 stars

Some people put down a book if, only a couple of chapters in, the book isn’t hooking them. I am not one of those people. I will stick with books until the absolute end, if only to be continuously horrified. Sometimes, I’m even excited I did.

This was one of those times.

The beginning of the book might put readers who are quick to judge off, because Cara does not begin the novel out as a likeable character at all. She sounds like one of those snotty, stuck up teens for whom everything is horrible.

Once Cara gets to hanging out with her sister, Liv, for a while–and, of course, meets Will–she starts to open up and becomes a heck of a lot more interesting AND likeable. Of course, that is replaced by the insta-love that, to be fair, I knew was coming, but ah well. It’s more often than not these days, so it shouldn’t shock anyone. At least there isn’t a love triangle.

I struggled with the beginning first with Cara, and then with the romance between Will and Cara. Well, besides the fact that they actually go on more than one date, which was absolutely fantastic. That’s right, you heard me, DATES. Like they were actually trying to have a real relationship or something. 😉

This novel can actually be separated into two halves: the first half, with ALL of the romance, and the second half with a great deal of action. The first 1/2, 2/3 of the book are actually pretty slow, focusing on Will and Cara falling in love and being in love and dealing with the fact that Will is an alien and needs to go home but they love each other and ohmygod. To be perfectly honest, these two eventually won me over and made me melt just a little bit. I’m a sucker for romance when it’s done at least halfway right, and this is one of those times.

The second half was actually a lot more exciting than I thought it was going to be. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but this chain reaction gets set off with one little thing and then all of a sudden there is a car chase, bullets and explosions. I certainly wasn’t expecting THAT kind of action. Why?

The writing in this book.

This is both were I found love and issue. See, Oliver writes a lot “slower” than many other YA books. What that means is that her writing is more lyrical, more descriptive, and less BOOM-BANG-BAM. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, and I enjoyed the change. In places, her descriptions and musings were spectacularly gorgeous. My issue was the constant POV change. Cara is the lead, switching back and forth a few times with Will’s journal entries. Then there is the whole section were Cara is MIA and Will is pretending to be her. While it was awesomely epic to read about him being a girl, it completely threw me for a loop, especially because after that Cara came back for a long while, solo, and then it was Will again at the end. I’m tricky when it comes to POV switches. I like them, but there has to be a logical sequence to them. There wasn’t that in this book.

All and all, I found Caterpillar to be a wonderfully sweet book. It was the sweetest teen romance I’d read in ages, and one of the first this year that didn’t completely have me headdesking over insta-love, cliché stupidity. Though technically Will is an alien, the fantasy trappings are few and far between, with most of the focus being on the romance. I’d absolutely recommend this if you were looking for a cute teen romance with some fantasy trappings that let’s the romance really speak for itself. There is insta-love in the beginning, but they won me over and that is HARD to do.

Clearly, you guys need to enter the giveaway I’m holding for an e-copy so you can see for yourself, so click HERE. This is INTERNATIONAL. Oh, and did I mention there are a bunch of other blogs reviewing, interviewing and hosting giveaways as well? Because there are. Click HERE for that list!

This giveaway is over! The winner is Janita!