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Title: Spirit (Elemental, #5)

Author: Shauna Granger

Release date: April 30, 2013

Genre: Urban Fantasy

YA/New Adult/Adult: YA/New Adult

Cover Design: Mooney Designs

Cover reveal organized by: AToMR Tours


Book Description:

Not even a guardian angel is more powerful than Death.


Always careful to watch out for others, Shayna put too much trust her abilities to keep herself safe and has been cut down by crazed man. Now she is trapped in the land of the dead, watching as her two best friends suffer the consequences of her death; their powers are fading and soon they will too. Shayna is desperate to return to the land of the living to save them from a similar, cold fate. To save her friends Shayna must turn away from the Light and, in doing so, sacrifice her wings.

But the longer Shayna stays among the dead, the further she slips from sanity. If Shayna cannot find her way back she will be condemned and lost forever among the restless souls of the dead. With nothing left to lose, she will do whatever it takes to fight her way back, with or without her wings.


About the Author


Like so many other writers, Shauna grew up as an avid reader, it was in high school that she realized she wanted to be a writer. Five years ago Shauna started work on her Elemental Series and released the first installment, Earth, on May 1, 2011. When not reading and writing, Shauna enjoys cooking and playing hostess whenever she can.
  


Welcome to my stop on the Broken Wings blog tour hosted by YA Bound.  Click HERE to see the full blog tour schedule!

***
Release Date: May 29, 2012
Paperback/e-book
336 pages

Summary from Goodreads:
Once you’ve seen, you can’t unsee. Everything changes when you’ve looked at the world through . . .

ANGEL EYES

Brielle’s a ballerina who went to the city to chase her dreams and found tragedy instead. She’s come home to shabby little Stratus, Oregon, to live with her grief and her guilt . . . and the incredible, numbing cold she can’t seem to shake.

Jake’s the new guy at school. The boy next door with burning hands and an unbelievable gift that targets him for corruption.

Something more than fate has brought them together. An evil bigger than both of them lurks in the shadows nearby, hiding in plain sight. Two angels stand guard, unsure what’s going to happen. And a beauty brighter than Jake or Brielle has ever seen is calling them to join the battle in a realm where all human choices start.

A realm that only angels and demons—and Brielle—can perceive.


Broken Wings (Angel Eyes Trilogy #2)
Release Date: February 19, 2013
Paperback/e-book
320 pages

Summary from Goodreads:
Giant angels with metal wings and visible song. A blind demon restored from the pit of darkness. And a girl who has never felt more broken.

Brielle sees the world as it really is: a place where the Celestial exists side by side with human reality. But in the aftermath of a supernatural showdown, her life begins to crumble. Her boyfriend, Jake, is keeping something from her—something important. Her overprotective father has started drinking again. He’s dating a much younger woman who makes Brielle’s skin crawl, and he’s downright hostile toward Jake. Haunting nightmares keep Brielle from sleeping, and flashes of Celestial vision keep her off kilter.

What she doesn’t know is that she’s been targeted. The Prince of Darkness himself has heard of the boy with healing in his hands and of the girl who sees through the Terrestrial Veil. When he plucks the blind demon, Damien, from the fiery chasm and sends him back to Earth with new eyes, the stage is set for a cataclysmic battle of good versus evil.

Then Brielle unearths the truth about her mother’s death and she must question everything she ever thought was true.

Brielle has no choice. She knows evil forces are converging and will soon rain their terror down upon the town of Stratus. She must master the weapons she’s been given. She must fight.

But can she fly with broken wings?


About the Author

Shannon Dittemore has an overactive imagination and a passion for truth. Her lifelong journey to combine the two is responsible for a stint at Portland Bible College, performances with local theater companies, and a focus on youth and young adult ministry. The daughter of one preacher and the wife of another, she spends her days imagining things unseen and chasing her two children around their home in Northern California. Angel Eyes is her first novel.



Excerpt

Olivia tilts her head at me, scrutinizing me from beneath those long—probably fake—lashes. 
“Your dad, Keith . . .”
“I know my dad’s name.”
“Of course. He tells me you’re multi-talented. Modeling, right? And some acting.”
I heft my bag higher on my shoulder. “Not so much anymore.”
She taps her teeth with a red fingernail. “Shame. The foundation’s looking to do some publicity in the near future. I wonder if I could convince you to help us out with some print work, maybe a commercial or two?”
She’s not the first one to ask. My agent’s called no less than a billion times over the past several months. I tell Olivia the same thing I tell Susie.
“I don’t think so. Ballet’s really my thing. I can get you the number of a few girls in Portland who might be interested though.”
She shrugs off my offer. “Models in the city are easy enough to come by, but I’d like the opportunity to work with you.” She produces a business card. “Take it. If you change your mind, give me a call.”
I don’t want her business card. I don’t plan to change my mind. Still, politeness demands I take it. But the minute her fingers touch mine, I jerk away. The halo flames red hot against my wrist—angry hot.
Her face pales and her caramel eyes narrow. 
She felt it too. She balls her hand into a fist, but leaves it hanging there. 
“Probably just static electricity,” she whispers. “This dry weather and all.” But, her eyes are on my hand and I have a sick feeling, like I’ve just given up a friend’s secret. I slide both arms behind my back and twine my fingers together.
“There,” she says, placing the card on the bathroom counter. “Don’t want another shock, do we?” And then she takes a step back and grabs the door. “I’d appreciate you taking the card, Brielle. Just in case.”
But I leave the card on the counter and walk away.
Because she’s right. 
Another shock is the last thing we need. 


***GIVEAWAY***
(1) Print copies of Angel Eyes and Broken Wings (US Only)
(5) Print copies of Broken Wings (US only)

Rafflecopter Code:


Ashes and Ice by Rochelle Maya Callen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
She is desperate to remember.
He is aching to forget.
Together, they are not broken.
But together, one may not survive.
​Jade wakes up with no memory of her past and blood on her hands.
Plagued by wicked thoughts, she searches for answers. Instead, she finds a boy who doesn't offer her answers, but hope. But sometimes, when nightmares turn into reality and death follows you everywhere, hope is not enough.
LUST. LOVE. LOSS. Sometimes, all that is left are Ashes and Ice.




Okay! I feel much better now!

If you're wondering what's up with the angst, it's because I had to read 218 out of 257 pages to know the big secret! I had my suspicion of who (or what) Jade really is but nothing was certain until that very end of the book. Cruel. Very cruel to let the readers hanging like that. It was more cruel than a cliffhanger ending because Jade's identity is the essence of the story itself.

Anyway, Ashes and Ice is a nice effort from a debut author, Rochelle Maya Callen. The concept was intriguing - the battle between one's good side and bad side is right up my alley. The prose was mesmerizing too, for example;

"I hunch forward, leaning my head on my palm. I think of spit up blood, black suit, roses, eulogies and wet pillows. I think of lonely guitars, quiet houses, pointing fingers and scraped foreheads."

BUT sadly, it was obvious that this is a self-pubbed book. Something needs to be done to the flow of this book. I'm a big fan of short novels so this is rare, but I thought some of the chapters need to be expanded in order for the plot to make sense. The settings and the scenes were rapidly changing so three to four pages to describe and explain an important scene isn't going to cut it. Some of the sub-plotlines also disappeared completely by half of the book. For instance; how Jade really fits in the school, is she coping well with the homeworks, quizzes and exams (yes, contrary to popular belief, I do think these teenage paranormal creatures still need to keep up with their educations!). Also, it's odd how the law enforcers didn't find any clues or suspects when the homicide cases was rising.

The characters were okay, I guess. I could connect with Jade very well at the beginning until she starts to feel something for the ultimate asshat, which is Dominic. More about Dominic later. Connor is new for a male protag although his insecurities made him sound feminine at times.

Dominic. As the supposedly irresistible, magnetic guy, I only found him as repulsive. I know Jade meant to have this attraction to him because of her nature, but I still feel like uh, Jade, he might sound very evil, but he is nowhere near that definition of sexy evil. More like a scumbag.

Overall, Ashes and Ice is a nice book. I read it in a single sitting and didn't regret it (which is something the author should be proud of, trust me) but there are still a lot of rooms for improvement.

Three poker faces
View all my reviews


AUTHOR BIO

Rochelle grew up dreaming up stories. When she entered high school, she tucked away her creative side and jumped head-first into academics, work, and service projects. She graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Political Science and Communication when she was twenty years old. After years away from her writing, Rochelle picked up a pen and started fleshing out a character sketch that she outlined when she was twelve. That sketch was the start of the Ashes and Ice story. Rochelle lives in the DC metro area with her husband and daughter. By day she works as a behavioral therapist. By night, she is a dreamer and is busy tapping out new stories on her keyboard. Website Twitter Goodreads Facebook


Author Lisa Voisin’s THE WATCHER will be releasing exactly one month from today, on March 4th, 2013 and we’re super excited to be able to share with our blog’s readers a short excerpt from the book and to be a part of the book’s awesome trailer reveal!

There is also a giveaway for a pre-order copy of THE WATCHER for US/Canada residents. So be sure to enter below.

THE WATCHER is author Lisa Voisin’s debut novel and is a book Eileen Cook says, “…is sure to keep readers turning the pages late into the night.”

And after having read both the excerpt and the book’s description, we couldn’t agree more! But we’ll let you decide for yourself. They’re both included below. As is the book’s wicked cool trailer!

With some gothic techno beats, super cool images and a description that is meant to tease, this trailer totally sets the mood for this story. What do you think?

About the Book


Title: THE WATCHER
Author: Lisa Voisin
Publisher: InkSpell Publishing
Publication date: March 4, 2013
Pages: 508
Format: Available to pre-order in Paperback
Find it: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Inkspell | Kobo

Millennia ago, he fell from heaven for her.
Can he face her without falling again?

Fascinated with ancient civilizations, seventeen-year-old Mia Crawford dreams of becoming an archaeologist. She also dreams of wings—soft and silent like snow—and somebody trying to steal them.

When a horrible creature appears out of thin air and attacks her, she knows Michael Fontaine is involved, though he claims to know nothing about it. Secretive and aloof, Michael evokes feelings in Mia that she doesn’t understand. Images of another time and place haunt her. She recognizes them—but not from any textbook.

About the Author


A Canadian-born author, Lisa Voisin spent her childhood daydreaming and making up stories, but it was her love of reading and writing in her teens that drew her to Young Adult fiction.

When she's not writing, you'll find her meditating or hiking in the mountains to counter the side effects of drinking too much coffee.

She lives in Vancouver, B.C. with her fiance and their two cats.

Find her: Twitter | Facebook | Website | Blog




Instead of saying more, he brushed his fingertips along my cheek, and his halo glimmered. I could hear the waves slapping the rocks behind us, the wind driving them in. That same wind whipped against my skin, but the touch of his hand on my face was all I could think about. It sent a current through both of us and filled me with longing for something I wasn’t sure I understood.

“I’m sorry.” He stepped back and shoved his hands into his pockets as the light around him faded. “You don’t know what it’s like. Being near you now, remembering those moments we had…” His hair blew into his eyes, but this time he didn’t move. I wanted to brush it back, but I didn’t know how he’d react. Would touching him be bad?

“You want to know who you were?” he asked. “You may look different, but you’re the same. I look into your eyes and see you.” He took in a deep breath, fixing his attention on the horizon. I’d seen and heard so much now that the logical part of my brain had long since given up arguing with me. I could feel what he was saying was true. All of it.

  • ONE pre-order copy of THE WATCHER by Lisa Voisin open to US/Canada.
  • Must be 13 or older to enter.
  • ONE entry per household.
  • Winner will be announced in the Rafflecopter and contacted by email.
  • Winner will have 48 hours after notification to respond or another winner will be chosen.
Enter below...
a Rafflecopter giveaway

In conjunction with the release day, get your copy of Ashes & Ice for only 99 cent only!

Title: Ashes & Ice
Author: Rochelle Maya Callen
Release Day: February 4th, 2013
Genre: Young Adult
Blitz Host: Lady Amber's Tours
Buy Link: Amazon
She is desperate to remember.
He is aching to forget.
Together, they are not broken.
But together, one may not survive.
Jade wakes up with no memory of her past and blood on her hands.
Plagued by wicked thoughts, she searches for answers. Instead, she finds a boy who doesn't offer her answers, but hope. But sometimes, when nightmares turn into reality and death follows you everywhere, hope is not enough.
LUST. LOVE. LOSS. Sometimes, all that is left are Ashes and Ice


AUTHOR BIO

Rochelle grew up dreaming up stories. When she entered high school, she tucked away her creative side and jumped head-first into academics, work, and service projects. She graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Political Science and Communication when she was twenty years old. After years away from her writing, Rochelle picked up a pen and started fleshing out a character sketch that she outlined when she was twelve. That sketch was the start of the Ashes and Ice story. Rochelle lives in the DC metro area with her husband and daughter. By day she works as a behavioral therapist. By night, she is a dreamer and is busy tapping out new stories on her keyboard. Website / Twitter / Goodreads / Facebook


EXCERPT

Jade
            The girl’s glassy, dead eyes stare into me, through me, pierce me with a fierce urgency, with a wicked accusation. The blood is still on my hands.
            Red hair, blue eyes, a constellation of freckles on pale skin. She was fragile and innocent, a lovely thing. That is what I think until I see the gashes on her wrists and throat. With her blood spilling out, she looks delicious. She’s mine. Possessiveness shocks me, stabs into me. I run, tearing away from a craving I don't understand.
            Breathless, I grit my teeth and run harder, faster.
           
            My feet pound against the earth, away from the lifeless body and toward the lights of the city lingering on the horizon. Rot and death linger in my nostrils. Unscarred skin stretches taut over my freezing bones. Echoes of an empty memory reverberate in my mind, taunting me. The ice chases me, clutches me, and bites at my heels, sending shivers up my spine. The ice wants me back, but I run forward, toward the lights, toward the heat, toward a world that burns me, because I have no other choice.
            The lights are so close. Heat scalds my skin.
            Images race through my mind, paralyzing me. I skid to a stop, my boots digging into the mud. The vision’s blurred edges materialize into solid shapes.
             I gasp.
            A new horror rakes my insides. Desperation propels me forward; the pictures nagging at my seams threaten to tear me apart.
            Scorching fire licks over my skin. In my vision, I contort like a vile, ugly creature, eyes as black as decay. My frame hunches over the small, dead girl, like a demon looming over a defenseless child. Her blood drips from my mouth.
            I lick my lips and taste only salty sweat.
            I run, desperate to trample the vision under my feet, to crush it deep into the ground.
            I refuse to believe the image, refuse to acknowledge the monster within me demanding to be unleashed—and the possibility it has already been unbound. An unrelenting tide of fear washes over me. Past the denial, the fear, and the hope, I think I can still taste her.
            The cold stillness inside me cracks open just as the lights of the city slam into me.


BOOK TRAILER

We're excited to announce that Fire Country the sister series for The Dweller Saga by David Estes is ready to be published on February 1st and for that day only, the ebook is going to be at $2.99 (25% off regular prize).

Title: Fire Country (Country Saga #1)
Author: David Estes
Publisher: ShareAread
Release Date: February 1st, 2013
Formats: E-book
Cover Artist: Regina Wamba
In a changed world where the sky bleeds red, winter is hotter than hell and full of sandstorms, and summer's even hotter with raging fires that roam the desert-like country, the Heaters manage to survive, barely.
Due to toxic air, life expectancies are so low the only way the tribe can survive is by forcing women to procreate when they turn sixteen and every three years thereafter. It is their duty as Bearers.
Fifteen-year-old Siena is a Youngling, soon to be a Bearer, when she starts hearing rumors of another tribe of all women, called the Wild Ones. They are known to kidnap Youngling girls before the Call, the ceremony in which Bearers are given a husband with whom to bear children with.
As the desert sands run out on her life's hourglass, Siena must uncover the truth about the Wild Ones while untangling the web of lies and deceit her father has masterfully spun.

Buy Links



Excerpt

When I’m sixteen and reach the midpoint of my life, I’ll have my first child. Not ’cause I want to, or ’cause I made a silly decision with a strapping young boy after sneaking a few sips of my father’s fire juice, but ’cause I must. It’s the Law of my people, the Heaters; a Law that’s kept us alive and thriving for many years. A Law I fear.

I learned all about the ways of the world when I turned seven: the bleeding time, what I would hafta do with a man when I turned sixteen, and how the baby—my baby—would grow inside me for nine full moons. Even though it all seemed like a hundred years distant at the time, I cried for two days. Now that it’s less’n a year away, I’m too scared to cry.

Veeva told me all ’bout the pain. She’s seventeen, and her baby’s five full moons old and “uglier’n one of the hairy ol’ warts on the Medicine Man’s feet.” Or at least that’s how she describes Polk. Me, I think he’s sorta cute, in a scrunched up, fat-cheeked kind of way. Well, anyway, she said to me, “Siena, you never felt pain so burnin’ fierce. I screamed and screamed…and then screamed some more. And then this ugly tug of a baby comes out all red-faced and oozy. And now I’m stuck with it.” I didn’t remind her Polk’s a him not an it.

I already knew about her screaming. Everyone in the village knew about Veeva’s screaming. She sounded like a three ton tug stuck in a bog hole. Veeva’s always cursing, too, throwing around words like burnin’ and searin’ and blaze—words that’d draw my father’s hand across my face like lightning if I ever let them slip out of my mouth like they’re nothing more’n common language.

In any case, everything she tells me about turning sixteen just makes me wish I didn’t hafta get older, could stay fifteen for the next seventeen or so years, until the Fire takes me.

It’s not fair, really, that boys get to wait until they’re eighteen ’fore their names get put in the Call. I’d kill for an extra two years of no baby.


Author Bio


David Estes was born in El Paso, Texas but moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania when he was very young. He grew up in Pittsburgh and then went to Penn State for college. Eventually moved to Sydney, Australia where he met his wife. A reader all his life, he began writing novels for the children's and YA markets in 2010. He´s a writer with OCD, a love of dancing and singing (but only when no one is looking or listening), a mad-skilled ping-pong player, and prefers writing at the swimming pool to writing at a table



You can follow David at:

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