Showing posts with label Excerpt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Excerpt. Show all posts

Monday, July 18, 2016

November Rain (Bad Bloods #1) by Shannon A. Thompson Book Blitz (Excerpt + Giveaway)

   

November Rain 
Shannon A. Thompson
(Bad Bloods #1)
Published by: Clean Teen Publishing
Publication date: July 18th 2016
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Seventeen- year-old Serena isn’t human. She is a bad blood, and in the city of Vendona, bad bloods are executed. In the last moments before she faces imminent death, a prison guard aids her escape and sparks a revolt. Back on the streets determined to destroy her kind, Serena is spared by a fellow bad blood named Daniel. His past tragedies are as equally mysterious as her connection to them.
Unbeknownst to the two, this connection is the key to winning the election for bad bloods’ rights to be seen as human again. But Serena is the only one who can secure Vendona’s vote. Now, Daniel must unite with her before all hope is lost and bad bloods are eradicated, even if it means exposing secrets worse than death itself. United or not, a city will fight, rain will fall, and all will be threatened by star-crossed love and political corruption.
PO
EXCERPT:
“She used to tell me that a full moon is when mysterious things happen and wishes come true.” I stared at the little paper in my hands. “Do you think she tells my sister those stories?”
Daniel didn’t respond. He only listened. I had told him before I had a sister. He had probably assumed I lied, but I hadn’t. It was the truth, and it tumbled out like a story my mom created before bedtime. I tried to picture her telling stories to my sister, but nothing came. I only saw the little girl, with Mom’s hair and Dad’s eyes, standing in the road, saying my name.
“I’ve never met her,” I confessed, staring at the writing bleeding through the folded end. “I think her name is on this, but I can’t read.”
Daniel reached for it. “I can—”
“No.” I held the note against my chest. “I want to learn and read it on my own,” I explained, softer than my previous snap.
Daniel’s head tilted. “Robert never taught you.”
I wasn’t sure if it was a question or a statement, but I responded anyway. “He can’t read.”
Daniel’s eyes swept over me. He took the time to rub his face before looking away.
“He can’t read,” I repeated, studying his reaction. “Right?”
Daniel’s hand lowered to his lap. “I can teach you,” he said, and when he faced me again, he was remarkably closer than I realized. His hand moved to rest on my knee. My heart stabilized. “What else do you want?”
It was a question I had never heard before, and the way Daniel stumbled over the sentence suggested he had never been able to say it before either. Bad bloods weren’t allowed to want anything. Not even life. So, when I was asked, my mind spiraled into obscurity, never actually solidifying an answer even though I searched for one.
“I’ve never been allowed to want anything,” I confessed.
“Me neither,” Daniel agreed, and for a brief second, I was oblivious to the fact that his lips were on mine.
teaser2


Author Bio:
Shannon A. Thompson is a twenty-three- year-old author, avid reader, and habitual chatterbox. She was merely sixteen when she was first published, and a lot has happened since then. Thompson's work has appeared in numerous poetry collections and anthologies, and her first installment of The Timely Death Trilogy became Goodreads' Book of the Month. As a novelist, poet, and blogger, Thompson spends her free time writing and sharing ideas with her black cat named after her favorite actor, Humphrey Bogart. Between writing and befriending cats, she graduated from the University of Kansas with a bachelor's degree in English, and she travels whenever the road calls her.
Visit her blog for writers and readers at www.shannonathompson.com.

XBTBanner1
</XZ>

Monday, June 27, 2016

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

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

The Undoer by Melissa J. Cunningham Blog Tour (Excerpt, Author Interview, and Giveaway)


Clean Teen Publishing is proud to present, The Undoer, the third installment in Melissa J. Cunningham's The Randsomed Soul Series.


They call it The Door to Hell. It’s a blackened crater that never stops spewing up poisonous gas. But gas isn’t the only thing coming from the bowels of the Earth…

They slither out, those malevolent souls—demonic filth that wreak havoc and destroy lives. They don’t even pretend to hide…

Brecken, an ex-demon trying to find redemption, is given the task of closing The Door. It’s a seemingly impossible task. A group of teens who call themselves Cazadors will be his allies. These extraordinary youth can see the demons when no one else can, but Jag, their leader, wants nothing to do with Brecken.

Brecken must earn their confidence and defeat the demon horde infiltrating the Earth.

The Cazadors might not be much… but they are all the world has.


Watch the Trailer:



Author Interview with Melissa J. Cunningham

  • Who is your favorite character in this book. Why? Dang! I can’t decide. Seriously. I love them all so much. They are all so different, with awesome strengths and weaknesses. I love Brecken, because he’s been such a fun character since the beginning of the series. I love Heidi, as she carries my daughter’s name and becomes a badass warrior princess in this book, and I absolutely love Dean because of his heart and fierce loyalty to his friends. 
  • Who is your least favorite character in this book. Why? Lily, because she’s just a mention LOL
  • How is The Undoer different from other books in its genre? It’s not really. The title says something significant about the main character in the book. And Brecken is absolutely The Undoer. 
  • What would you say to entice a reader who isn’t familiar with the genre to read your book? That this story had EVERYTHING! Adventure, action, battles, romance, heartbreak. And if you like the paranormal, this book’s for you! 
  • What was the most challenging part about writing The Undoer? Going as slow as I had to. I had Lyme Disease, and even though I’m over it now, it left some damage behind, so now I get mentally tired REALLY fast. I was only able to write for short periods at a time. 
  • It is said that writers will always put a bit of themselves into whatever they are writing. Is that true for you? Do you relate to any of your characters? Absolutely. Every character is a piece of me in some form or fashion. I thinks it’s impossible to not do this. Everything we write about comes from our own brain. The things we remember, experience, dream about, imagine. So yeah. Since it comes from inside, they are all bits and pieces of me and the people I know, love, and care about. 
  • Some authors plan ahead, making a plot outline of how they intend for the story to unfold and some will allow their muse to take over, writing the story as it is revealed to them. What writing method did you use for The Undoer? I definitely write by the seat of my pants. I do have a rough idea where I want the story to go though, and I’ll take notes etc… but I don’t have the patience to completely outline. 
  • How long did it take you to write The Undoer? A year! Can you believe that? A freaking year! I would love to right at least two books a year and three would be even better. 
  • What was your inspiration for writing The Undoer? My publisher wanted a third book. LOL But the funny this, this has become my very favorite of all the books I’ve written. 
  • If you could sum up The Undoer in just two sentences, what would you say? I’d use the tag lines on the front cover. “He has a holy weapon. She has a fearless heart. Together they must save the world.” 





Excerpt:


Dean
The clanking of keys rattles outside my cell door. I’ve been lying here for a while, my throat growing scratchier as the minutes tick by. “Who’s there?” I call, but it only comes out as a croak.
The door squeaks open and Brutus—the guy who kidnapped me—steps in. Yeah, I gave him a nickname. It’s my thing after all. A dim light shines on him from behind. He looks bigger than before, if that’s even possible.
Time to get up,” he says with a smile in his deep, resonating voice.
When I don’t move quickly enough, he grabs me by the arm, yanking me from the metal cot. I bang my knee on a steel bar and barely find my feet before he starts hauling me out of the room. At the end of the hall, we pass through the storage room with the stairs that lead out to the alley.
We don’t go out that door though, but skirt through the storage room that’s lined with shelves of canned goods. Between two of the tall shelves, we stop at what looks like a cement wall. Brutus reaches behind some canned peaches and flicks a switch. The cement wall screeches, sliding open to reveal a long, black corridor.
The oppressive darkness in that space stretches its inky fingers and wraps them around my quivering heart. Like suffocating liana vines, squeezing the life out of its host tree, the life leaches out of me just thinking about what lies beyond this door.
I’m not going in there.” I dig in my heels, pulling back.
Brutus stares at me, his smile wide and his eyes crinkling in humor. His dark hair is slicked back with gel. He looks more like a Mafioso each time I see him. “You’ll be entertaining. You show such defiance! I almost can’t wait.”
As I glare back at him, my fingers curl into fists. Next to him, I look like a pathetic wolf pup rather than something fierce, but I want to hurt this guy. “I’m not your toy.”
No,” he says. “You won’t be. You’ll be the plaything of someone else.”


Buy Links:





Win a CTP eBook of Your Choosing!





Reluctant Guardian (Book 1)


Guarding Brecken Shaefer—a dark and dangerous rebel—is harder than it looks. 

Death was nothing like sixteen-year-old Alisa Callahan thought it would be. Resting on pink, fluffy clouds for eternity with her gram and best friend sounded like a dream come true. After all, enduring one torturous experience after another in her short life deserved some kind of reward, right? Unfortunately, eternal rewards aren't given out so freely when you take your own life. 

Required to pay the debt for her actions, Alisa must become a guardian. It sounds easy enough, but not when the boy she is forced to protect has a dangerous secret and wants absolutely nothing to do with her. 

Brecken Shaefer isn't any normal teenager. He has special gifts that are sure to make Alisa's afterlife miserable. When feelings develop between them, everything spins out of control. Not only must Alisa face her own demons— but to protect Brecken, she must face an evil so heinous that it threatens to destroy their souls completely. 

Alisa is tired of hiding from her past. When the easiest thing to do is run, can Brecken give her the strength to stay?

Buy Links:






The Elementalist (Book 2)





Deceased Alisa Callahan thinks nothing could be worse than watching the boy she loves move on in his life without her… until she is ripped from her less-than-peaceful existence in Elysium to be trapped… in someone’s else’s body.

Seventeen-year-old Claire Balister wants only one thing. To master the art of Elementalism. To accomplish this, she must to learn to control a damned soul. Her old classmate and suicide victim, Alisa Callahan, is the perfect candidate. But when the spell goes wrong, Claire finds herself in the worst possible situation… sharing her body with an unwanted guest.
Everything swirls out of control when Alisa learns her entrapment is all part of a set-up, an elaborate scheme to keep her out of the way while demons take over the realm of Idir Shaol. Her only hope rests with a boy who can’t remember her, his past, or more importantly, who he really is…
One of the bad guys.


Buy Links:


About the Author




Melissa Cunningham (also known as M.E. Cunningham) was born in Oregon but  grew up in Utah, where she was raised on a steady diet of fine literature from Charlotte’s web to the The Trumpeter Swan, and then plenty of romances in her teen years. She now lives with her husband on a little farm in northern Utah where all she can see out of her back door is miles of pasture and stunning sunsets. Not only does she raise horses, dogs, cats, and chickens, but her five kids also. When Melissa is not writing you can find her spending time in the outdoors with her family or dancing wildly to rock music in her living room. She loves running, camping, and all things fiction—scary, mind-numbing stories preferred.

Connect with Melissa:

Melissa's Website




Saturday, May 7, 2016

Bloodthorn (Olive Kennedy: Fairy World MD #3) by Tamara Grantham Book Tour


Crimson Tree Publishing is proud to present Bloodthorn, Olive Kennedy Fairy World MD Book 3, by Tamara Grantham!



Olive Kennedy doesn't believe in fairy tales.
In a desperate attempt to earn income, fairy world therapist Olive Kennedy resorts to finding clients at the Texas Renaissance Festival. When she discovers the corpse of her clientís husband discarded in her booth, she realizes that earning her next paycheck is the least of her worries.

As more of Oliveís clients fall prey to the killer, the fairy prince and princess arrive from Faythander with troubling news. The starstoneóthe fairiesí source of magicóhas been stolen, and the thief is hiding on Earth. The bloodthorn, a mythical beast born of fairy legends, is rumored to be responsible, but no one is certain if the creature exists.

Of course, the fairy royalty do not travel alone. Their protector happens to be the one man Olive never wanted to see again. Her exóKull.

Following a trail of clues, she learns that the killer may be a shape shifter. Worse, she learns the identity of his next targetóher.

After months with no contact from Faythander, Olive hoped the magical drama was over, yet it seems sheíll never escape the beings who haunt her nightmaresÖ or be free from the man who took away her happily ever after.

Buy Links:



Excerpt:

Kull peered out toward the mountains. The last rays of sunlight fell over him, and a gentle breeze tousled his hair. I tried to remember every detailóhis forehead creased in concentration, the slope of his nose, the curve of his lips. I etched every feature into my memory, knowing that soon all I would see was thisómy memories of himóand nothing more.

Win A CTP Mystery Box!!!

Please note, mystery boxes are shipped to US addresses only. International winners will be offered their choice of 3 CTP eBooks in lieu of the mystery box.






Dreamthief (Book 1)




Visiting Faythander is a nasty business. Forget the fairies and unicorns, most people come back with lost memories and mental problems. Olive Kennedy knows. She's the therapist who treats patients suffering from Faythander's side effects. Despite her empty bank account, she takes pride in her job as Houstonís only Fairy World medical doctor. She's never failed to cure a clientóuntil now.\

Traveling back to Faythander wasn't on Olive's to-do list. But she has no choice. The fate of both Earth and Fairy depends on her ability to stop an ancient being called the Dreamthief. To complicate matters, she may be losing her heart to someone who canít love her in return. Saving the world, she can handle. Falling in loveónot so much.

As if battling the forces of evil wasn't difficult enoughÖ



Spellweaver (Book 2)


Olive's to-do list: Feed the cat. Pay the rent. Save Faythander. Again.

After Olive's last trip through Faythander, she wants nothing more than a nice vacation. But there's never time for relaxation when goblin treachery is afoot. When Geth, a goblin Spellweaver, destroys the Everblossomóa tree containing Faythander's pure magicóthe fairy-world utopia begins to die. The bloom of the Everblossom is all that remains of pure magic. Now Olive must travel through Earth and Faythander to find a place where it will flourish.

As a psychiatrist, her skills are top notch. However, her abilities to handle patients with abnormal mental behaviors will be put to the test when she confronts Geth. Nothing has prepared her for what he reveals to her about goblins and elves. As Olive's quest takes her from her home in Houston through the most dangerous places in Faythander, she learns that history is a muddled subject, especially when elves are involved.

Her only comfort comes from Kull, her Viking warrior sidekickówho somehow negates her bad fortune. Yet how long can their relationship last when his past is brought to light? Olive will be tested beyond anything she has endured so far, as the secrets of Faythander's sordid and bloody past are exposedóone that could irrevocably alter the future and destroy the lives of everyone she loves.


Buy Links:




About the Author





 Tamara Grantham was born and raised in Southeast Texas. She earned a Bachelorís degree in English from Lamar University. After marrying her husband David, she followed him through his training to become a burn surgeon, which consisted of moving from Vidor, Texas to Galveston, Texas, then to Tulsa, Oklahoma, back to Galveston, and they finally settled in Wichita, Kansas. Tamara and David have five active, sweet, and almost always well-mannered children, ages zero to ten years. Their two pets, Juneóthe Jack Russell Terrier, and Chesteróa black cat, help to keep the house lively (in addition to the children.)When Tamara isnít writing or tending her children, she enjoys taking walks through the woods, eating chocolate, and very infrequently, she enjoys a good nightís sleep. Check out Tamara's website at: WWW.TAMARAGRANTHAM.COM 



Connect With Tamara



: fb twitter gplus