Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Of Fire & Roses by Danielle Belwater ~ Excerpt!









Title: Of Fire & Roses

Author: Danielle Belwater

Release date: February 15th, 2014

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal





Book Description:

Nate West’s mother is dead, his dad a lost cause. Anger has become a way of life, until he meets and falls in love with Cora Ewell. But Cora has a secret, one that could kill them both.
Nate moves from the big city to a small, forest town with his father after his mother’s tragic death. Alone and angry, Nate feels even more isolated by his father’s inability to communicate and relate to his only son in the wake of their loss.
Nate takes to the forest in an attempt to find some peace, but instead finds a beautiful girl with flaming red hair. But before he can speak with her, she vanishes. Unsure if the girl is a vision or real he searches desperately for her.

When Nate finally meets Cora, his world is turned upside down and inside out.
Dreams of his own death plague his sleep as old dark magic, hidden for centuries, resurfaces and has its sights clearly set on Nate



Buy Links:
 



Book Excerpt

I felt insignificant among the forest of tall, needle-like trees. Tree roots, covered in a thick green moss, erupted from the ground like long twisted fingers. A fine dewy mist hung low to the ground and rays of sunlight speared through the dense canopy. The path that had brought me to this point had now become nothing but a trail of crushed leaves and forest litter.
Which direction had I come from? Trees, mist, and fog enveloped me. My throat constricted. I needed to get out of there. I searched for my footprints to head back the way I’d come. I found them straightaway and was about to make for home when I felt a curious prickle on the back of my neck—that weird sense that someone was watching me.
While I couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary, my instincts told me something or someone had entered my little bubble of personal space. There was a familiar scent in the air, out of place in this earthy forest, the sweet perfume of roses.
I stood motionless, willing the entity out of its hiding spot. A movement, a blur, the rustling of leaves, then nothing. This place was messing with my head and I’d been here less than five minutes. Convinced my brain was playing tricks, I took one last look over my shoulder, then trekked back into the forest, not sure whether that was the right direction.
A flash of red whipped between two trees in front of me, stopping me in my tracks. I pressed my palms into my eyes. When I let go, tiny white flecks danced around my vision like fireflies. After a moment, my eyes regained their focus, but not before I stumbled, tripped over a tree root, and fell squarely on my arse. Something uncomfortable dug greedily into my thigh. I pushed the huge rock away and rubbed my leg furiously, knowing that was going to leave a bruise. Great.
The ground was cold and hard and dampness seeped through the seat of my shorts. I rolled to one side, ready to push myself back to my feet, but what I saw stole the air from my lungs and I fell back to earth with a thud.
Was it a girl or an angel? Surely, normal girls didn’t glow like that? I lay on the hard ground, transfixed and completely unable to move. Watching me from a short distance away was the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen in my life. 


 
About the Author:

Danielle Belwater adores the concept of true love and truly believes everyone has their Prince Charming or Snow White out there somewhere, even if they have to fight demons, ghosts, and wizards to find it.
Danielle has been having a love affair with words since she was young and in primary school, writing some rather imaginative tales. This love has followed her into adulthood.
She lives in rural South Australia with her husband, young daughters and way too many animals to mention. She spends most of her time dreaming up characters, stories, ghostly tales, and watching Firefly re-runs. She also cooks the odd meal for her family to avoid them looking like skeletons at official author functions!
Danielle is passionate about reading and her interests include pretty much anything with words from rolling four volume epics to the daily newspaper.


Twitter:





Giveaway





http://bit.ly/RfSQXY
 

Saturday, May 24, 2014

The Beast of Callaire by Saruuh Kelsey ~ Excerpt & Playlist!







Title: The Beast of Callaire 
Author: Saruuh Kelsey
Published: May 20th, 2014
Genre: YA Fantasy/Mythology



Synopsis:

Yasmin is a descendant of the Manticore. A creature of Persian mythology. A Legendary.
But she doesn’t want to be. Unlike the Legendaries in The Red, Yasmin wants nothing more than an ordinary life. She tries to fool herself into believing that she doesn’t change into a beast every full moon and savagely kill innocent people.
But when Yasmin starts hearing a voice in her head and is drawn into dreams that aren’t her own, she is led to Fray—a girl who once saved Yasmin from hunters, who has shadowy memories that hint at her having Legendary magic—and Yasmin is catapulted into a life of Majick and malevolence.
Despite the danger around her and Fray, Yasmin might finally have a chance at being a normal girl with a normal girlfriend. But with Legendaries being killed, a war between the Gods brewing, and the beast inside Yasmin becoming stronger each moon, her mundane life is little more than a dream.



Buy Links:




Excerpt:
   The wood is beautiful through these eyes, but I wish I could choose what they looked at. The edges of the leaves are crisp, the flat green my human eyes would see is brought into bright relief. But I only see what the beast wants to see, so I can’t focus on each brilliant new thing because I’m wary and paranoid of what the beast will be drawn to next. A squirrel—a rabbit—a stray human wandering along the trail.
I could kill someone and I wouldn’t be able to stop it. My jaws would rip flesh from bone and I’d be paralysed in my mind, watching the horror as it happens. I know because it’s happened. Six times. Thankfully, four of those people got away with only claw welts or bite marks. But two of them are dead because of me.

One was a girl no older than nine. I killed her when I was fourteen, before I’d become used to the Change, before the beast had settled into its control of my body. Now it only kills for sport, not by accident, and mostly it hunts small animals. Easy prey. Even in Manticore form, I’m a coward. I’m glad of it.

The second person I killed was a middle aged man last year. He had a gun pointed at my friend Willa as she lounged in the pool of Almery Wood. I’m not sure whether he meant to kill her for spoils or just for the hell of it, but I don’t regret killing him as much as the young girl. It still haunts my nightmares sometimes, though, his glazed green eyes and slack, wrinkled face.

I still don’t know why the beast killed to save my friend. Maybe there’s the smallest connection between the two of us, between girl and monster. But as the leaves are ripped beneath large, golden paws I’m not so sure. The Manticore is a creature made of bloodlust and vicious intentions. I doubt there’s any part of it that cares about anyone other than itself.

The beast steps into a clearing lit by moonlight and shakes out its fur, the feathers of its wings tickling my ears—its ears. I shake my head instinctively to get rid of the irritation but the beast’s head stays still. It doesn’t care about what aggravates me. I doubt it even knows what aggravates me. I might have thoughts but this creature is mindless.

The beast turns suddenly, my head spinning with the motion, and it regards the trees, all tall and close together, their braches reaching out and speckled with leaves. My hearing strains for a noise—I’m not sure what startled the beast.

A low, guttural growl comes from the depths of the beast’s stomach and I finally see what the Manticore heard. A middle aged man comes from behind a wide trunked service tree, the vibrant leaves contrasting against the intentionally dark brown of his jacket. He meant to blend in, whoever this man is. I futilely try to urge the beast away, to turn and run, but the Manticore will never back down.

I can tell by the rumble coming from its mouth—my mouth—and the way its claws are ripping up the earth that it’s going to attack. I’m going to kill another person. The terror and dread wants to churn my stomach but my body is no longer mine. It poisons my mind instead, fills me with visions of bloody limbs and skin torn open.

By the time the man has produced a gun from behind his back it’s too late for me to realise he’s a hunter and too late for the beast to react to the threat. The hunter fires his shotgun and absolute, blinding agony shocks through me, uniting Yasmin and the Manticore for one second in merciless pain.

But then the beat is lumbering to its feet, paws gripping for purchase, and I’m reminded that I don’t decide what happens with my body. It’s a detached, lonely feeling, and at the same time the worst terror imaginable. For something to decide where you go, what you do, what you see …

The beast races out of the clearing and around tree trunks, its usual speed affected by the gunshot wound in its shoulder. The pain seems to pulse louder in my head, becoming something dark and large and demanding. I’m not sure how much longer I can stand this.

I’m sure, suddenly, that I’m going to die. And in this moment, dying as the beast is the worst thing I can think of.

The beast’s ears prick to the sound of footsteps but by now it can’t move at all. All it can do is raise its large head, pull downy wings around itself as a flimsy, useless shield, and watch as the owner of the footsteps nears us.

Wide, green eyes are right in front of my eyes, bushy brown eyebrows drawn low and accompanied by a frown. A girl. A girl in the woods. Thank you, I think at this stranger but I have no Majick in this form so she doesn’t hear my gratitude. This is an angel come to deliver me a swift death, to save me from this excruciating feeling.

I relinquish my grip on consciousness and let the waiting blackness swallow me.



Playlist:



About The Author:


Saruuh Kelsey is the author of the Lux Guardians series. Her debut and the first in series, THE FORGOTTEN, a YA science fiction set in Victorian London and London 25 years in the future, is out now for free. Book two, THE REVELATION, releases October 7th. THE BEAST OF CALLAIRE, the first novel of a new YA fantasy series, with a same sex paranormal romance, is out May 20th.





Giveaway:

 2 Beast of Callaire paperbacks and one swag pack consisting of a paperback, postcards, stickers, and a tote bag open Internationally. 
 


 

Friday, May 23, 2014

Month9Books Friday Reveal - Predator by Janice Gable Bashman







 Welcome to the Cover Reveal for

 

PREDATOR

 by 

Janice Gable Bashman

 

presented by Month9Books!


Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!


JBashman_M9B_Predator_REV2_900x1350

"Predator is a fast-paced, creepy page-turner! Bashman had me at the opening sentence and she's still got me. I want more!"
Nancy Holder, New York Times Bestselling Author, The Rules
The hunt is on!

Sixteen-year-old Bree Sunderland must inject herself with an untested version of her father’s gene therapy to become a werewolf in order to stop a corrupt group of mercenaries from creating a team of unstoppable lycanthrope soldiers.

When Bree went with her scientist father to Ireland, she thought it would be a vacation to study bog bodies. She never expected to fall in love with a mysterious young Irishman and certainly never expected to become the kind of monster her father said only existed in nightmares. Dr. Sunderland discovers that lycanthropy was not a supernatural curse but rather a genetic mutation. When they return home, her dad continues his research, but the military wants to turn that research into a bio weapons program and rogue soldiers want to steal the research to turn themselves into unstoppable killing machines.

Bree’s boyfriend Liam surprises her with a visit to the United States, but there are darker surprises in store for both of them. As evil forces hunt those she loves, Bree must become an even more dangerous hunter to save them all.

Predator gives the werewolf legend a couple of new spins by introducing the Benandanti (an actual folkloric belief that certain families of Italy and Livonia were werewolves who fought against evil), as well as a modern scientific approach to mutation and the science of transgenics.

add to goodreads


 Title: PREDATOR
Publication Date: October 14 , 2014
Publisher: Month9Books, LLC.
Author: Janice Gable Bashman



Chapter-by-Chapter-header---About-the-Author
Janice Gable Bashman
 Janice Gable Bashman is the Bram Stoker nominated author of Wanted Undead or Alive and Predator. She is managing editor of the The Big Thrill (International Thriller Writers' ezine).  Janice lives with her family in the Philadelphia area, where she at work on her next novel. Visit her at janicegablebashman.com.



 Connect with the Author:  Website | Twitter Facebook | Goodreads




Chapter-by-Chapter-header---Giveaway
Complete the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win!
(Winners will receive their book on release day)






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Friday, May 16, 2014

Month9Books Friday Reveal - King of the Mutants by Samantha Verant (& Giveaway!)




                           Welcome to the Cover Reveal for

 

King of the Mutants

 by 

Samantha Verant

 

presented by Tantrum Books/Month9Books!

 Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!


SVerant_KingoftheMutants_eCover_900x1350


 Can one boy stop a nefarious plot to turn kids into super-mutants?

Maverick Mercury enjoys his life as the sideshow attraction known as “Gator Boy” at Grumbling’s Traveling Circus and Sideshow.
His freakish mutations are the result of some billionaire geneticist’s experiments gone awry. But life as a mutant is about to get worse, as Maverick uncovers a plot to kidnap kids, turns them into super-mutants, and sells their powers to the highest bidder.
Now, Maverick is on a mission to find the mad scientist who may have created him and destroy his sinister plans!

add to goodreads


Title: King of the Mutants
Publication Date: October 21, 2014
Publisher: Tantrum Books/Month9Books, LLC.
Author: Samantha Verant


Chapter-by-Chapter-header---About-the-Author
Samantha VerantSamantha Vérant is a travel addict, a self-professed oenophile, and a determined, if occasionally unconventional, French chef. Over the years, she’s visited many different countries, lived in many places, and worked many jobs— always on the search for the one thing that truly excited her. Then, one day, she found everything she’s been looking for: a passion for the written word and true love. Writing not only enabled her to open her heart, it led her to southwestern France, where she’s now married to a sexy French rocket scientist she met over twenty years ago, a stepmom to two incredible kids, and the adoptive mother to one ridiculously expensive Bengal cat. When she’s not trekking from Provence to the Pyrénées, tasting wine in American-sized glasses, or embracing her inner Julia Child while deliberating what constitutes the perfect boeuf bourguignon, Samantha is making her best effort to relearn those dreaded conjugations.
Connect with the Author:  Website | Twitter Facebook | Goodreads



Chapter-by-Chapter-header---Giveaway
Complete the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win!
(Winners will receive their book on release day)







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Dangerous Protector by Milly Taiden ~ Blog Tour!





Dangerous Protector
Federal Paranormal Unit 2
If you run from love, you're asking for a chase... 
James Brock lived the past ten years without the woman he loves. Using his job as head of the Federal Paranormal Unit to help others, he's done a good job of ignoring his lack of a personal life until she returns. His salvation. His first love. 
Cynthia Vega had a very good reason to leave the only man she loved after she'd accepted his marriage proposal. Now she's back as his boss. And he's not willing to ignore their chemistry or the past. 
Brock is determined to claim his mate and prove that their passion is even hotter than before. He wants her and her explanation behind their separation. Except, some secrets won't stay buried in the past. Brock will fight his demons to follow her lead, but Cynthia's reluctance to explain their lost love may be the one key to their destruction...


 
BUY LINKS






Add Dangerous Protector to your GR TBR Pile!




                                     


Excerpt

Dangerous Protector
© Milly Taiden, Latin Goddess Press 2014
Chapter One

Sirens blared. One after another the police cruisers and fire department vehicles sped by in a rush. A honk sounded from behind James Brock’s SUV. He glanced over his shoulder.
This moron is trying to cause an accident,” Tony Ramirez, one of the Federal Paranormal Unit team members, yelled at the rearview mirror.
Brock glanced over his shoulder. A black Sedan tailed close behind them. Too close.
Ramirez gripped the wheel so hard his tanned knuckles turned white. “I’m already doing eighty.”
Tony, let them by.”
There was something big going on. He curled his hands into fists in his lap. He knew what it was. They all knew.
Where do you think they’re all going, Brock?” The concern in Jane Donovan’s voice momentarily choked him. Her soft lilt reminded him of his mother’s voice. At first appearance, you’d think Donovan was a weak woman, but make her angry, and you’d have hell to pay.
Tension turned palpable with its own heartbeat in the fast-moving SUV.
I can take a wild guess.”
They made a sharp corner on a bend into a dirt road. The SUV skidded on its wheels for a second. Everyone held on while they bounced in their seats.
Jesus H. Christ, Ramirez! Can you not to get us killed before we get there,” Donovan growled.
Sorry, cariño, but there is no time to be worried about your delightful ass bouncing on the seat when we have to find a missing kid.”
I told you to stop calling me darling!”
Ramirez…” Brock sighed.
Their constant bickering wasn’t unusual, so he ignored it and focused on the scene ahead. Multiple police cars parked outside the house he’d called the local PD on. The house he knew had the latest missing person they had been searching for.
Oh, God!” Fear laced Donovan’s whisper.






Author Bio

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Hi! I'm Milly (AKA April Angel) I love to write sexy stories. They're usually either paranormal or contemporary with a large dose of heat. My paranormal stories can be anything from wolf-shifters (my favorites) to witches, demons and anything in between. I was born the prettiest part of the Caribbean known as the Dominican Republic. Currently, I live in New York City with my hubby, the bossy kiddo and our little dog "Needy Speedy". Don't ask.

When I'm not working some really long hours at the day job, or hanging out in the awful life-sucking invention known as Facebook, messaging my bestie in the UK or shopping with my sis Julie, then I can be found watching scary movies. Buuut when I'm not doing that, I'm usually writing because the voices won't shut up.

I am addicted to shoe shopping, chocolate (but who isn't, right?) and Dunkin' Donuts coffee.
Come by and visit me! I love to meet new readers!

Website: millytaiden.com 






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Monday, May 12, 2014

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender





Title: The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender
Author: Leslye Walton
Genre: Children's Fiction/Teens/YA
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Publication Date: March 25, 2014


Synopsis: 

Magical realism, lyrical prose, and the pain and passion of human love haunt this hypnotic generational saga.

Foolish love appears to be the Roux family birthright, an ominous forecast for its most recent progeny, Ava Lavender. Ava—in all other ways a normal girl—is born with the wings of a bird. In a quest to understand her peculiar disposition and a growing desire to fit in with her peers, sixteen-year old Ava ventures into the wider world, ill-prepared for what she might discover and naïve to the twisted motives of others. Others like the pious Nathaniel Sorrows, who mistakes Ava for an angel and whose obsession with her grows until the night of the Summer Solstice celebration. That night, the skies open up, rain and feathers fill the air, and Ava’s quest and her family’s saga build to a devastating crescendo. First-time author Leslye Walton has constructed a layered and unforgettable mythology of what it means to be born with hearts that are tragically, exquisitely human.

 Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18166936-the-strange-and-beautiful-sorrows-of-ava-lavender?ac=1


*My Review* 
5 Unbelievably Amazing Stars 

* I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley *

Trying to describe this book would be like trying to describe air...or color. Sure there are words I could use to get my point across but they would never be adequate enough to do it justice.

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender is kind of epic. I could try to describe it to you but I won't even come close. The best comparison I can come up with, after much internal debate, is the movie "Big Fish" and that's not even close, not really. I found a few small quotes in the book that stood out to me...

#1 is "whimsical beauty"
 and 
#2 is "a strange kind of attractiveness"

If I had to, these quotes would be the ones I would pick to describe this book. It was kind of strange and sad and magical...and so beautiful.

Do yourself a favor and take a chance on a book that you are not likely to ever forget.  


Buy Links: 




* Check Out NetGalley For Yourself. Sign up for FREE and connect with some truly awesome books and authors and publishing companies, including the very cool Candlewick Press and many more! * 
 

November Foxtrot by Scarlett Jade ~ Blitz!!





September Tango was last summer's whirlwind romance, and now Calvin and Zoe are back in November Foxtrot, the latest installment in the Rhythm of the Heart Series by Scarlett Jade.
We learned about their lives and fell for their love story in September Tango, and now while they are apart we will be in the trenches fighting right along with them for their romance in November Foxtrot. Zoe has a secret that could tear the tentative bond they have apart. As the holidays arrive and they are brought back together, trouble mars the magic of their love. Life, death, drama and hope... Will their love survive? Or will their relationship become the refuse tossed among the waves on the beach?



 NOVEMBER FOXTROT 
Book 2 
Rhythm Of The Heart Series

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
 
Zoe is left all alone in Colorado when Calvin returns to Afghanistan. And now, as the weeks pass, she has a secret...a secret that could crumble the precarious foundation of their relationship. As Christmas comes one shock after another leaves everything hanging in the balance... Life, death, and hope...Will they be able to ring in the New Year in happiness, or will the holidays be ruined?
  


 PURCHASE LINKS:
 



 SEPTEMBER TANGO 
Book 1 
Rhythm Of The Heart Series

SEPTEMBER TANGO IS FREE EVERWHERE!

BOOK SYNOPSIS:

Recommended for 18+ due to adult language and sexual situations.

Zoe Parker and Calvin Hall grew up together in the small town of Major, Alabama but were always separated by one person, his ex-girlfriend and her former best friend Callie. Zoe always loved him from afar and he never noticed her. After being gone for five years with the military he is back home and over a campfire they reconnect and sparks finally fly. Their passion runs hot and lost time is made up for as he realizes she is what he wants. Lies, deceit, and pain mar the magic they've made together, and through it all they realize that the one constant they have is each other. When Calvin is called back early for duty will they keep on dancing or will it simply be a September Tango? 



PURCHASE LINKS:
B&N - http://bit.ly/1ojDSLS 






ABOUT SCARLETT JADE

 Scarlett Jade is just a small town girl with big dreams who loves to write. She has always been found from a young age with her brow furrowed, scribbling words on paper or her nose in a book. Now that she is grown, life isn't much different, she still scribbles words, but mostly on the computer, and her nose is permanently glued to e-books! She is married to the man of her dreams, her real life knight in shining armor and Prince Charming and has one son who is the apple of her eye. You can typically find her playing in the dirt with her son, toying with her indoor vegetable garden, or snuggled on the couch with her dog Peanut Butter, reading a good book. She loves chocolate, thinks coffee should be a religion, and loves to make people laugh with her quirky sense of humor. She is bold, brazen, and even been told she's ballsy, but she doesn't mind, she takes it in stride. She has a huge passion for all things paranormal and spicy love stories that leave you turning the pages and dying to slide between the sheets of the next book!

 Scarlett Jade and blogger Not Everyone’s Mama are celebrating 4000 likes by giving away a $40 Amazon gift card.  More than 40 authors and bloggers (and an editor) came together to add almost 70 other prizes for you to win!  Ends 5/11/14 midnight CST.