fuonlyknew

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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.

Craving Beauty (Wylder Tales #1)

By Jennifer Silverwood

 

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 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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