Posts Tagged ‘YA’

 

Invocation

by Aileen Erin

 

(Days of Iron and Clay, #1)
Publication date: March 19th 2024
Genres: Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult

From USA Today Bestselling Author Aileen Erin comes an all-new action-packed, romance-filled paranormal series.

There are three things I know without question.

One: demons are real.

Two: humans make awful mistakes that get them in demonic trouble more often than you’d think.

And three: I’m the only one who can help them.

I straddle the line between the mortal and spiritual realms every day. People might think they’re two different places, but they’re not. They lay on top of each other. It’s messy, and that’s why so many people need my help. Since I was little, I’ve been called all kinds of names—unusual, abnormal, even insane. Which is fitting, since they keep throwing me in to mental facilities. I’ve been in and out of them my entire life.

But no matter what people say, no matter what I’m risking, I will always help those in need.

Because there’s an endless war carrying on all around us, every minute of every day. One that can’t be seen by mortal eyes. But I can see it, the spiritual battle for mortal souls, and I’m working hard to make sure my father is on the losing side. He — Astaroth, Satan’s general— is why I can do this. He’s why I’m not normal. I can’t have friends, a life, or a boyfriend. I won’t be selfish enough to drag someone into this fight. But I’m not lonely. Not exactly. I have my mom. She’s my rock, my best friend, my partner. She helps me do what needs to be done, and she’s never afraid when it feels like I’m always afraid.

Because I hear my father whispering my name each night, his taunts echoing through the spiritual realm. He’s hunting me, and I know the day will come when I must face him again.

Every portal I open could be the one that finally pulls me back to Hell, and I wonder if I will brave enough, strong enough, good enough to fight him.

My name is Samantha Catherine Lopez, and I am Nephilim. This is my story.

**Fans of the Alpha Girls series will love this new series set in the same world, with a few familiar faces, but you DO NOT have to have read a single word of the Alpha Girls series to enjoy Samantha’s story.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks

~~~~~

Enjoy this peek inside:

The heat from the fires of Hell were burning my feet. I needed to close the portal, but I needed to get up to the other side before I did.

And then there was a warmth—not like the burning heat from Hell—but something else—something soothing—and I knew what I had to do.

I had to get rid of the tie.

I couldn’t cut it—I’d tried that so many times—but I could shove it away. I could lessen its effects. I’d even burned it out once.

If it worked before, it could work now.

I blocked everything out except for the feeling of the tie that bound me to my father. It was always there—a leash of fire that wrapped around my body, my soul—thicker than any other tie I’d seen before on a living person. But it wasn’t just a demon-mortal tie. It was a father-daughter tie.

The tie connecting us grew hotter, burning, and I focused everything I had on burning it out.

I let my outrage fuel me. The outrage of how this monster—my father—had hunted me my whole life, tortured my mother, dragged me to Hell, and made it impossible for me to have any kind of innocent childhood.

He’d robbed me over and over of everything good.

Not this time. He wouldn’t win this time.

He laughed. He actually laughed at me. “I gave you life. I gave you your powers. Just as I give, I can take it all away.

No. I didn’t believe that.

And I wasn’t quitting. I wasn’t listening to him.

Screw him.

I pulled again, but it didn’t work. He started to say something about how I was a failure, but screw him. Screw failing. Screw everything but sending him back to Hell.

But my mouth was dry and I wanted to throw up and my body was starting to feel weaker and my arms started to shake.

An evil, deep rumbling noise had fear skittering along my skin.

I was getting too tired, too quickly.

And then it clicked.

He wasn’t just controlling me. He was draining my strength through our tie.

Fast.

I had to be faster.

Quickly, as quick as I could, I pictured the tie knotting and pulling tight, cutting off my father’s influence. I pictured it again—forcing my will on the tie.

Knotted and pulled tight.

Knotted and pulled tight.

Slowly, with every knot, I felt my father’s control lessening. Just enough so that I could think and—

Where was Eli?

That one thought broke through.

It was a tiny crack, but it was enough.

Eli!” I screamed along the spiritual realm as loud and with as much force as I could. I tried to pull myself up, but my arms were too tired.

The demons below me started screaming and moving faster. They knew who I’d called, and they knew what he could do to them.

Something hit my feet.

I jerked my leg away, and my hands slipped and—

Phoenix’s face suddenly above mine.

He was now hanging halfway through the portal. The only thing keeping me from dropping was his grip on my wrists. “Samantha. Please! Can you hear me?” His voice was deep and calm as it washed over me.

“I can now. Thank you.”

“Pull me up. Now. Hurry.”

“On the count of three. Okay?” He smiled. Even while all this insanity was happening—he smiled and it calmed me again and gave me confidence.

Why? I couldn’t say. But it did.

“One…Two…Three.” He pulled a little, and then all of a sudden, jerked me up, and I was lying on top of him.

“Thanks.” I gasped out the word and let my body relax against his for a second.

“You’re welcome.”

~~~~~

About Author Eileen Erin:

Aileen Erin is half-Irish, half-Mexican, and 100% nerd–from Star Wars (prequels don’t count) to Star Trek (TNG FTW), she reads Quenya and some Sindarin, and has a severe fascination with the supernatural. Aileen has a BS in Radio-TV-Film from the University of Texas at Austin, and an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. She lives with her husband in Los Angeles, and spends her days doing her favorite things: reading books, creating worlds, and kicking ass.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

 

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a Rafflecopter 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.



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Invocation

by Aileen Erin

 

(Days of Iron and Clay, #1)
Publication date: March 19th 2024
Genres: Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult

From USA Today Bestselling Author Aileen Erin comes an all-new action-packed, romance-filled paranormal series.

There are three things I know without question.

One: demons are real.

Two: humans make awful mistakes that get them in demonic trouble more often than you’d think.

And three: I’m the only one who can help them.

I straddle the line between the mortal and spiritual realms every day. People might think they’re two different places, but they’re not. They lay on top of each other. It’s messy, and that’s why so many people need my help. Since I was little, I’ve been called all kinds of names—unusual, abnormal, even insane. Which is fitting, since they keep throwing me in to mental facilities. I’ve been in and out of them my entire life.

But no matter what people say, no matter what I’m risking, I will always help those in need.

Because there’s an endless war carrying on all around us, every minute of every day. One that can’t be seen by mortal eyes. But I can see it, the spiritual battle for mortal souls, and I’m working hard to make sure my father is on the losing side. He — Astaroth, Satan’s general— is why I can do this. He’s why I’m not normal. I can’t have friends, a life, or a boyfriend. I won’t be selfish enough to drag someone into this fight. But I’m not lonely. Not exactly. I have my mom. She’s my rock, my best friend, my partner. She helps me do what needs to be done, and she’s never afraid when it feels like I’m always afraid.

Because I hear my father whispering my name each night, his taunts echoing through the spiritual realm. He’s hunting me, and I know the day will come when I must face him again.

Every portal I open could be the one that finally pulls me back to Hell, and I wonder if I will brave enough, strong enough, good enough to fight him.

My name is Samantha Catherine Lopez, and I am Nephilim. This is my story.

**Fans of the Alpha Girls series will love this new series set in the same world, with a few familiar faces, but you DO NOT have to have read a single word of the Alpha Girls series to enjoy Samantha’s story.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks

~~~~~

Enjoy this peek inside:

The heat from the fires of Hell were burning my feet. I needed to close the portal, but I needed to get up to the other side before I did.

And then there was a warmth—not like the burning heat from Hell—but something else—something soothing—and I knew what I had to do.

I had to get rid of the tie.

I couldn’t cut it—I’d tried that so many times—but I could shove it away. I could lessen its effects. I’d even burned it out once.

If it worked before, it could work now.

I blocked everything out except for the feeling of the tie that bound me to my father. It was always there—a leash of fire that wrapped around my body, my soul—thicker than any other tie I’d seen before on a living person. But it wasn’t just a demon-mortal tie. It was a father-daughter tie.

The tie connecting us grew hotter, burning, and I focused everything I had on burning it out.

I let my outrage fuel me. The outrage of how this monster—my father—had hunted me my whole life, tortured my mother, dragged me to Hell, and made it impossible for me to have any kind of innocent childhood.

He’d robbed me over and over of everything good.

Not this time. He wouldn’t win this time.

He laughed. He actually laughed at me. “I gave you life. I gave you your powers. Just as I give, I can take it all away.

No. I didn’t believe that.

And I wasn’t quitting. I wasn’t listening to him.

Screw him.

I pulled again, but it didn’t work. He started to say something about how I was a failure, but screw him. Screw failing. Screw everything but sending him back to Hell.

But my mouth was dry and I wanted to throw up and my body was starting to feel weaker and my arms started to shake.

An evil, deep rumbling noise had fear skittering along my skin.

I was getting too tired, too quickly.

And then it clicked.

He wasn’t just controlling me. He was draining my strength through our tie.

Fast.

I had to be faster.

Quickly, as quick as I could, I pictured the tie knotting and pulling tight, cutting off my father’s influence. I pictured it again—forcing my will on the tie.

Knotted and pulled tight.

Knotted and pulled tight.

Slowly, with every knot, I felt my father’s control lessening. Just enough so that I could think and—

Where was Eli?

That one thought broke through.

It was a tiny crack, but it was enough.

Eli!” I screamed along the spiritual realm as loud and with as much force as I could. I tried to pull myself up, but my arms were too tired.

The demons below me started screaming and moving faster. They knew who I’d called, and they knew what he could do to them.

Something hit my feet.

I jerked my leg away, and my hands slipped and—

Phoenix’s face suddenly above mine.

He was now hanging halfway through the portal. The only thing keeping me from dropping was his grip on my wrists. “Samantha. Please! Can you hear me?” His voice was deep and calm as it washed over me.

“I can now. Thank you.”

“Pull me up. Now. Hurry.”

“On the count of three. Okay?” He smiled. Even while all this insanity was happening—he smiled and it calmed me again and gave me confidence.

Why? I couldn’t say. But it did.

“One…Two…Three.” He pulled a little, and then all of a sudden, jerked me up, and I was lying on top of him.

“Thanks.” I gasped out the word and let my body relax against his for a second.

“You’re welcome.”

~~~~~

 

About Author Aileen Erin

Aileen Erin is half-Irish, half-Mexican, and 100% nerd–from Star Wars (prequels don’t count) to Star Trek (TNG FTW), she reads Quenya and some Sindarin, and has a severe fascination with the supernatural. Aileen has a BS in Radio-TV-Film from the University of Texas at Austin, and an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. She lives with her husband in Los Angeles, and spends her days doing her favorite things: reading books, creating worlds, and kicking ass.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

 

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a Rafflecopter 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.

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

Author Kimberly Baer will award a $25 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.

Out Of Body

by Kimberly Baer

 

 

Genre: YA / Paranormal / SciFi

Synopsis

Those weird dreams Abby Kendrick has been having? Turns out they aren’t dreams after all. They’re out-of-body experiences, like the ones her cousin Logan is having. At first Abby has fun with her new ability, using it to spy on her neighborhood crush and spook a mean girl. But when Logan gets in trouble on the astral plane, the game changes, and Abby must bend the rules of out-of-body travel as she journeys to a distant realm. Her mission is a perilous one, and success is not guaranteed. Can she save Logan and find her way home again? Or will the cousins be lost forever on the astral plane?

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Enjoy this peek inside:

I strode back to the coffee table and pressed the off button on the remote. Instantly the TV went blind and silent, like a lopped-off head. But I didn’t make it to my bedroom. Before I could take another step, I saw it again, that flitting movement near the recliner. This time there was an accompanying noise—the unmistakable rustling of clothing.

I turned in dread, and at long last there was something to see. I felt the briefest flicker of triumph—Ha! Caught you!—before the horror of the situation thumped me in the chest.

My dad’s jacket had come to life. It was floating in the air beside the recliner, puffy and solid as if inhabited by a body. The sleeves were waving: Hey, look at me!

I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t move. My vision darkened as if I was going to pass out, but if I did, that would be the end of me, because that thing would come over and strangle me. It was a disembodied jacket. It couldn’t be up to any good.

The jacket’s sleeves reached down. They bent at the elbows. Up went the jacket’s zipper with a z-z-zip sound.

Somehow I managed to draw in a big, rasping breath, and I screamed. I screamed loudly enough to wake the Halloween dead.

Then I ran for the front door.

About Author Kimberly Baer:

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Kimberly Baer is an author and professional editor who was born and raised in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, a town marginally famous for having endured three major floods. She even lived there during one of them. She enjoys power-walking on days when it’s not too hot, too cold, too rainy, too snowy, or too windy. On indoor days, you’re likely to find her hard at work on her next novel or binge-watching old episodes of Survivor, her favorite guilty pleasure.

Kim has had her nose in a book practically since birth. Her first story, written at age six, was about a baby chick that hatched out of a little girl’s Easter egg after somehow surviving the hard-boiling process. These days she writes in a variety of genres, including adult romantic suspense, young adult, and middle-grade. Her books are published by The Wild Rose Press and have won several awards.

Author Links: Website / Twitter / Instagram / Facebook / TikTok / Amazon / Goodreads / BookBub

Purchase Links: Amazon / B&N / Apple / BookBub

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

~~~~~

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.

 

False Haven

by Rebecca Rook

 

Publication date: February 13th 2024
Genres: Horror, Young Adult

False Haven is a young adult horror novel for fans of Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake, Asylum by Madeleine Roux, and Fiendish by Brenna Yovanoff.

Seventeen-year-old Vivienne Barston’s life has fallen apart.

With her mother recently dead, her father disappears into his grief – leaving Viv to deal with her sadness and anger alone. Viv turns to destructive behaviors like petty vandalism, but after a disturbing stint in a juvenile detention center frightens her, Viv agrees to a court mandated service opportunity designed to expunge her record. The deal: work for six weeks with a trail conservation crew in the rural woods of southern Oregon, and she’ll be free with a clean slate.

She knows it’s her last chance to fix her life.

When Viv arrives at the small town of Hard Luck, Oregon, she meets her motley crewmates, all with troubles of their own. The unusual group travels to Grafton Stake, a remote and derelict former asylum with a haunted history–and now Viv must face the ghosts of the past while fighting for her future.

Don’t miss this inventive horror novel where Holes meets The Haunting of Hill House!

Goodreads / Amazon

~~~~~

Enjoy this peek inside:


“Morgan! She’s here, oh my god, she’s here.” Cat tried to push past Viv.
,
Viv flung up an arm to bar Cat’s movement. “Stop,” Viv hissed through gritted teeth. “Look.”
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Cat stopped. She saw. And fell back, almost behind Viv.
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“Oh my god,” Viv heard the other girl whimper from behind her.
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But she couldn’t take her eyes off the scene before her.
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Morgan stood several feet away, near the center of the graveyard. Dressed in a white gown that
gleamed like bone in the twilight, Viv saw that the garment was old-fashioned, with flounces at
the hem and on the chest. The hem trailed in the wet grass at Morgan’s feet. Long sleeves
covered her arms, and Morgan’s long hair draped down her gown and around her body like
ropes, the ends of her hair coated in a sticky fluid. Viv’s eyes trailed over the gown. Red stains,
etched in symbols that resembled keys, were traced across the fabric. Morgan’s hands were
coated in red, and Viv realized, in a distant corner of her mind, that the red was blood.
.
More blood dripped from her scalp, a gory crown that haloed her white face and wide eyes. Her
lips were stained red, and more fluid dribbled from her mouth as Morgan’s face stretched into
the familiar too wide, grotesque grin. Feathers, blue and black and red, rested on the ground at
Morgan’s feet, also stained with blood.
.
Morgan turned from the sky and focused on Viv. The grin grew wider.
.
“Hello.” The high, thin, childish voice was back.
.
“Have you come to join us?”

.

.

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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a Rafflecopter giveaway

.

~~~~~

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.

Welcome to My Monday Minis where I share short reviews about books I’ve read.

I’ve got another bloody good one from a horror author I’ve got on my top ten list.

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 Children Of The Dark

by Jonathan Janz

 

Genre: Horror / YA

c8df8-add2bto2bgoodreads2bblack

MY REVIEW

There was this one character I really liked and….. he died, horribly. If Janz would kill him off, who wouldn’t he kill? And that’s just one thing I really enjoy about his books. The unpredictability. The edgy suspense.

Will is the main character and easy to like. His mother is a mess and he’s tasked with raising his little sister, Peach. And then there’s Mia. The girl makes his heart race. But, she’s dating his worst enemy. This will all seem small as an escaped serial killer is heading to their town and something thought to be an urban legend begins to stir in the forest.

There you have it. The perfect storm for a horror story. And Janz unleashes it. I’ve read a lot of his books and even if I think the plot sounds familiar, have read ones like it before, I don’t let my guard down. He has power in his writing skills. Takes a plot and owns it. And drops you in to either survive or perish with his characters.

 4 STARS

~~~~~

Synopsis

Will Burgess is used to hard knocks. Abandoned by his father, son of a drug-addicted mother, and charged with raising his six-year-old sister, Will has far more to worry about than most high school freshmen. To make matters worse, Mia Samuels, the girl of Will’s dreams, is dating his worst enemy, the most sadistic upperclassman at Shadeland High. Will’s troubles, however, are just beginning.

Because one of the nation’s most notorious criminals—the Moonlight Killer—has escaped from prison and is headed straight toward Will’s hometown. And something else is lurking in Savage Hollow, the forest surrounding Will’s rundown house. Something ancient and infinitely evil. When the worst storm of the decade descends on Shadeland, Will and his friends must confront unfathomable horrors. Everyone Will loves—his mother, his little sister, Mia, and his friends—will be threatened.

And very few of them will escape with their lives.

Amazon

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!

You can find a list of my reviews HERE.

For a list of free eBooks go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE

 

The Hanging Night

by Sasha Hibbs & Christina Hooker

 

(The Threads of Fate, #1)
Published by: Evernight Teen
Publication date: December 15th 2023
Genres: Romance, Young Adult

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When a sad turn of fate takes Josephine Blair to the small town of Bridgeport, West Virginia, she meets and falls for the devious and cunning Caius Duke. Her life blooms in both wonderful and terrifying ways.

Together, Josephine and Caius discover they have something deeper and more intense than true love. While theirs is a love spanning centuries, what they don’t realize is the stronger their relationship becomes, the more some unknown evil is trying to tear them apart.

A captivating tale of eternal love, vengeful curses, and a power that can make or break them all, The Hanging Night will pull you in, making you wonder how we are all tied together, and if the ties that bind are truly meant to last.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

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Enjoy this peek inside:

You know you can’t see the air, and you don’t have to see it to know it’s there—it just fills the space, and you’re grateful (whether you realize it or not) because if it didn’t fill the space, you’d suffocate.

That’s how I knew she was in the room.

I had my head down, searching through magazines, when what I can only describe as a heat chill rippled in me, causing me to shiver and the skin on the back of my neck to tingle. When I heard the cooler door pop open, I stopped breathing and stayed perfectly still, hoping this wasn’t the day I got arrested for shoplifting … for stealing stale food and one lousy, domestic beer, no less. If I had to go to jail, I wanted it to at least be for something worth it—money, jewelry, a car. FYI: I’ve never stolen any of those things or anything like that—only necessary or completely useless items, which I know is paradoxical. Let me explain: I’d take a plastic bobble-head of an off-brand, generic Batman or a sandwich before I’d take something sentimental or valuable to an individual—it’s just how I roll, ya know? And only from stores. Like, I don’t want your shit, but if it’s some dumbass thing on a shelf in a Dollar General, it’s fair game, and of course, like I said, I learned to be my own chef at a very young age. And can I really be held responsible for what I do when I am hungry? Isn’t that a famous candy commercial these days?

I wasn’t startled when she spoke, but expectant, and resigning myself to the fact that I was busted, I turned to face the girl. When I looked at her, all I saw was sadness. There wasn’t a stitch of makeup on her face, but she didn’t need any because even in sadness, she was striking. The circles under her eyes were so dark and deep, they almost echoed, but her brown irises were flat, like something was missing in them—a spark, maybe, and at the very end of her left eyebrow, there was a tiny, pink crystal. I immediately loved it—it gave her an edge no girl I’d seen in this boring ass town had. Her espresso-colored hair was knotted up in a bun with frizzy strands sticking out everywhere, which, though messy, was somehow endearing. Overall, she looked defeated, though, like all the air had been let out of her balloon. So, despite the circumstances, despite me being caught, red-handed, stealing my dinner, I immediately wanted to make her smile. So, I made jokes, trying to be cool. Im not really into labels.

“Put those back!”

“C’mon. They’re five-day old pepperoni rolls. You’re going to pitch them anyway. I’m hungry.”

She seemed to contemplate for a moment, tilting her head and looking at me, taking me all in, trying to figure me out. Her shoulders relaxed a little, and she let out a quick breath, seeming to judge that I wasn’t a threat. “And cigarettes? I know old people do, but what teenager smokes these days? News flash. They’re bad for you. And if you’re only hungry, what about the beer and the magazine?”

“Uh … after dinner entertainment?” I asked, trying to justify myself.

She reached out and grabbed for the 40oz beer I had, and as her hand brushed mine, my brain short-circuited. Ice formed around each of my ribs, cracking then melting, and in that moment, I felt the color red splash through me. She paused, momentarily looking dead into my eyes, and somehow, I knew she felt it too. Our hands had to have only touched for a nanosecond, but it passed in an eternity. The intensity—our brains somehow sharing the same image, as if connected by some weird fiber optic cable—was overwhelming, and I gasped, but the rest of my body was paralyzed as I got stuck in this strange moment with her. But for as quickly as it came and as long as it lingered, the cable snapped, and the moment broke, and the world spun in real time again. My body jerked at the sharp snap back to reality, causing me to yank my hand back, and when I did, the beer exploded in foam and glass shards at our feet, a kind of drunken mosaic.

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Author Bio:

By age 5, Sasha Hibbs‘ favorite movie was Gone With the Wind. By age 12, she completed her 7th grade book report on the sequel, Scarlett. By 18, she met and married her very own Mr. Rhett Butler and as it turns out, she never had to worry about going back to Tara to win the love of her life back. Fortunately, he stuck with her.

With a love of all things paranormal, the ambiance of the South with its gigantic antebellum mansions and canopies of Spanish moss, and a love for her husband’s rich storytelling of blacksmiths and the mythology surrounding their origins, it wasn’t long until the world of her debut novel, Black Amaranth, was born.

When not working her day job as a nurse, you can find Sasha dreaming of her next beach trip, reading the latest YA novel, and drinking more white chocolate mocha than she should.

Sasha lives in mountainous West Virginia with her husband, Tim, and their two daughters. She is currently hard at work on her next novel.

Author links:
Website / Instagram / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

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Christina: I’ve always been captivated by stories and words, but not with the speaking of them (as I’m little more than a foul mouth with appendages), just with the reading and writing of them.

In 2020, I made my dream of writing a book a reality, and in 2023, my first collaborative novel is releasing!

Author links

Website / Instagram / Facebook

 

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.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

.

~~~~~

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:
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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:
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For a list of my reviews 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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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:
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Bookbub
Amazon

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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
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Goodreads
Amazon

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

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To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

Welcome to my stop on the virtual book tour for Rise Of Dresca organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Author Tim McKay will be awarding a $40 Amazon or B&N Gift ardC 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.

Rise Of Dresca

by Tim McKay

 

https://i0.wp.com/blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-qJKw_NBfwA-GWNIAINguCLHvfbIesOVnF4RfJ4wMhsYXAeF07W6RJo_78bhthODHAn6unybvwbI6ExJ1x3n4Fx0poRpDERQatkKYRsdiDI4yGzbwyrBNfWdRFJmVJ1947dfLbjsXEaJ9Sxx8s2gnzS0oxXGNWvqsmSY4k_5oaz4I1Of1SzkBXVqrLac/s4950/BookCover_RiseofDresca_SC_Final_Front.jpg?ssl=1

 

Genre: YA / Dark Fantasy

Synopsis

From the pits of an ancient darkness, a new power is rising.

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Ceremai has fallen.

After a decade of struggle for independence, a fledgling nation collapses under the unrelenting force of invasion.

Join an unlikely band of allies on a journey beset by shadow and intrigue, pulled by the strings of fate to the source of a new evil.

A lord’s daughter turns assassin. An orphan girl discovers her power. A captain plots in vain.

And the last soldier of Ceremai finds his destiny.

Witness the dawn of a new age, and learn if what evil intended for harm…

… can become something far more terrible.

 

Enjoy this peek inside:

“I’m not much of a teacher,” said Sevora. She unclipped her scabbard and pulled the long blade free.

“I’ll bet,” said Datha with a snicker, just loud enough to regret it when Sevora sent him her most withering look.

“I’ll do my best to keep up,” said Vald. As he pulled Seth’s korossa from its worn scabbard, the blade seemed to ring. Sevora could have sworn she saw a faint blue light glimmer along its edge. She’d have shrugged it off if not for Seth’s wide eyes, which quickly turned serious.

Vald handed the scabbard to Seth, then twisted the sword in a narrow flourish, gripping hard on the hilt and shifting down into a stance Sevora recognized. Vald wasn’t showing off. She was about to be challenged.

She drew herself up. “Read… ahem… ready?”

Vald nodded.

Sevora shot forward, left arm straightened and her sword piercing the air where Vald’s bulk had been. He’d stepped left, pivoting and catching her blade with a stiff but powerful undercut. The force pulled her arm up and around so she stumbled two steps over.

She’d left her side open and knew what was coming. Vald closed in with a sweeping diagonal slash that her hasty defense barely caught. He pressed his korossa on hers and it took all her strength to keep her own blade from digging into her shoulder. Their eyes locked.

For the first time since the dragon swarms flew east, she was afraid.

About Author Tim McKay:

https://i1.wp.com/blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJZA41ULLbr5hv1s0cssg7MH-3SJ98dnnwvIhDqqII4LK1sUSRAZFcYox4jkjoE2WE8_jB7SNRQ4veYiUitd65QFS7asHdo0YCVuM45dhrTWpKi3h_bEIg1Rt4CwdePTqWQBI_Wy23JSkcjdUdZ0MYcJUpSYTUFz8vqrACF2Rnv_Nse0RRUeN4trpB3Bg/s2880/Author%20Image%20TimothyMcKay0014_Resize.jpg?ssl=1

Tim McKay is a writer, editor, and marketer from Ottawa, Canada. He used to be a pastor, still cares about good and evil, and still strives to create meaningful experiences for others. He has degrees in history, theology, and public policy, along with a diploma in professional writing, but likes nothing more than hiking in the woods, running along the Rideau Canal, and connecting with the people he loves. Oh, and reading a good book.

Author Links: Website / Twitter / Instagram

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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.