Breathless (Heartless #3) by Kelly Martin Blog Tour (Excerpt + Review)

Title: Breathless (Heartless, Book Three)
Author: Kelly Martin
Genre: YA Paranormal
Hosted by: Lady Amber’s PR

There's good.

There's evil.

Then there's her.

When Gracen Sullivan stabbed Hart Blackwell, she thought it was over. She thought the world was safe-- safe from her. Stuck in the Abyss, watching as the evil inside her body takes over, she has to find some way to stop it.

Hart Blackwell expected to wake up in Hell. Instead, he woke up in his grave. With the world falling apart, he has to put the bad history with his brother in the past or there will be no future.

Armageddon has been set in motion. Enemies will have to work together or everything will end in fire and brimstone.

The Abomination is here. And she must be stopped no matter the consequences.

Buy Links:
#Free with #KindleUnlimited Heartless (Book One): http://amzn.to/1P8YzVI
Soulless (Book Two): http://amzn.to/1Uu1ijs
Breathless (Book Three): http://amzn.to/1Upr3Rd
Hart (Book Four): http://amzn.to/1V5TRvo

Kelly Martin writes paranormal, contemporary, historical, and YA fiction. She has been married for over ten years and has three rowdy, angelic daughters. When she's not writing, she loves taking picture of abandoned houses, watching horror gamers on YouTube-- even though she's a huge wimp-- and drinking decaf white chocolate mochas. She's a total fangirl, loves the 80s and 90s, and has a sad addiction to paranormal TV shows. {Basically, she likes creepy stuff.} Her favorite characters are the very flawed 'good guys'-- and 'bad guys' who don't know they are evil. She loves giving her readers books with unexpected twists and turns, but (here's a hint) most of her books have the ending spelled out in the first chapter. See if you can figure it out. If you ever have a question or comment, feel free to email her at kellymartin215 @ yahoo . com ♥ You can follow her writing adventure at www.kellymartinbooks.com.

Author Links: 

Instagram: https://instagram.com/kellymartin215/
My "nerd" group on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1451773008377850/
Kelly's Heartbreakers (my official street team): https://www.facebook.com/groups/922087044551273/
Newsletter: http://kellymartinbooks.blogspot.com/p/subscribe-to- our-newsletter.html
Blog: www.kellymartinbooks.blogspot.com
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBSQGJ5gViQ- 0ajHRvWUqaA
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1RiFqC4
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KellyMartinAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/martieKay
tumblr: martiekay.tumblr.com
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/KMBooks

Hart:

"Lucien! Slow down! Wait for me!" The sounds all around us drown out my words. I can barely hear them, and I'm right there with me. I'm sure Lucien doesn't hear. I can't even see him anymore.

What I do see, through the wind whipping my hair in my eyes and squinting through the rain, is a dim light in the distance. I don't know if it’s a house or a barn or a serial killer's cabin. I don't know. I don't care. All I know is that I see it, and I want to be there. It has to be warmer and drier than out here in the middle of the woods.
Out here where any bear or wolf or fox could pounce on us and rip us to shreds.
Though I haven't heard any animal since we started into the woods.
I'm sure that's totally a great sign.

Could this get any worse?

A hand grasps my shoulder and pulls me back.

I’m pinned down on the ground before I can fully comprehend what’s going on. I can’t see what’s holding me down, but I know it can’t be my brother. I claw at its face to try to get up, but my hands are pinned down over my head, and I can’t make my legs move.
I’m trapped.

The lightning fills the sky.
For a split second, I can see.
For a split second, I wish I couldn’t.

*****

My Thoughts:

"Hope is a dangerous thing. The most dangerous thing on the planet. Hope kills more dreams than anything. Hope, if we aren't very careful, will kill the world." 

As I type this review, I just set my Nook down after finishing Breathless. My thoughts are wow. A lot to handle right now. I've caught all the feels. All. The. Feels. As you guys will well-remember, I just recently discovered Kelly Martin with this series earlier this year and it absolutely blew my mind. This series and I found one another at the perfect time in my life and for that I have been extremely grateful. For three full novels now, I have had my bookish world turned upside down. I can;t even begin to describe the emotional journey this series has led me on. After so many incredible novels, could Breathless live up to its' predecessors?

Yes. Oh hell yes. 

Readers of Heartless and Soulless will be extremely happy to know that Breathless is very much in the same vein. In fact, all of these stories could just be called episodes to one huge story as they are all very much dependent upon one another. Picking up shortly after Soulless left off, Breathless may be Martin's most spellbinding adventure to date!

When it comes to the plot of Breathless, be ready for an adventure. Literally. Through time and realms, Gracen is on a mission to stop the Abomination and save the world from its' bitter end. With the pieces of the machine already in motion, it's going to take the combined efforts of human, angel, and demon to save the world, but even that may not be enough.

This is a relatively short read so I really have to be careful of what I say to avoid any plot spoilers, but I can definitely tell you without hesitation that if you were a fan of books one and two, you will love book three. It's incredible to say the least. I will warn you though, it ends on Martin's most emotional cliffhanger yet. Bring the tissues folks. You've been warned.

Thankfully, Martin has already established all the groundwork in this world so there were no new characters to meet in Breathless. As a result, we really get some incredible insight to our existing characters and their stories. The character building was absolutely incredible and one of the most unique I have seen. Breathless is told from FOUR different character's POV. Yes, four. Don't worry, each narrative is necessary and doesn't repeat from the plot at all. In fact, I could have used a fifth at times!

One thing I really didn't expect out of this novel was the deep religious roots it shared at times. I've read several novels as of late with religious undertones, but this one is probably the one who has done it the best. Martin has delivered an incredible tale full of spirit without drowning her readers in scripture or history. She took her own unique twist on the scriptural tale and crafted a story that readers of all faiths and walks of life can enjoy.

Martin really hits home with some incredibly hard hitting themes in Brethless.  It's an extremely deep read that really resonated with me for many reasons. If you can read this series without catching all the feels, you've done something wrong. With reflections on topics such as: faith, family, love, forgiveness, acceptance, fate, destiny, and so many more, Martin opened the floodgates of emotion and really let them roar. It was a beautiful adventure in reading. 

As you guys can clearly see, I was a huge fan of Breathless. As far as the series goes, I'm going to be keeping a very close eye on Martin in the future and cannot wait until Reckless (book four) is released this fall. In the meantime, Martin has already released Hart, a novella chronicling the human life of Jessup Hart Blackwell, the male MC in the series. I'll be devouring it soon!

All-in-all, it should come as absolutely no surprise that I am granting Breathess by Kelly Martin a near-perfect 5-star review. I seriously couldn't rave any more if I tried. I can absolutely tell you that I'll be closely following this series until the very end.  A truly unique read, Martin ignites a flame with her elegant words, captivating settings, and enough psychological insight to keep even the most hesitant of readers satisfied. Don't miss your chance to add this one to your TBR today.

*****

There you have it, my stop on the blog tour for Breathless by the incredible Kelly Martin! You guys know how much I love this series so I can't tell you to go one-click fast enough! Go, go now! Thanks so much for stopping by and a huge thanks to the author and Lady Amber's PR for allowing me to participate. Until next time, Happy Reading!

-Ethan

Insta-Hate by Casey L. Bond Release Day Launch + Review

Hello readers! Ethan here on this Tuesday to bring you another great post. Today I am so excited to be sharing the release day launch for one of my favorite authors, C. L. Bond! In addition to being release day, I'm also offering up my thoughts on the novel. Casey is a powerhouse of an author and I'm so excited to see this story hit the shelves. Before we get to my thoughts, here's a bit about the novel and our author:

Title: Insta-Hate
Author: C.L. Bond
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Cover Designer: Regina Wamba at Mae I Design and Photography
Models: Nathan Weller and Layla Hill
Photographer: Dark Feather Photog
Interior Design: Allyson Gottlieb, Athena Book Designs
Editor: Stacy Sanford, The Girl with the Red Pen
Expected Release Date: May 17 th , 2016
Hosted by: Lady Amber’s PR

When Alexandria Ray’s romance series becomes an overnight sensation, the world and its demands close in on her. After years of struggling to maintain the pace her publisher, agent and the world expects, she needs a break. Enrolling as a student at Columbia University is step one to finding herself again. Finding Arsen Daniel was not on her list.

Arsen Daniel, along with his best friend, built an empire in the form of an exclusive, psychology-based dating service. When an old friend invites him to teach a course at Columbia, he accepts. The course? The Psychology of Love. Sounds simple enough and the publicity alone will make it worth his time.

Arsen didn’t expect to meet his match in the form of a sarcastic blonde, hell bent on holding to her belief that true love doesn’t actually exist. After all, what woman, especially a world-renowned romance writer, doesn’t believe in happily ever after?

Something in Alexandria’s eyes tortures him. She reminds him of someone from his past and that is a very bad thing.

     

Casey L. Bond

Casey L. Bond resides in Milton, West Virginia with her husband and their two beautiful daughters.
When she’s not busy being a domestic goddess and chasing her baby girls, she loves to write young adult and new adult fiction.

In 2003, Bond graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Marshall University in the field of Criminal Justice. 

Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Website

*****

My Thoughts:

"It was because I was walking straight towards a future I didn't want and felt powerless to change But sometimes, life changes a person's circumstances. Sometimes, the circumstances of a person's life change them forever."

As a huge fan of C. L. Bond, I knew I was going to devour anything she put forth into the market. While I've been an avid fan and reader of her YA/NA material, I hadn't taken the plunge and devoured a piece of her contemporary romance literature as of yet. When granted the opportunity to check out Insta-Hate, how could I refuse? Could it live up to the Bond name and legacy as her other works did?

It's true Bond, that's for sure! 

I'll go ahead and get the negatives out of the way for this one. While I enjoyed the novel overall, my biggest faults came within the plot of this one. Bond has always captivated me with her twists and turns and unpredictable endings, but this one really fell short of that I was expecting in the end. Now that's not to say it wasn't a good read, it was just far to.... convenient. And honestly unbelievable at points. While I definitely appreciated the landscape of the characters and their plights, there were several times within the story that I found myself feeling less than excited by the sheer predictability of the plot. At times, it really read much like a soap opera, which is a phenomenal compliment in some aspects, but for a reader who is extremely picky with his romance reads, this one missed the bar for me. 

I truly hate to criticize the works of an author I respect as much as I do Bond, but in terms of plot, Insta-Hate really didn't do it for me. Now, that being said, Bond excelled in several other aspects of the novel. 

When it came to the characters, I was impressed from page one. Bond really did an incredible job weeding out the imperfections in each character and really allowed them to come into their own throughout the story. In the end, I was thoroughly impressed with the development we saw within the sub-characters, even if I wasn't particularly thrilled about the plot at times. I was particularly impressed by the development of the character of Lexie. Her development throughout the story really was a selling point for me. Again, at times it was a bit confusing, but by the end, I had developed a great appreciation for the message Bond conveyed through Lexie's development. Arsen was a great character, but I really didn't see the development I was hoping from him by the time the novel ended. In fact, a few of his actions had me really questioning his maturity at times. 

I'm a little conflicted when it comes to the theme of Insta-Hate. It's by no means a 'light' novel, but it isn't exactly 'heavy' either. There were several opportunities within the plot for Bond to push our emotions to the edge and create that lasting impression we often see with NA Romances, however, as gripping as the story was, I never really felt the extreme emotional pull I was hoping for. I do believe that Bond touched on some huge themes in Insta-Hate that will resonate well with its' readers. Themes such as adulthood, facing your past, life, death, family, and love will leave you pondering your own life long after finishing the novel. Hopefully in a more positive light than our characters in Insta-Hate at times! New adult romance readers will be thrilled by the way Bond wraps up the ending to this novel in a nice perfect, happy package. It's one of those stories that left me feeling warm, even if it wasn't a favorite of mine. It's a true testament to the talent of Bond to transcend the boundaries of writing by publishing in multiple genres and managing to excel at them all. 

While I didn't find Insta-Hate to be my new favorite Bond novel, the writing was solid and the characters were written extremely well. While the plot left a bit to be imagined for my tastes, I still found it to be a worthwhile read worth of praise for fans of the genre. That being said, I am granting Insta-Hate by C.L. Bond a 4-star review. Being the first in a new series, I am confident that my issues with book one will be addressed in future installments as Bond finds her footing in this new adventure in publishing. I recommend this novel to any fans of NA Romance or contemporary lit. Add this one to your TBR today!

*****

Alright readers, that's all I have for you today on the topic of Insta-Hate by C.L. Bond, while it wasn't my favorite in the genre, I still enjoyed the characters and the world that Bond built. I can't wait to see where she goes next with this series. Add it to your TBR today! Huge thanks to the author and Lady Amber's PR for allowing me to participate. Until next time, Happy Reading!

-Ethan