Archive for October 19, 2016

Spells and Sorcery
S. Usher Evans
(Lexie Carrigan Chronicles, #1)
Publication date: October 4th 2016
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

You have magic.

One sentence, three words, four syllables. Enough to change my life forever. And I’m not talking about the whole spells and sorcery thing.

Lexie Carrigan thought the weirdest thing about her was she preferred watching documentaries and reading the newspaper to reality TV and Twitter. But on the eve of her fifteenth birthday, her aunt and sisters drop a bomb–she’s magical.

Now the girl who never made waves is blowing up her nightstand and trying to keep from wreaking havoc on her school. When a kind stranger shows up with all the answers, Lexie hopes he’ll be able to help her control her newfound powers. But Gavon may not be as kind as he seems, and soon Lexie finds out that being magical is the least weird thing about her.

Spells and Sorcery is the first YA fantasy from S. Usher Evans, author of the Razia series, the Madion War Trilogy and Empath.

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Enjoy the excerpt.

“You really can’t be okay with me putting all of my classmates in danger?” I asked, for probably the fifth time since we’d left the house. “I set my bedroom on fire, Jeanie.”

“Last night, you were taken off guard. Now, you’re all right. Look,” she reached across the car and took my hand, “no magic here.”

I retracted my hand and stared at my fingertips. “Yeah, but what if—”

“Lexie, you’re one of the most brilliant kids I know,” Jeanie said, and I was too shocked at the rare praise to respond. “Magic is simply another part of you, and it always has been. Just like you can use that brain of yours to remember all those useless facts and quotes, you can use your mind to control your magic. If you want to control it, you will.”

“Thanks,” I said, although I didn’t quite understand what she was saying. If I had no idea what I was supposed to control, or how to control it, I wasn’t sure how effective my will was going to be.

Jeanie pulled up in front of the school and turned to me. “Before you go, I have two ground rules with your magic. The first is you are not allowed to use your magic on anyone. Not your sister, not students, anyone.

I nodded.

“Second, which should go without saying, is that you aren’t allowed to do magic at school. And until you get a handle on it, you are not allowed to use it unsupervised.”

Again, I nodded, although I wanted to argue that I hadn’t actually willfully done any magic since I’d received it.

“Are you picking me up later?”

“Unfortunately, you’ll have to ride with Marie this afternoon. I’ve got a few meetings I can’t get out of. But later tonight, we’ll go out to dinner for your birthday, all right?”

“Okay,” I said, cracking open the door. My stomach was a mess of nerves, but I took some solace in Jeanie’s lack of concern. If she thought I wasn’t a disaster waiting to happen, then maybe I wasn’t.

 

Author S. Usher Evans

S. Usher Evans is an author, blogger, and witty banter aficionado. Born in Pensacola, Florida, she left the sleepy town behind for the fast-paced world of Washington, D.C.. There, she somehow landed jobs with BBC, Discovery Channel, and National Geographic Television before finally settling into a “real job” as an IT consultant. After a quarter life crisis at age 27, she decided consulting was for the birds and rekindled a childhood passion for writing novels. She sold everything she owned and moved back to Pensacola, where she currently resides with her two dogs, Zoe and Mr. Biscuit.

Evans is the author of the Razia series, Madion War Trilogy, and Empath, published by Sun’s Golden Ray Publishing.

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Title: LIONS CAN’T EAT SPAGHETTI
Author: Bethany Ramos
Publisher: 4RV Publishing
Pages: 50
Genre: Children’s Picture Book

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My Review

A sweet story about a little boy who takes in what he thinks is a stray kitten, but proves to be a lion cub.

As the cub grows, his friends and family react differently than he had hoped.

This wonderful little story is filled with beautiful, fun illustrations, and it has an important message. If you love something or someone, it’s hard, but sometimes you have to let them go for them to be safe and happy.

You are your little ones will have a delightful time as you share this story.

4 Stars

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Synopsis

Christopher finds a kitten on his doorstep, which, to his surprise, grows up into a lion! Since Christopher already loves his pet, he tries to introduce him to his everyday life, much to the horror of his friends, family, and neighbors.

Lions Can’t Eat Spaghetti is a lighthearted children’s book for ages 3 to 6 that celebrates the special bond that all children have with animals.

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Book Excerpt:

Christopher ducked his head and pulled up his jacket. It’s pouring, he thought as he raced toward his house. He ran so fast he almost missed it – a little kitten sat on his doorstep.

“Hey, little kitty,” Christopher said. “Let’s go inside to get warm until we find where you live.” The wet, shivery kitten purred.

Christopher poured his new friend a bowl of milk and gave him some leftover hamburger from the refrigerator. “Sorry, we don’t have kitty food – hope you like hamburger. Now let’s try to find where you belong.”

Christopher thought and thought until a great idea came to him, the perfect idea to help the kitty find his way home. He’d use his crayons and make a sign to put in the neighborhood. The kitty’s owners must miss him by now.

Christopher waited a month before he said, “It looks like no one lost their kitten, so I get to name you. I’ll call you Kip, Kip the kitten. I like it!”

Christopher raced home from school every day to play with his new pet. Every afternoon, little by little, Christopher noticed Kip looked different.

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About Author Bethany Ramos

bethany-ramos

Bethany Ramos is a children’s book author, editor, and blogger. She is a regular contributor to SheKnows.com. Bethany’s first children’s book, Lions Can’t Eat Spaghetti, was published through 4RV Publishing in 2016. Her second children’s book, There’s a Bumbie Under My Bed, was published by Saturn’s Moon Press, also in 2016. Her first chick lit novel, 5 Stages of Grief, was published by Black Opal Books in 2011; her second chick lit novel, Adventure to Love, was published by Soul Mate Publishing in 2013.

Bethany works as Editor in Chief for Naturally Healthy Publications.

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!

Check out my list of reviews HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways click on the lucky kitty below!

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