Archive for the ‘YA Fantasy’ Category

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A Strange Affinity

by Rebecca Rook

 

Publication date: March 26th 2024
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

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A Strange Affinity is a hypnotizing cross between the television show Deadwood and Tamora Pierce’s renowned Tortall Universe. This young adult fantasy novel, set in an alternate nineteenth century American Wild West, will appeal to fans of Vengeance Road and Retribution Rails by Erin Bowman, Revenge and the Wild by Michelle Modesto, and Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey.

In the Wild West, magic is real.

When two strangers arrive in her small town, Gloriana Rue learns that she has the magical ability, or Affinity, to manipulate metal. She also learns that her mother was a renowned magical scholar but had abandoned the world of Affinities. Glory is desperate to know why her mother hid her past, and so agrees to attend an academy for magicians in the hopes of finding answers.

Glory is soon immersed in magic and mystery when she stumbles upon a disturbing discovery: A killer is hunting magicians throughout the American West – and he’s getting closer. Only by seeking out her mother’s secrets can she stop him and save her newfound family.

Goodreads / Amazon

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Enjoy this peek inside:

Glory adored her new magician’s studio.

The space was outfitted as a smith’s shop, furnished with a long workbench, a wall hung with gently worn but serviceable tools, and a small, portable blacksmith’s forge. She was awkward with many of the tools at first but grew better and more proficient by the day. Glory worked long into the evenings, well past the end of her classes. She came to love the feeling of being surrounded by scraps of different metals: gold, silver, copper, and iron. It felt like being surrounded by friends, or family. It was hard for Glory to describe but she felt that each metal had a different personality.

Glory thrived under Jacinda’s tutelage. She went on to master a series of ever-challenging tasks she had set before her: Molding new shapes, melding metals together, and extracting the elements. Soon each new task seemed easier than the last.

In a recent conversation, Jacinda had warned Glory these new skills were among the easiest for a magician. True transformation of physical properties was much harder, and in some cases, impossible without several years of further study.

“Lead to gold?” Glory had asked, skepticism and humor in her voice. She remembered reading such silly tales among her father’s library.

Jacinda had chuckled. “Not quite. You’re bound by the chemical properties of the source material. But with study and practice, who knows what’s possible? The magical properties of metal are vastly understudied and largely composed of myths and legends about alchemy. And because there are so few metal magicians, we still don’t know what they — you — are capable of.”

About Author Rebecca Rook:

Rebecca Rook designs tabletop games, manages a little free library dedicated to sequential art and comics, and lives in the Pacific Northwest with two wonderful dogs. She writes young adult fiction in the fantasy, thriller, and horror genres.

A 2021-2022 Hugo House Fellow in
Seattle, WA, she also attended the 2021 Tin House YA Fiction Workshop in
Portland, OR. Rebecca was selected as one of the 100 invited writers to participate in the Write Team Mentorship Program’s curated Pitch-a-Thon event before being chosen as a Mentee for the 2021 Program. Prior to this, she completed the wonderful Yearlong Workshop for Young Adult and Middle Grade Fiction at Hugo House.

Website / Goodreads / Instagram / TikTok

 

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Angelbound Tales Volume 1

by Christina Bauer

 

(Angelbound Tales, #1)
Published by: Monster House Books
Publication date: March 19th 2024
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

Love Myla Lewis? Don’t miss Angelbound Tales Volume One, a collection of five bonus stories from Myla’s world, including:

· Walker’s Love Connection, where Myla uncovers a secret about her honorary older brother
· Sharkie and Snickerdoodles, in which our heroine faces down an uber-evil ghoul in order to get her hands on (what else?) some damned fine cookies.
· Wedding Bells, aka the story of a certain happy couple getting married. Havoc ensues in more ways than one!
· Herbie and Baby Hotdogs, the tale of a quasi-demon whose ‘mortal sin power’ is gluttony. Consider yourself warned.
· Saving Mrs. Pomplemousse, a mini-romance that explores the true meaning of ‘soul mates.’ Say it with me now: awwww!

Originally released in special editions, these many tales now unite in one master collection that spans print, ebook and audio formats! 42,000 words.

***Warning*** If you don’t like quirky indie authors, then you’ll hate the following disclaimer from my inner pirate: Shiver me tinders, if ye haven’t read Angelbound books one through three, then these tales’ll frustrate ye more’n a drunk goat on astroturf. Argh!

Now back to my regular pirate-free self: I hope these stories provide a little escape from reality because, let’s face it, we all need one these days

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

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EXCERPT:

Walker’s Love Connection
Myla

My tail and I always get along.

Until we don’t.

Take now, for instance. I drive my ancient station wagon, Betsy, through the many strip malls and weedy lots that make up Purgatory. My ride is an un-pimped junker whose radio stays eternally stuck on a polka station. As ‘Roll out the Barrel’ blares from Betsy’s tinny speakers, my tail jabs my shoulder in time to the music. This is its way of saying, I’m not happy with our destination.

My tail loathes trips to the Ghoul-E-Mart.

“Come on,” I plead. “I promised Mom that I’d pick up milk from the Ghoul-E.” Technically, our overlords sell us something called white liquid product.

Saying that I’m only getting milk makes zero difference to my tail. Right now, it’s the star of its own little play called, Poke Myla’s Shoulder.

Jab, jab.

“We aren’t going to the Ghoul-E right away,” I explain. “We’ll hit the arena first.”

There’s only one arena in Purgatory—it’s where warriors like me fight evil souls and demons to the death. Is this an appropriate extra-curricular activity for a high school junior? Ah, no. But, that’s ghouls for you. Our overlords see their minions—meaning quasi demons like me—as the equivalent of pond scum.

My tail pauses for a moment as it considers a potential arena visit. Then, it acts in a way that says, what a load of B-S.

Jab, jab, jab.

Clearly, my tail has trust issues. It doesn’t believe we’re going anywhere near the arena. And there are two reasons why I shouldn’t approach the gladiator games right now. First, it’s not my day to fight. Second, even when I am scheduled to go, I should only show up with my honorary older brother, a ghoul named Walker.

But I have plans, people.

 

About Author Christina Bauer:

Christina Bauer thinks that fantasy books are like bacon: they just make life better. All of which is why she writes romance novels that feature demons, dragons, wizards, witches, elves, elementals, and a bunch of random stuff that she brainstorms while riding the Boston T. Oh, and she includes lots of humor and kick-ass chicks, too.
Christina graduated from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School with BA’s in English along with Television, Radio, and Film Production. She lives in Newton, MA with her husband, son, and semi-insane golden retriever, Ruby.

Be the first to know about new releases from Christina by signing up for her newsletter: http://tinyurl.com/CBupdates

Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Blog / LinkedIn

 

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Welcome to my stop on the virtual book tour for Greystone organized by Goddess Fish Promotions.

Author B L Ryan will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B&N Gift Card to a randomly drawn winner. Don’t forget to enter!

And you can click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Greystone

by B L Ryan

 

 

Genre: YA Fiction

Synopsis

All Mouse could remember about her father was sitting on his lap while he told her stories. She wished she could remember what he looked like. When she hangs a white pendant that belonged to her father in her bedroom window, this wish becomes the key to great adventure in another world. A gate appears with a dragon twirling in the air above a colourful garden on the other side of the gate. Zeeta, the royal dragon, greets Mouse and invites her into the garden. The garden is part of Sweet Water holding, home to Lady Jane, who is the seer for Prince Ruler Jared.

As Mouse and Zeeta struggle to complete a quest, Mouse searches for her father. Their journey takes them across the plains of Norlanda and south to the Border Mountains.

The seers have foretold that a far traveller will appear and lead Norlanda against its enemies. This does not seem likely, as Norlanda is prosperous and peaceful at this time. Meanwhile, dark forces gathered in the Border Mountains have recognized the presence of Mouse in the lines of destiny and have started to move towards her.

How will the presence of a child, a far traveller from another world, affect the destiny of this world?

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Enjoy this peek inside:

Six Turns Later

The sky was cast with bands of pink and yellow as the sun set. It was an exceptionally clear evening, and it was possible to see the Singing Mountains across the horizon to the north. As Jared gazed absently at the fringe of jagged peaks, Lord Ravenstock entered the room silently. He waited for Jared to address him.

Without turning, Jared asked, “What have my esteemed councillors decided?”

Lord Ravenstock’s eyebrows rose briefly. His face became an expressionless mask as he related the decision of the Council of Five.

“It has been six turns since the death of your father, King Henry. The Council has decided that the Prince Ruler must select a woman to be his Lady Consort or they will be obliged to select a suitable woman on your behalf.”

The Prince snorted. “They have already given me a list of women they deem suitable.”

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About Author B L Ryan:

Born in Saskatchewan, Betty has lived in several areas across Canada, from Ottawa to Vancouver Island while growing up. Her fondest memory as a child is of her father building a tent trailer and her mother sewing yards and yards of canvas for the tent. The family travelled across Canada and down the eastern seaboard of the United States for several summer vacations.

Betty worked as a drawing office assistant in Oxford, England, for almost two years before returning to Canada to work as a topographical clerk in Edmonton, Alberta. She pursued a BSc. in Agriculture with a major in Horticulture from the University of Alberta. While raising her children, Betty worked as an Office Manager for a non-profit society and took writing courses at night school and from the Institute of Children’s Literature, Connecticut.

The garden has always been a source of inspiration and joy for Betty, as are all the beloved cats and dogs who have walked into her life. Betty believes stories are the foundation of our life. The stories we enjoy, the stories we tell ourselves, our children and others, reflect how we view the world around us. She enjoys writing fantasy for the youth genre because she feels there is still so much of the wonder of life, and the attitude that anything is possible, from this age group.

Greystone is her first novel. She is currently working on the sequel, Greystone: A New Beginning.

Free to read on KU: HERE

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Realm of Ice and Shadow
by Leigh Stratton

 

Realm of Ice and Shadow
Young Adult Fantasy
1st in Series
Level Best Books, Level Elevate (November 7, 2023)
Number of Pages 210
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CKV9K5PG

Seventeen year old Ryleigh Donnovan is certain her life is cursed. Nothing ever goes smoothly, and her first job interview is no exception. An earthquake rocks the building, sending Ryleigh on a frantic search for her younger sister, a search which lands her in the hospital. Terrified they’ll push her for answers she can’t afford to give, Ryleigh flees with a mysterious stranger.

Jackson Maynard is about to be ordained as a Death Dealer, a warrior for the Kingdom of Cymmera, but first he must pass one more test. When he fails to acquire the human girl the prophet has chosen, he’s forced to stand trial for treason. Banished from his realm, he seeks out the girl from the vision, Ryleigh Donnovan, and together they embark on a journey to save his dying kingdom.

About Leigh Stratton

Young adult and middle-grade fantasy writer Leigh Stratton is the author of the Kingdom of Cymmera series and the Ranger of the Realms series. Leigh grew up in a small town on Long Island where she spent many lazy afternoons with a good book. She would read at the beach, outside beneath a tree, anywhere she could find to curl up and lose herself in a story for a few hours. She loves reading as much now as she did back then, only now she enjoys the added pleasure of creating stories of her own.

Website / Facebook / TwitterBookBub / Goodreads

Purchase Links – Amazon

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TOUR PARTICIPANTS

November 7 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – CHARACTER GUEST POST

November 8 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – REVIEW

November 9 – Hearts & Scribbles – SPOTLIGHT

November 10 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT

November 11 – StoreyBook Reviews – AUTHOR GUEST POST

November 12 – Boys’ Mom Reads! – REVIEW

November 13 – Brooke Blogs – CHARACTER GUEST POST

November 14 – Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense – SPOTLIGHT

November 15 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

November 16 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT

November 17 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

November 18 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

November 19 – Lady Hawkeye – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

November 20 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

The Jade Labyrinth by Alanna Mackenzie tour banner.

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for The Jade Labyrinth by Alanna Mackenzie. In The Jade Labyrinth a young rebel leader undertakes a perilous mission to reprogram the artificially intelligent rulers of a colonial empire, traversing through hostile landscapes and braving grueling mental and physical challenges.

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This blog tour is organized by Lola’s Blog Tours and the tour runs from 2 till 15 October. You can see the tour schedule here.

The Jade Labyrinth (The Jade Chronicles #3)

By Alanna Mackenzie

 

Genre: Science Fiction/ Fantasy
Age category: Young Adult
Release Date: 12 September, 2023

Blurb:

A meeting. A maze. A perilous journey back to an Empire on the edge of chaos.

Walter Saltanetska, leader of the Jade Rebellion, is nearly ready to return to the heart of the AI-ruled Empire that has branded him a treasonous fugitive. His mandate is clear: to reprogram the AI Masters before their earth-destroying habits spiral out of control.

First, he must brave gruelling training in a land fraught with danger—rugged mountains haunted by spirits, a parched desert patrolled by watchful drones, and a labyrinthine cave guarded by armed robots. As his physical, mental, and magical abilities are tested by harrowing encounters, Walter must work to resist forces that threaten to destabilize his mission.

The biggest threat he faces is not one he encounters along the course of his journey, but one that originates within him. Walter returns to the Empire’s capital in a mind-altering disguise that proves to be a double-edged sword. Drawing him closer to a soul mate who rekindles his admiration for the AI Masters, it also distances Walter from the human emotions that sparked his desire to join the Rebellion. In his final showdown with the AI Masters, Walter must keep his mind under control, or risk jeopardizing the mission that he and his allies are counting on to reverse a looming tidal wave of destruction.

The thrilling third installment in The Jade Chronicles, The Jade Labyrinth weaves dystopian science-fiction with high fantasy while exploring an essential subject: the perils and promise of artificial intelligence.

Links:
Goodreads
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

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Enjoy this peek inside:

Waiting for night to fall was the hardest part. The tedium was made worse by lining up to pass the security checkpoint, and afterwards they broke camp and had to wait a few more hours until dinner was ready. The traders appeared to be in good spirits, Tyrian most of all. He drank copious amounts of brandy and mulled wine that night around a blazing campfire and ordered his fellow traders to sing and strum various eclectic instruments. One was a sitar, an oriental-sounding instrument from the Southern Jungles, another was a khoborga, a traditional Xeyan’na flute that had a harsh ring to it, and the third type of instrument was a meyre, a hollowed-out drum stretched with leather hide.

The revelry did not interest Walter, but he was grateful for the distraction. He was intending to discreetly slip away after dinner to do his work, but Tyrian grabbed him by the wrist just as he finished the last of his curried chickpeas.

“Will you be staying for the entertainment?” Tyrian asked boorishly. As drunk as he was, the lead trader seemed oddly lucid, and the way his moss-green eyes bored into Walter made the young man shiver.

“I’m tired. Think I’ll have an early night tonight,” Walter replied.

“Your friend… she’s a pretty one,” Tyrian drawled, gazing across the campfire toward Eva, who was bobbing her head in time with the music. “I was hoping she’d join in the diversions.”

Walter set his jaw. The last thing he wanted was this unrefined trader making designs on his friend Eva. Now that he thought of it, the trader had seemed romantically interested in her from the beginning. Although Walter had first attributed the trader’s lingering gaze to curiosity about her mixed-race origins, he now realized it was because of something more. But Walter recognized an opportunity for further distraction. He hated to do this to his friend, but he needed every advantage he could get with these wily traders.

“She’s an excellent dancer,” Walter exclaimed, and as soon as the words were out of his mouth he regretted them. He had no idea how well Eva danced, and he didn’t want to put her on the spot. But what better way to ensure that he could work uninterrupted than to have Eva distract the traders with a dance?

“Is that so?” Tyrian said. “Well, let’s see it, then.”

Walter reddened as Tyrian called across the campfire to Eva, causing the sitar player’s melodious rhythms to stop abruptly. “Pretty lady,” Tyrian drawled, taking another swig of brandy. “Your friend here says you can dance.”

Eva glanced at Walter, and the rebel leader tried to convey an expression of pleading in his eyes. Eva caught on, but Walter could see that she was not pleased with him.

“My friend is too flattering,” she replied coldly, “but I do enjoy dancing. With a partner, of course,” she added.

Walter froze. He half-expected her to invite him to dance with her, but instead she beckoned for Tyrian to come closer. The brilliance of her strategy was apparent. As the three instrumentalists began their tune, a sharply cadenced flamenco, Eva bowed before Tyrian and held out her arms in an invitation. The lead trader eagerly accepted the offer, and the other traders formed a circle around them, cheering and clinking their brandy-filled glasses as the music grew more animated. Walter watched for a few moments in rapt fascination; he was not so captivated by the dancing itself, but rather by the sheer resourcefulness of his friend, who had been able to gracefully choreograph a routine in mere seconds.

With the traders’ attention thoroughly diverted, Walter was able to relax as he crept away into the shadows of the gloomy late-autumn night. The temperature was plunging as the sun had recently set, and Walter felt the assaulting chill of the air once he left the campfire. To avoid any encounters with the traders, he decided to do his work in the open air, behind a nearby rock formation, rather than in one of the wagons.

It all happened very quickly. Walter consumed the lydion—about half a teaspoonful was all that was required—and immediately he felt his mind shift into a different gear. He studied the code of his spyware detection program, and with fresh eyes, determined what its weaknesses were and how they could be shored up. It was startlingly easy to spot them with his newly heightened sense of awareness, a sort of hyper-sensitivity to the nuanced cause and effect of any computational system.

As the lydion permeated his body, Walter’s mind became clear, focused, and unplagued by anxieties. He often felt that way after a seizure, as though a buildup of tension within his brain had erupted, clearing away the debris from his neural pathways. With lydion, he felt as though he could accomplish the most complex programming task in a matter of minutes. There was nothing getting in the way—no distracting ego, and most importantly, no emotional baggage attached to any task he set out to accomplish. A meditative sense of calm accompanied his work, along with the feeling that he was conserving energy that would have otherwise dissipated.

Within twenty minutes, the upgraded program was completed. Walter could still hear the reassuring background noise of the drumming and the swirling, exotic melodies of the sitar and the khoborga. As the new spyware program ran, he felt tranquil, but poised to react to any hint of a result. And, within a few more minutes, he found it: a backdoor trojan horse, almost negligible in its size, that had burrowed its way onto the tablet’s hard drive.

Investigating its origins, he saw the culprit. A mail attachment that somebody named ‘vokyrv81’ had delivered a few days ago into his inbox, that he had opened mindlessly, revealing an advertisement for hotels in the Barrens. He realized, too, that the name spelled backwards was that of the trader he and Eva had been speaking to, Vrykov. He cursed himself for having opened the attachment, for it was doing its grisly work to mine the contents of his tablet.

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Alanna Mackenzie

About the Author Alanna MacKenzie:

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Alanna Mackenzie lives in Vancouver, Canada. She holds degrees in History, French studies, and Law from the University of British Columbia. An environmentalist at heart, she believes in using the law as a tool for social and environmental change. When she is not pursuing that passion, she can be found brainstorming the next chapter in her novels, playing Irish fiddle tunes on the violin, and hiking West Coast trails.

You can find and contact Alanna Mackenzie here:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
Amazon

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

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Amid new threats and unsettling discoveries, hope still perseveres.

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Remarkable Magic

The Hybrid Magic Chronicles Book 3

by Cristy L. Bowlin

Genre: YA Fantasy

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Amid new threats and unsettling discoveries, hope still perseveres.
Aaron is done letting the Defenders control his life. He refuses to continue running and hiding. The Defenders claim that hybrid mages are dangerous abominations, but Aaron and Lilith are determined to prove otherwise. Meanwhile, Elara and Theo are grappling with formidable new abilities that they never expected to possess. Striking out on their own, Aaron and his friends discover another group of hybrid mages living in the desert who are preparing to fight. New alliances are forged, yet not everyone agrees on how to confront the Defenders. When more people see what hybrid magic can do, it could either be revered or feared even more. Aaron and his friends must make some tough decisions before those choices are taken from them.

Amazon * Bookbub * Goodreads

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Theo was the last to enter the tavern, hanging back as they had agreed. Pipe smoke permeated throughout the open dining area and mingled with the scents of alcohol and sweat. Theo stood next to the wall, trying not to cough, while his friends walked to the bar. Elara bought a drink and sat on a stool. Aaron and Lilith continued walking until they reached a piano in the corner of the room.

Theo furrowed his brow when Aaron took a seat on the piano bench and started playing. He didn’t realize Aaron knew how to play an instrument. However, Theo’s jaw nearly dropped open when Lilith started singing. Her voice was a melodic soprano reminiscent of birdsong. It shouldn’t have surprised Theo, yet he stood there awestruck at the performance. He soon realized he wasn’t the only one in awe. The whole room quieted as people turned their attention to Aaron and Lilith. This wasn’t part of the plan they discussed, but it would set the stage for Lilith’s speech.

When Lilith finished singing, everyone in the room applauded as if they were at a concert hall rather than a tavern. Lilith dipped into a curtsy as Aaron played the final chords in the song. Then Lilith stood on top of the piano bench and cleared her throat. “Thank you all for listening to our song.”

“Play another one!” someone shouted.

Lilith smiled. “We would be happy to, but first my friend and I have something to tell you all.”

Elara made eye contact with Theo across the room. She looked nervous, and Theo imagined he wore a similar expression on his face. He wanted to be there beside Lilith and Aaron in case anything bad happened, but they insisted that they had to introduce themselves first on their own. As the youngest and smallest among them, Lilith was the least threatening and most likely to garner sympathy. And with Aaron’s fame, people would quickly recognize his name if not his appearance, so he would be of the most interest. Elara and Theo could be introduced a bit later if the crowd reacted positively to the presence of hybrid mages. If not, Elara and Theo could remain anonymous and cause some type of distraction, allowing Aaron and Lilith to slip out of the building.

“My name is Lilith Brouning, and this is my good friend Aaron Ztrong. We are both hybrid mages.” She paused as people started murmuring amongst themselves, and then she held up the Defender pamphlet Aaron grabbed earlier. “Some people like to call us dark mages. I’m sure you are all familiar with the Defenders of the True Four. Maybe some of you have even read their pamphlets and agreed with some of the things they had to say. But I’m here to tell you the ugly truth about them. They tried to kill Aaron, and they succeeded in murdering my parents. They would get rid of every last hybrid mage if they could.

“I understand why they have their concerns about us because Florella Jacobsen was a hybrid mage, and she did unspeakable things during the Jacobsen Conflict. She was responsible for far more deaths than the Defenders, but now she herself is dead. She will cause no more harm to any of us, and I can promise you that Aaron and I are nothing like her.”

Aaron stood up next to Lilith. He gestured to the piano behind them. “We enjoy the same pastimes as all of you. We have families we care about deeply. We make mistakes sometimes, but that’s part of what makes us human. All we want is to be able to live our lives without constant fear of being hunted down.”

“That’s why we are here today,” Lilith said. “We’ve been hiding ourselves away for more than a year, and we simply cannot do it anymore. How free has the Deravine Commonwealth really become if there are still some mages who can’t be true to themselves?”

A few hisses rose up from the crowd as people cursed the commonwealth, but twice as many people shushed the critics. When the room quieted again, Lilith held up her hands in a placating gesture. “Politics aside, I hope we all can agree that what the Defenders have been doing is outright persecution. Their crusade must come to an end. I hope the next time you see one of these pamphlets, you will tear it down and throw it away.” She crumpled the pamphlet in her hand and threw it on the ground. Some people clapped, which Theo considered a small victory at least.

A man and woman abruptly stood, scraping their chairs across the wood floor. “That’s a nice speech, to be sure,” the woman said, “but actions speak louder than words. We know you fought alongside Florella the day she died.”

Lilith scowled. “We were fighting for our own lives because a group of Defenders attacked us. Florella happened to be with us because we had captured her.”

“So you say,” the man mumbled. “Doesn’t mean we can trust your word for it.” He raised both his hands and threw balls of fire directly at Lilith and Aaron.

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**Don’t miss the other books in the series!**

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Hybrid Magic

The Hybrid Magic Chronicles Book 1

Amazon

Innovative Magic

The Hybrid Magic Chronicles Book 2

Amazon

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Cristy L. Bowlin is an English professor at Oxnard College and author of The Temple Dancer’s Diary and The Hybrid Magic Chronicles, set in the fantasy realm of the Deravine Commonwealth. She currently lives in Southern California with her husband, daughter, and pet cat. When she isn’t reading or writing, she is most likely dancing, hiking, or getting invested in (another) TV series.

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads

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Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

Adventures of Takuan from Koto tour banner

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Welcome to my stop during the book blitz for Adventures of Takuan from Koto by Ryu Zhong. Adventures of Takuan from Koto is about the whimsical adventures of a young trickster: from petty tricks to god-given missions.

This book blitz is organized by Lola’s Blog Tours. The book blitz runs from 11 till 15 September. See the tour schedule here.

Discount!
Adventures of Takuan from Koto is discounted to 99 cents for the duration of this blitz, you can grab your copy here.

Adventures of Takuan from Koto

By Ryu Zhong

 

Adventures of Takuan from Koto book cover

Genre: Fantasy Adventure
Age category: Middle Grade/ Young Adult
Release Date: 6 August 2023

Blurb:

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Whimsical adventures of a young trickster: from clever exploits to a god-given mission.

A stone marten, in pursuit of the sun, climbs to the very Heavens and causes quite a commotion. Both the stubborn gods and the ordinary people have a hard time when weredemons break free. Even the Lord of the Underworld turns out to be powerless.

But sometimes even a mouse can be stronger than an elephant, as the old proverb says. The fate of the world ends up in the hands of Takuan — a young trickster, who deceives the greedy, angry, and ignorant people across the country of Chinayindu. On his journey, he meets the wandering warrior Zhu Leizu, a temple monk named Soliang, the clumsy sorcerer Bricabrac, and many others.

Our story begins with a village boy setting off to a monastery to become a demon-hunting monk, only to find out how truly dull monastic life can be.

Or does our story begin with the birth of the stone marten Ta Guan? To learn about what happened in the Heavens, the incredible adventures of Takuan, and what was the end of all of it, read the book ‘Takuan of Koto’ by Ryū Zhong.

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Links:
Goodreads
Bookbub
Amazon

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Adventures of Takuan from Koto graphic.

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About Author Ryu Zhong:

 

Ryu Zhong author picture

Ryu Zhong has spent the last fifteen years in multinational corporations doing future research and developing novel tech. Today, Ryu writes fantasy and science fiction based on his experience. In his novels, he highlights the phenomena that humanity may face in just a few hundred years.

Ryū Zhong were lucky to be born and grow in Asia. Now they live in Amsterdam, study Dutch, and adapt their writings to English and other languages.

Author links:
Website
Blog
Twitter
Instagram
Goodreads
Amazon

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

 

War of the Sea

by Dana Claire

 

(Olympian Wars, #1)
Publication date: November 14th 2022
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult

His powers could save the ocean. Her vendetta could sink a kingdom.

Captain Elouise Farrington, the youngest pirate on the Caviar Sea, seeks revenge on her father’s killer. But when her oddly hypnotic foe proposes a pact to kill the Siren Queen and end the War of the Sea’s bloodshed, she must make a choice. Put aside her long-brewing retribution or act the underhanded pirate and use the alliance to claim the life of the man who destroyed her family?

Captain Rylander Bordeaux, the revered royal navy captain of the Isle of Cava, has one mission—kill the Siren Queen and end the War of the Sea. The ocean is the only place Rylander calls home, but to bring peace to his beloved waves, he must defeat his past so he can reshape the future. His greatest hope is Captain Elouise, who calls to him like no siren song ever has. Too bad she’s almost as bloodthirsty as the fanged heart-eaters themselves. She promises to lend her all-female crew to his war on the sirens, but can he trust a brigand—especially one who wants him dead—to uphold her end of the bargain? Or will she be his undoing?

Goodreads / Kickstarter

Dana Claire’s best-selling, award-winning fantasy romance, War of the Sea, is getting an early one-year birthday present, an audio book, and companion novel, called War of the Land. To pay for the critically acclaimed narrators, Dana is launching a Kickstarter. In that Kickstarter, she will also release the next book in this series, War of the Land, a standalone HEA with sassy female demi-gods, strong arrogant Gods, and of course mischievous sirens and swashbuckling pirates.

Check out the Kickstarter campaign HERE!

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Enjoy this peek inside:

“You are incredibly difficult, royally frustrating, and ridiculously beautiful. It drives me mad.”

Rylander gripped my hair at the back of my head and angled my chin upward. His lips were on mine before I took my next breath. There was no softness or patience to this kiss. His fist tightened, forcing my head back further. His tongue slipped passed my lips, demanding entrance, and I acquiesced. No fighting. No thinking. No questions. Only submission like two magnets pulled toward one another.”

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About Author Dana Claire:

Dana Claire is an award-winning author whose stories explore identity, fate and destiny in the crossroads of romance and adventure. But her writing career didn’t begin when she published her first book, The Connection, in 2020. It started when she was a young girl when her mother, an elementary school teacher, inspired her to create imaginary worlds between the pages.

Dana’s love of romantic tension, the supernatural and non-stop action has elicited very positive feedback from many readers, as their online reviews reveal her flair for spine-tingling action and unforgettable characters. But it’s not just readers who love her; literary critics have also taken note, and Dana received the Children’s Moonbeam award for The Connection in 2021.

Dana is now sharing her stories through speaking events and book signings, introducing more readers to the worlds she created.

Currently, she is living her dream in Los Angeles, CA as a published author, but she has bigger dreams of sharing her stories through other mediums: film and television. The self-confessed hopeless romantic says she and her husband are living the best love story of all.

Instagram ➜ @authordanaclaire

Facebook ➜ facebook.com/danaclairebooks

Visit her website ➜ danaclairebooks.com

Drop a line ➜ danaclairebooks@outlook.com

For media and partnership inquiries including TV and Film, please reach out to The Next Step PR at kiki@thenextsteppr.com

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

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Welcome to my stop during the blog tour for Craving Beauty by Jennifer Silverwood.

In Craving Beauty a lost kingdom is uncovered by an equally lost girl, and a hungry beast waits, ready to devour her soul.

This blog tour is organized by Lola’s Blog Tours and the tour runs from 17 till 30 July. You can see the tour schedule here.

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Craving Beauty (Wylder Tales #1)

By Jennifer Silverwood

 

Craving Beauty book cover

Genre: Fairytale/ Fantasy
Age category: Young Adult/ New Adult
Release Date: 14 July 2023

Blurb:

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A dark tale of enchantment and woe, perfect for fans of Margaret Rogerson and Holly Black, Craving Beauty is the first installment of the epic Wylder Tales Series!

Nineteen-year-old Vynasha’s life is no fairy tale. The fire that killed her sisters was her fault, and the magic that saved her nephew cannot heal their scars. They shouldn’t have survived, and the villagers either fear or loathe them. Until a mysterious stranger saves her, giving Vynasha the key to finding the only family they have left.

With nothing to lose, Vynasha dares the journey into the forbidden Wylderland. Through dangers untold, she makes her way to the forgotten city, but more than ghosts linger in the castle. A wicked curse shadows the land, shadows whisper that the one to break their curse has come, and a beastly prince makes a bargain Vynasha cannot refuse.

Become the beast’s bride or become a monster herself.

Links:
Goodreads
Bookbub
Amazon
iBooks
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
Smashwords
Angus & Robertson
Mondadori
Books2Read

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Enjoy this peek inside:

The door closed with a gentle yet heavy thud behind her.

She hesitated as soon as she saw the slush she had already tracked in. Her battered and cracked boots were far too filthy to walk on such a rich surface. She shivered as she hobbled over a floor of mosaic glass. The strange silvery metal she had followed into this lost kingdom now stretched out between cracks far into the candlelit distance. Her fingers loosened as a rush of shock and disbelief assaulted her.

Someone must live here after all.

Vynasha wasn’t sure if that was a good or dangerous thing.

As she took in the breadth and height of the castle, she felt the weight of unseen eyes, as though something was waiting to see what choice she made next.

Lofty shadows kept her from making out the chasm above. Balconies overlooked the entrance of the grand hall, where candles winked and danced from their perches. A wide staircase wound its way higher to hidden floors. Pillars braced the weight of the staircase and rafters several paces ahead. Hundreds of candles, which lined a crimson carpet, sat upon silver candelabras.

Every step was now agony. Vynasha pushed aside her pain and followed the halo of flickering candles past the entrance hall and into a smaller passage.

Tapestries covered the walls on either side of her path, and exhaustion must have been the reason the strange beings and images shifted the longer she stared. Vynasha gasped and dug her nails into her palms to quell her anxiety.

Deep alcoves broke the walls, guarded by grotesque statues of creatures in pain. The crimson carpet split off into other doorways, some filled with darkness and others masked by heavy wooden doors. Despite the sea of candles, proof that someone must dwell here, she could not vanquish the sense that told her this was a tomb.

Tears spilled over her cheeks, but she couldn’t give up, not until she’d followed every last candle. Not until she knew for certain Ceddrych was not here. No matter what Wolfsbane had said, no matter the beggar’s promises. No matter if she was doomed to wander this ruin for ages without success until she, too, gave in to stone and collected dust. She walked blindly, aching for the warm fire she remembered from their cottage.

The sudden roar of flame and illumination ahead startled her.

Magick.

Old magick, by the taste of it, like the crushing layers of fallen petals in Wynyth’s garden. As she stumbled down a set of carpeted steps, Vynasha realized the entire castle reeked of enchantment. Not benign magick, either, but something wicked and cruel.

The room she found herself in was illuminated by a hearth higher than her head. The flames were large enough that they might have threatened her nerves were she less exhausted. Now, the promise of warmth after endless days of sleeping in the elements was inviting enough that she sank upon the rug. Her tangled mass of locks tumbled free from her loosened braid over her shoulders as she pried off her shawl.

Vynasha pulled her wet fingerless gloves free and set them beside her shawl before lifting scarred hands to warm before the fire. Her scarred flesh took longer to warm, and she struggled to feel it, numb from the damage she welcomed to save Wyll’s life.

The night you failed to save anyone else.

What would she tell Ceddrych if she found him in this dark place?

“Please, forgive me,” she whispered, biting her bruised lip as the urge to lie down and sleep in this bitter tomb overwhelmed her. “I’m not strong enough, Ced. I’m just not strong like you…” She curled into herself as she rested her head on her damp arm. She needed to remove her sodden layers, wrap up in the rug if nothing better presented itself. But she was so tired, and what magick Mother had passed on to her wasn’t enough to fight her failing body. If the cold didn’t stop her heart, then this starvation certainly would. Her one comfort was that little Wyll was with Resha and Wolfsbane now. They would care for him, keep him safe from the things she could not.

“Just sleep for a little while, then search the rest of the castle,” she whispered to the flames. If she did what Wolfsbane deemed impossible, if she survived whatever evil slumbered in this place, she would make a better life for them after this. She stared into the fire until the weight in her eyes became too great.

The cloying stench of old magick seemed to clear as her eyelids slid shut. A new scent permeated the room, overpowering the taste of ashes on her tongue. The evergreen forest after a winter storm, the land cleansed in a blanket of death.

“Beauty?” It was the voice in the wind.

Strong hands lifted her, tilting the world on its axis as she was cradled closer to this scent and a soft-as-down fur cloak. “Hold on to me, Beauty,” the voice beckoned, deep and rumbling against her ear.

Vynasha turned into the heat and clean scent of the forest, free from old magick. Her hands were too weak to find purchase in the fur cloak. Threads slipped through her fingers, yet she clung on as best she could and whimpered, “So tired…”

“You need not be weary anymore, Beauty. Never again,” the voice replied.

She floated for a time, and the voice hummed a soothing song in deep bass. Vynasha tried to hum along, as the tune was familiar, like something she’d heard in a dream long ago.

The gentle rock as the voice carried her higher and still higher lulled her into a perfect, dreamless sleep.

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About Author Jennifer Silverwood:

 

Jennifer Silverwood author picture

Jennifer Silverwood has been involved in the publishing world since 2012 and is passionate about supporting the writing community however she can. After studying traditional art at university, she began helping Qamber Designs bring authors’ books to life. In real life, she’s a mom of two, a passionate reader, and an occasional artist. Jennifer is the author of three series—Wylder Tales, Heaven’s Edge Novellas, and the Borderlands Saga—and the stand-alone romance titles Stay and She Walks in Moonlight.

Author links:
Website
Website book page
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
Books2Read
Newsletter

 

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There is a tour wide giveaway for the blog tour of Craving Beauty. These are the prizes you can win:
– a $25 Paypal gift card.
– 3 paperback copies of Craving Beauty (US, UK and Canada only). If winner is outside those countries they’ll receive an ecopy instead.
– 5 ebook copies of Craving Beauty.

For a chance to win, enter the rafflecopter below:

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

 

Legends of Ash and Dust

by Kate Cowan

 

(Fearless, #1)
Publication date: January 24th 2023
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
They forged her into a weapon. Now, she is the last.

Aerona was raised by legends. Her people, the Shae, are the closest thing this realm has to the supernatural: they train their entire lives to protect, forging their bodies like steel. They are the stories told to children in the night, the monsters who lurk in the woods. Or, they were — until the massive Red Wolf army attacked, slaughtering them all in a single night.

Now, Aerona is the last, and it doesn’t help that she is the only female Shae in history. Besides the revenge she has sworn to get, she has one final mission: to protect Niran, a handsome prince with secrets of his own.

In Niran’s home, the Palace of the Golden City, nothing is as it seems. Aerona’s enemies are lurking around every corner, the Emperor is blackmailing her into becoming his assassin, and an ex-Shae librarian is convinced that she has a long-forgotten Shae magic hidden on her skin.

Caught between two worlds, Aerona must kill, spy and betray… even if it means unlocking the magic this world has long been starved of…

Goodreads / Amazon

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Enjoy this peek inside:

““What is it?” I demanded. “What’s happening? Kentric, I saw fire—“

“We’re being attacked,” Kentric said. Shouts and bangs and running footfalls filled the air, filtering in through the dark window.

What?” I started for the door, but he pulled me back to face him. “We have to go, we have to fight—“

“There are too many, Aerona. Far too many.”

“Too many? We’re Warriors.

“Fifty of us have already been slain in the Sanctuary,” Kentric said quickly. “More at the outposts and farmhouses. There are hundreds of them, Aerona, an army. We cannot win.”

“No,” I breathed. The world had been opening before my eyes that morning: now, it felt as if it closed in from every angle, crushing me.

Taking a step back, I looked to the glowing window, listened to the screams in the distance.

“We can fight them! Drive them off,” I was pleading, tears in my eyes, but there was ice in Kentric’s gaze.

He had stopped listening. From around his neck, he pulled something on a thin black cord out of his robes. It was small and silver, glinting in the faint light from the window. The symbol of the Shae—all of the Masters wore one, a hand-forged silver pendant. A mountain overlaid with two crossed swords, surrounded by a circle of four dragons. He pushed it into my hands.

“No. I can’t,” I took a step back, looking shakily down at the heavy, cold pendant.

“There’s no time for this. Listen to me carefully,” he took my shoulders, standing so close I could feel his breath on my face. “The prince is your responsibility now. He’s in the barns, Malik told him to meet you there. Take horses and get off the Shae mountain. Get far, don’t stop moving, and don’t use the gates to get past River’s Edge. Go through the river itself. Don’t come back here, don’t try to fight them. You are Shae. You are one of us. Never forget that. We will fight them as long as we can. Stay off the main roads and away from anyone until you reach Dothor.”

I tried to suppress the tears welling up in my eyes, clenching my jaw and my fists, but my heart broke as Kentric wrapped me in a fierce hug. He was old, but like an ancient willow, he was supple and strong.

“Now go, Aero,” he whispered in my ear. “Go!”

I knew I would regret it, Gods, I knew I would—but I did as Kentric told me.

I ran.

Author Kate Cowan:

Hi, I’m Kate Cowan. I’m an author, writer, painter, and illustrator. When I’m not writing or creating art, I love to take my three insane dogs out for hikes and explore the beautiful Niagara region of Canada, where I live. My passion is in telling stories that move people and capture their imaginations. I also strive to create art that is full of life and beauty. I love creating pretty things, both written and painted. I’m also a martial arts instructor, 3rd-degree black belt in Goju-Ryu Karate, and lover of badass characters (which I’m sure you can tell from my books!!)

Goodreads / Twitter / Instagram / TikTok / Newsletter

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.