Ensnared cover reveal and $25 Amazon gift card giveaway!

Welcome to the cover reveal of Ensnared by Kriston Johnson! Ensnared is the second book in The Legends of Elyndia series. The first book is Awakened. This is a young adult fantasy and will be available in August 2015.

About the book:
Facing monstrous demons, a ravenous dragon, and a malicious faerie queen are the least of Jade’s worries. 

It has been a fortnight since Jade confronted Draven, and he has emerged from the battle more terrifying than ever. Armed with a new plan and fueled with unrelenting determination, Draven casts a dark spell and calls forth new players that no one ever expected, bringing him one step closer to opening the portal to The Fathom.

Back at the Citadel, the people are divided and succumbing to the dark magic that threatens to encompass the entire realm. To unravel a tangled web of hidden truths, Jade plays a dangerous game of her own and works in secret to uncover something the Council is refusing to share. But the more she learns, the more she begins to question if she is doing the right thing.

Jade vows to bring an end to the madness she feels responsible for and works to harness her elemental power, but unforeseen consequences arise. Her power is growing beyond what she can control, and it’s on the verge of destroying her from within. 

Was learning to use her magical ability the beginning…or the beginning of the end?

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Check out book one, Awakened, available now!

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About author Kriston Johnson:
Kriston Johnson lives in Southwest Washington with her husband, teenage son, and miniature Australian Shepherd. Her home rests at the fringe of an old growth forest that she insists is the home of Jason Voorhees. Her husband thinks that’s a ridiculous assumption, because everyone knows it’s really Bigfoot. Every summer Kriston participates in the annual pilgrimage to Faerieworlds, a real life faerie realm here on Earth, and has an unhealthy obsession with Star Wars, The Vampire Diaries, and Iron Man. 

Find Kriston:  Blog   Facebook   Twitter @KristonJohnson

Giveaway:

Enter to win a $25 Amazon gift card. Ends June 3, 2015

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This event was organized by CBB Book Promotions.

Tripp (The Life series #2) release day excerpt and giveaway!

Welcome to the release event for Tripp by Kristen Kehoe, a companion novel to Life Interrupted. Scroll down to check out some teasers as well as enter a giveaway of a necklace from Stella & Dot.  Tripp is a Mature Young Adult Contemporary Novel and is now available for sale!

About the book:
Because there are two sides to every story…

I’ve never been the guy who shied away from taking the ball. I’m an athlete; I thrive on the court, and I thrive in life because I don’t shy away from taking chances.

Except that one time.

Except with Rachel.

I fell in love with my best friend when we were ten, and she almost put her fist in my face when I tried to defend her against a fifth grade bully. I didn’t tell her that day that I loved her, or any of the ones following, because she had proved she didn’t need me, and even at a young age, I knew the opposite was true for me.

I needed Rachel with every breath I took, and it scared the ever-loving crap out of me.

Being the mature young man I am (cough), I tried to ignore it. I dated someone else; I stayed Rachel’s friend and watched her from afar because when you love someone who has the potential to break you into a million unrecoverable pieces, that’s what you do.  You watch from afar and you never reveal your true feelings because it’s safer to hide them than to admit them.

Until it’s not. Until the day you take a step forward and alter both of your worlds completely, only to discover that you’ll never, ever be over her.

This is my story – my story of Rachel and everything I did and didn’t do, everything I said and forgot to say, and everything I felt before and after we made our biggest mistake and walked away from each other.

She told her side – now it’s my turn. I’m including our past, holding nothing back from her ever again, so she better be ready for me.

Mature Young Adult

 ***This is the companion novel to LIFE INTERRUPTED (The Life series Book 1) released January 2014. It can be read as a standalone, as it is different from Rachel’s story.

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Excerpt:
“Tripp,” Stacy says. I snap to the present. “Are you ready?”

I wipe my palms on my jeans and nod. “What do you need?”

Following Stacy’s instructions, I walk down the hall into Rachel’s room. The light is on; I can see the small form under the blankets before I peel them away and scoop my arms under her even though she protests. I want her to fight, even prepare myself for it, but right away I see what Stacy’s talking about. There’s nothing inside of Rachel—even as she attempts to thrash in my arms, I barely have to tighten my hold on her while I carry her to the bathroom. The girl who has so often put me on my ass from one punch has no muscle, and worse, she has no spirit.

Nothing about the girl in my arms right now is the Rachel I’ve always known. The lack of fight worries me more than the lack of weight.

Stacy’s already pushed the shower curtain back. I put Rachel inside, ignoring her half-hearted protests as I turn the water on cold and high. When she screams—the real-deal scream full of terror and anger—the vise on my chest loosens a little and I’m so grateful I could break down and weep. My hands are full because she’s putting much more effort into fighting me than she was a second ago. I forget about how cold the water is on my skin, or the fact that she looks like a ghost with dark circles under her eyes and a pasty pallor to her normally warm skin, and I talk to her while I hold her there.

“That’s right, Rachel, fight me. You fight me and you come back. Do you hear me? We need you, Rachel. We need you to fight.” She screams more, shoving at me with her hands, but I don’t budge. I encourage her as I see the color start to slowly seep into her cheeks. “Come on, baby, come back to us. Come back to me.”

I whisper the last part. I don’t know if it was the words or the fact that she’s finally opened up enough to feel the weight of it all, but she breaks—the dam cracking and flooding. Instead of being angry, she’s devastated.

My heart cracks and my lungs seize; she falls into a sobbing heap. I turn the water off and start to lift her into my lap. Whatever I promised her sister, I can’t do it; I can’t watch her break like this.

Don't miss out on Life Interrupted (The Life series #1), available now for only .99 cents for a limited time!

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About author Kristen Kehoe:

I am a writer of YA/NA contemporary novels. I write about those crazy ages of 18-23 because there is nothing scarier than being told to grow up and decide what to do with your life and who to be so suddenly. I write about love because it’s my belief that love, in one form or another, saves us all at some point in our lives. I am married to a man who understands and believes in me, and mother to a beautiful baby girl and a neurotic Great Dane Puppy.

Find Kristen:  Website   Facebook   Twitter

Giveaway:

Enter to win a necklace from Stella & Dot. Open to US addresses only. Ends May 6

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This event was organized by CBB Book Promotions.

Magic Within

About the book:
Nancy, a purple-haired witch, has never fit in with the kids in town. She has always felt something was deeply wrong with her. When Josh, her best friend, is attacked by a werewolf, Nancy seeks a potion to save him from the werewolf curse within him. But Josh’s fate--werewolf or human--is his to decide, when the potion is injected during his transition at the full of the moon.

Nancy, too, must make a choice. Her mother, her best friend, and a steadfast young man all see the magic within her. Can she finally accept who she is and give love a chance?

With the full moon fast approaching Nancy must save her best friend Josh from becoming a werewolf forever and find the magic within her. 

Excerpt:
In the blackness of the night, Josh growled from deep inside his body. The pain was intense. More than anything he’d experienced. He gasped and stared at the alluring full moon. His body violently twisted.

He looked at his contorted hands; claws were forming. He was changing into a werewolf. This couldn’t be possible. He never even tasted human flesh and yet he’d always envied the power and freedom of Eric. To have no restraints. Nothing to constrain his behavior. Pure freedom.

“No!” he screamed into the night. Not him. Yet the stupid darkness had always appealed to him. He had even wanted to be a bloodsucker. Did evil lurk within his soul? Was this his fate? To be changed into a monster?

He frantically looked for Nancy, Nick and his sister. They were floating barely above him on the broomsticks. Horror flooded their faces, and tears filled his sister’s eyes.

Samantha dipped her broom lower. “No, Josh, please don’t do this.” Nick raised his gun.

Nancy quickly pushed it down. Josh’s body quivered. “Kill me.”

About author Sara Fitzgerald:

Sara lives with her husband and seven-year-old daughter in Salt Lake City. She loves romance, intrigue, writing and exploring the city with her family. Her two favorite parts of the day are reading bedtime stories with her daughter and hanging out with her husband.

Find Sara: Website  

Tempest

By Julie Cross

Tempest seems to be a polarizing book. Either you love it or you hate it. In order to love it, readers need to accept Cross’ time travel rules. Forget what you know of time travel and go into this book with an open mind.

The book opens with Jackson doing a time travel experiment to prove to his friend and science geek, Adam, that what he does in the past doesn’t influence the present time. The theory is shown true until several days later when Jackson is ambushed by several mysterious people, his girlfriend Holly is fatally shot, and Jackson actually “jumps” two years into the past. Now he must figure out how to get back to his present time and save Holly from getting killed. Along the way, he uncovers killer secrets and lies that his father kept while raising Jackson.

So, Jackson can go into the past, do whatever he wants, and come back to the future with little or no repercussions. How is that possible? Well, you find out in the middle of the book that ***SPOILER: Jackson is a half-breed. His mom was a time-traveler and his dad was human, so when he jumps he can half jump (with his body still in the present and mind in the past) or full jump (his body and mind change times) END SPOILER*** This revelation can allow readers to understand the reason why Jackson can’t change things in the past when he jumps on most occasions. It is a somewhat believable explanation.

Cross creates an interesting plot line that has several twist turns and bumps along the way. It is complex but not overly complicated to follow. It keeps readers guessing who the “good guys” are. Even at the end, it is still a little unclear as to if Jackson can truly trust his dad and his organization. The ending is a tear jerker though. Readers might want to bring some Kleenex for the last few chapters.

My biggest complaint is that Jackson jumped back to the present time too easily. He learns about the various branches of time and how he could possibly jump to the present time but on another branch where his actions did affect the future. When he did get back to the current time, he jumped on the correct timeline without any detours. It seems that if he was struggling with his ability and he only fully jumped once, then it would be more difficult to find the correct timeline he was trying to get to.

Vortex is the next book in the series, and I'm looking forward to reading it. There are still enough questions left unanswered in the book to make me interested in the sequel—especially the young girl who shows Jackson a possible desolate future and says that there are people trying to make that future a reality. So many questions surround her background.

The book reminds me of the movie Jumper mixed with a touch of The Butterfly Effect. For readers that enjoy suspense, intrigue, romance, and of course sci-fi, then Tempest might be a good read for you. Just remember to keep an open mind!

Under the Never Sky

By Veronica Rossi

In The Death Shop there are many ways to die. The trick is surviving. And if you’ve grown up without being exposed to the outside elements, there’s no hope–unless you find someone to help guide you…

After an accident that gets Aria kicked out of the enclosed city of Reverie, she is thrown out into the outside world known as The Death Shop and left for dead. She soon runs into Perry, a “savage” who helps her survive and navigate the wild. Perry wants to use Aria to get back his nephew who was taken by Aria’s people, the “dwellers”. The two ultimately want to get back to Reverie, but they have to learn to rely on each other before that can happen. Can two people from opposite worlds trust each other to achieve their goals?

It takes a while for the story to get going. Aria has to be kicked out of her home before the action can happen. Once she crosses paths in the wild with Perry, the story really takes off. Together the two must survive ether storms with hungry cannibals after them and outrun wild wolves.

This will make an amazing movie that both sexes would enjoy. (oh yes, the film rights have been optioned by Warner Brothers) There’s battles with knives and archers that create action for guys while Aria and Perry’s relationship is the love story that ladies swoon over. Together it is the perfect date story/movie/book.

I love how Rossi made her main characters complete opposites of each other. One sheltered, the other raised in the wild; one is chatty, the other is quiet; one is a singer, the other is a hunter; one has sharp hearing, the other has sharp sight. It creates a large barrier each character must overcome before starting to like the other and puts a new meaning to opposites attract.

I highly recommend this book to teens and adults alike. If you enjoyed the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld, then you will definitely enjoy Under the Never Sky. There are lots of similarities between society and the wild in both books. I will definitely finish this series and look forward to picking up the second book, Through the Ever Night, that’s due to release January 2013!

Curious for more? Check out the book trailer below and I know you’ll be running out to pick up the book as soon as possible. I mean seriously, this is the best book trailer I’ve ever seen!

Black Hole Sun

By David Macinnis Gill

Before I start my review, let me say that this is the first sci-fi book I have read that is set in space–although the setting is actually on Mars. Generally that is not my favorite genre, but Gill’s book has opened my eyes to the amazing stories that I have been missing.

With that in mind, Black Hole Sun is a very fresh, original story. It is a tale of one adventure/escapade that the main character, Durango, and his crew go on. Durango is a Regulator which is like soldier that anyone can hire, sort of. He is hired by some miners and assembles a crew. The result is a story about their fast-paced, action-packed mission.

Throughout the story David Macinnis Gill introduces readers to a new set of vocabulary/lingo. Because Mars was settled by Earthlings, words and phrases from various languages are used. Although that was enjoyable, readers who aren’t near the internet or other reference materials to translate the words/phrases, miss out on the meaning. That’s why the ability to use context clues is a must in this book. Gill doesn’t explain what all of the words/phrases mean after he uses them, so it can seem pure gibberish to some readers. Readers might can figure out a word or two from context clues, but might not understand entire phrases.

All in all, this book was very enjoyable and I look forward to Gill’s second book in the series, Invisible Sun. If you enjoy military strategy mixed with interesting battles and you want an adventure that is “out of this world,” then you will enjoy this book!

Silver-White (The Great North Woods Pack #1)

Hey everyone.  Interested in something new to read? Check out Silver-White by Shawn Underhill.  Right now it is 99 cent on Amazon.  Check out what it is about below!

“The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep.”

~ Robert Frost

*Evie’s family has been holding out on her …

Big time.

On an unexpected visit to her grandparents’ house in New Hampshire’s secluded North Woods, the sixteen-year-old literally runs into the truth of the long-hidden family secrets, and finds herself thrust without warning into the clandestine world of the Great North Pack—a wild and exhilarating world of rugged beauty, heart-pounding adventures, and long nights running under a sea of stars … but as she’s set to discover, a world also fraught with potential dangers lurking in the shadows.

About the author Shawn Underhill:

Shawn is a part-time writer from New Hampshire, where he spends his free time hiking in the mountains, camping, racing dirt bikes, or anything else that keeps him outdoors. Dogs are his very favorite people. He is also the author of the novel All Things Different.

Goodreads   Facebook  Purchase: Only 99cents

Twitter: shawnunder

GIVEAWAY

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Want a sneak peak?  Check out this except from the book!

Her head was turned up to the sky, her ears pricked, waiting for the next lines. But instead of the next line of a melancholy song, she heard next a sound far too close for comfort. From directly behind her a sudden swishing sound sent her spinning on her heels. As she whirled and faced the house, a bright shape flashed into her line of sight. It was her grandfather, robed in white, suddenly standing just this side of the glass door.

“It’s time,” he said in a low, serious tone.

“N—now?” Evie stuttered. He had appeared so quickly, and her nerves were so on edge, that he had startled her.

“Now,” he answered coolly. “Do you understand how young birds learn to fly?”

“What?” she gasped.

“Do as I say.”

“Do what?” Evie began, but before she could form the words her grandfather was gone.

In one fluid motion he had stepped from his robe, dropped in height, lightened in color, spread in width, and in a blink transformed into a massive white wolf; Evie felt his great weight creaking the deck boards. Slightly smaller than the wolf of her dream, this wolf too had eyes that absorbed all of the night’s small light and reflected it in stormy pools of green. With sides swelling from his first deep breaths of the night, he stared into her with those piercing eyes. A deep rumble started low in his belly.



Praise for Silver-White 
"Simply put, this book was amazing. I've read more fantasy novels than I can count, but this one is certainly one of the best. The emotions portrayed throughout the book manifest in the reader, and the imagery is beautiful. The heroine isn't some wishy-washy pansy that screams at everything, and the focus of the story isn't on some unbelievably beautiful teenage girl who suddenly becomes the biggest, baddest member of her species falling in love with some big, bad, sexy member of her newfound species. It's about a girl becoming something she never knew existed, finding her place within the pack family she values more than ever before, and an age-old feud that threatens everything she loves. The story is fast-paced and gripping, and the purely wild emotions the heroine feels when with her pack come up off the pages and make the reader smile."
-Morgan-Leigh, Amazon reviewer

Starters

By Lissa Price

After reading the synopsis of Starters, I was very intrigued. It has such an original idea that I chose the audiobook version of it. Sometimes audioboks really enhance an author’s work and help to make it more memorable. The Starters narrator, however, definitely hurt Price’s brilliant story. The narrator offered inflection but lacked enthusiasm and it made it difficult to connect with Callie. I was tempted to not finish it, but fortunately I got a copy of the hardback version and thoroughly enjoyed the second half of her book.

In Price’s world, technology has advanced so the rich elderly people, called Enders, can “rent” teenage bodies so that they can enjoy youthful activities. The teens, called “Starters” who elect to rent their bodies have a chip implanted so the Enders can control their bodies while the Starters sleep through it.

After her parents died in the Spore Wars, Callie Woodland is doing everything she can to survive on the streets while taking care of Tyler, her younger sick brother, and avoiding the marshals who want to institutionalize orphaned street kids. The opportunity to “loan” her body to Prime Destinations for Enders’ pleasures comes with the promise of a large payday that Callie can use to take care of Tyler. During her third “rental” something goes wrong with the chip and Callie wakes up in the life of wealth and privilege. She soon learns that her Ender renter has decided to commit murder in Callie’s body. Can Callie stop this plan? And is Prime Destinations all that it appears to be?

Price creates a unique environment where an entire generation has been wiped out by the Spore Wars. I would have liked a little more background information on that war, but the story is still complete without it.

Readers will easily understand the dilemmas Callie is forced into. She’s constantly caught between a rock and a hard place with no clear direction as to what is right and wrong. She wants to stop a murder, but what’s the best way to do that when you don’t have control over your body all the time?

In addition to figuring out what to do, Callie must also decide who to trust. Price does a brilliant job throwing readers off. People who seem to be the bad guys just might be the good guys. And close confidants might not be exactly who they say they are. Readers who are good at guessing plot twists, might have a challenge figuring out all of the surprises Price has in store.

Lissa Price delivers a brilliant story that is filled with mystery, suspense, action and a hint of romance. Teens and adults alike can enjoy this dystopian sci-fi. Readers who liked Skinned by Robin Wasserman will thoroughly enjoy Starters.

I look forward to seeing where Price takes the story in her second book, Enders, which is due to come out in 2013.

Interested in more? Check out the Starters book trailer!

Divergent

By Veronica Roth

I’ve wanted to read this book for a while. Once I finally got it and cracked open the cover, I absolutely could not put it down. Roth does not lollygag around setting up the storyline, but plunges readers right into it, and once you’re in it, hang on because you are in for a wild ride!

For 16 year old Beatrice “Tris” Prior, selecting a faction will be the most important decision of her life. After her aptitude test comes back inconclusive—thereby secretly labeling her a “divergent”—she now must choose to stay with her family in the Abnegation (the selfless) faction or completely turn her back on them by choosing another faction: Erudite (the intelligent) or Dauntless (the courageous). Her decision pushes her to her physical and mental limits, and will have readers questioning whether she will make it through the faction’s initiation process.

I love that the ending of Divergent was not what I was expecting. I expected it to end right after we see if Tris passes initiation or becomes factionless. Both would position the character to make interesting decisions affecting the leaders of the dystopian society—fight them from the outside or fight them from the inside. Instead, Roth completely threw me off guard by setting up events that will resonate throughout the second and third book in the series. I didn’t see it coming and that was a thrilling surprise.

Because this is Roth’s debut novel, she initially struggles with explaining the setup of her dystopian society and doesn’t provide a detailed history of how we moved from the society we are in present day, to her faction system. I think that information would have really helped to flesh out the beginning of the story. However, Roth soon gets into a writing groove that keeps readers eager to find out what comes next.

Divergent isn’t a rainbows and butterflies type of story, but a raw, smack-you-in-the-face mix of fighting, strategizing, plotting, and backstabbing. Tris gets knocked down and has to get back up again and face her fears in order to try and make it through initiation. This is a combination of Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games that meets Ally Condie’s Matched. It is a book where even though I checked it out from the library, I have gone out and bought it and the second book, Insurgent, just so I can pass it to family and friends so they can read. Needless to day, I highly recommend it and am not surprised that Summit Entertainment is in the process of producing the movie!

Want more? Here is the book trailer.

Die for Me

By Amy Plum

This book is an absolute Must Read! Amy Plum’s style of writing quickly draws readers into the story and makes it difficult to put the book down. She creates an air of mystery around Vincent and his crew and throws in some action at the end.

 Basically, Kate Mercier and her sister come to Paris to live with their grandmother after their parents die in a car accident. Kate can’t seem to get over their deaths, and escapes mostly into books. While reading at a café one day, she meets Vincent. After several brief encounters, the two begin to see each other. After seeing one of Vincent’s friends die and running into him a few days later, Kate runs to Vincent’s house only to find him dead. It is then that she learns about revenants and their enemies the Numa.

I loved the original concept with a new species of paranormal creatures. Plum has definitely done the prep work to answer all the questions readers have when introduced to a paranormal creature. She has answered the important questions of “how they are created,” “what special abilities do they have,” “how do they die,” “how come society has never heard of revenants,” and many others. Her thoroughness definitely pays off in the story.

This story touches many different types of genres and readers. There is action, mystery, paranormal (of course), and even a little romance, so I encourage readers to pick this book up. You will not be disappointed.

The sequel, UNTIL I DIE, is already out and I can’t wait to get my hands on it! This book reminds me of Lauren Kate’s FALLEN series only better, so if you enjoyed that, then you will probably enjoy DIE FOR ME.