City of Cruelty and Copper
Temperance Era # 1
By- Rhiannon Paille
Nuclear warfare destroyed Earth, setting it off its axis. A group of survivors escaped to Antarctica, discovering a city under the permafrost. Fable Ketterling was thirteen when the bombs went off. She was fifteen when she and her parents escaped. She was fifteen when she found the fountain of youth. She was fifteen when the fountain made her immortal. She was the only one.
.
I have so much to show you today!
I’m showcasing Mind Games: The Cassie Scot Series, Book 3.
I’ve also got the first and second books in this exciting series and there’s all kinds of links for fun content.
There’s a huge giveaway too.
And Christine Amsden is here to tell us all about writing her amazing series.
So check it out, click on some links, read my reviews of the first two books, and don’t forget to enter the giveaway!
~~~
The Bumpy Road to Cassie Scot
Cassie Scot: ParaNormal Detective was the easiest, most natural book I ever wrote. It almost seemed to write itself! The entire series felt natural because of the way I identified with and practically channelled the main character, but the challenges grew with each book. The final volume, Stolen Dreams, presented the greatest difficulties. But also, and in my very biased opinion, I rose to the challenges, making each book better than the one before.
Cassie first came to me in a burst of inspiration, and I pushed out the first draft of a book in record time. I did rewrite and heavily revise the book several times based on some astute feedback from beta readers, but even the rewrites were easier than usual. There was a certain energy to each revision, a vitality and a definite sense of purpose. I never tried to rewrite the book without specific feedback and a plan, and I always felt a sense of rightness about the changes I made. The final revision came after I had finished rough drafts of the rest of the series, which gave me the power to make sure I did not contradict myself and that I had set everything up, even if the readers would not yet know the significance of every decision I made.
I usually find beginnings easier than endings, which may be another reason why the first book was the easiest of the four for me to write. It did come to a conclusion (the mystery was solved), but I set up many problems in book one that I didn’t have to deal with at the time – I left that for a future version of me to handle.
It wasn’t until I first drafted Secrets and Lies that I came up with a plan for the rest of the series. Before then I had some vague notions and themes, but the cliffhanger ending to Secrets and Lies was as much a surprise to me as it was to my readers! Yet that cliffhanger ending sets the tone for the final two books. Secrets and Lies was a book of discovery for me. I refined my characters, learned new things about the bigger magical world, and decided what the rest of the series would look like. The biggest challenge in Secrets and Lies was balancing the mystery with all the personal and magical discoveries being made. Some of the lessons I learned while writing this book led to a major revision of book one. But the growing pains took place while writing book two.
Mind Games was the most difficult of the four books to draft for two reasons. First, I was writing from the first person point of view of a character who was being subtly manipulated by mind magic. I wanted this to be absolutely obvious to the reader from page one, but at the same time I needed to convince the reader of Cassie’s struggle with this truth. Second, I strayed from the series’ primary love interest, Evan, and I found it very difficult to write romantic scenes between Cassie and another man. Even knowing it would be temporary, even knowing Cassie was partly being manipulated, and even knowing that Cassie needed this test of character, I still felt like I was cheating on Evan when I wrote certain scenes. Strangely enough, though, the final version of Mind Games is closer to its first draft form than any other book in the series. I made few revisions, none of them major, which leads me to the most challenging volume …
Stolen Dreams is not the book I first wrote. It wasn’t even originally called Stolen Dreams, it was called Dreamer. But regardless of what I ended up calling it, there exists (somewhere on my hard drive) a rough draft of a book that I originally intended to conclude the series which has almost nothing whatsoever in common with the book I’ll be releasing this summer. I think I reused one scene, then revised it heavily.
Ground-up rewrites are rare, and there is only one reason to do it: A fundamental flaw in the spirit of the story. That first draft was not about what it should have been about: it challenged Cassie in all the wrong ways, it broke an important theme I had been building all along, and it reverted to genre cliches that the series had, up until then, avoided.
Whew!
I went to a book signing/Q&A with Jim Butcher in the summer of 2011. He had just put out Cold Days (which turned out to be my least favorite of the Dresden Files books – I have bad luck with books I get signed by authors). But during that Q&A, I had an epiphany. Someone asked him when and how The Dresden Files would end. Jim gave his usual not-entirely-joking answer about the length of the series depending upon whether his kids decided to go to grad school, but then he said something else about endings. He said (and I’m obviously paraphrasing) that by the time a series is over, the main character should be uniquely qualified to overcome the final hurtle.
I had a lightbulb moment. It wasn’t a warm, glowy sort of lightbulb moment because I knew instantly that I had to toss an entire draft in the trash (metaphorically speaking – I never throw anything away).
Cassie has no magical powers. In my first draft, I had her facing a challenge that any of the people around her with magical powers would have been far better able to handle. She wasn’t just not uniquely qualified to handle it, she was probably the least qualified person to handle it! But I had fallen into the same trap Cassie fell into – thinking she needed to be able to compete with powerful sorcerers in a magical world in order to be worthwhile. And actually, I think the series as a whole is stronger because I started to fall into that trap with her. In the final book, she and I both had an important lesson to learn. Specifically, that being a hero isn’t about overpowering or outwitting the biggest, baddest bad guy (the fantasy cliché), it’s about using your strengths to solve the problems you are uniquely qualified to handle.
I don’t want to spoil Stolen Dreams for you, but I am so excited by the conclusion to this series. Stolen Dreams is more than a mystery – it’s personal. The feud between the Scots and the Blackwoods takes center stage and when it erupts, people Cassie and Evan love get hurt and even die. Cassie is uniquely qualified to put an end to this feud and to solve an interwoven mystery, and she still does not need magic to do it!
***
Thanks so much for this amazing guest post Christine. While I’m excited to get my hands on Stolen Dreams, I’m also sad because this exciting series will be ending. Can’t wait to see what your cooking up next.
~~~
Mind Games (Cassie Scot Book 3)
.
.
Beware your heart and soul…
Evan broke Cassie’s heart two months ago, and she still doesn’t know why. She throws herself into family, friends and her new job at the sheriff’s department, but nothing helps. The only thing that finally allows her heal and move on is the love of a new man, mind mage Matthew Blair. Cassie finds him…irresistible.
Matthew may also be the only one who can help keep the non-magical residents of Eagle Rock from going crazy over the murder of a beloved pastor’s wife. It looks like a sorcerer is to blame, but while Cassie tries to figure out who, others take matters into their own hands. With tensions running so hot, a single spark might set Eagle Rock ablaze.
Keep your eye out for my review coming in June!
.
First Chapter (Warning! Contains series spoilers. New readers to the series would be better off reading the preview of book one here.)
Buy Links : Amazon ~ Barnes and Noble
Coming to print June 15, 2014. Audiobook release TBA.
.
Other Books in the Cassie Scot Series
.
Cassie Scot: ParaNormal Detective
Go HERE for my review
.
Cassie Scot is the ungifted daughter of powerful sorcerers, born between worlds but belonging to neither. At 21, all she wants is to find a place for herself, but earning a living as a private investigator in the shadow of her family’s reputation isn’t easy. When she is pulled into a paranormal investigation, and tempted by a powerful and handsome sorcerer, she will have to decide where she truly belongs.
Buy Links for Cassie Scot: ParaNormal Detecitve
Amazon ~ Barnes and Noble ~ Audible (audiobook)
~~~
Secrets and Lies (Cassie Scot Book 2)
Go HERE for my review
.
Cassie Scot, still stinging from her parents’ betrayal, wants out of the magical world. But it isn’t letting her go. Her family is falling apart and despite everything, it looks like she may be the only one who can save them.
To complicate matters, Cassie owes Evan her life, making it difficult for her to deny him anything he really wants. And he wants her. Sparks fly when they team up to find two girls missing from summer camp, but long-buried secrets may ruin their hopes for happiness.
Buy Links for Secrets and Lies (Cassie Scot Book 2)
Amazon ~ Barnes and Noble ~ Audible (Audiobook)
.
Author Christine Amsden
Christine Amsden has been writing fantasy and science fiction for as long as she can remember. She loves to write and it is her dream that others will be inspired by this love and by her stories. Speculative fiction is fun, magical, and imaginative but great speculative fiction is about real people defining themselves through extraordinary situations. Christine writes primarily about people and relationships, and it is in this way that she strives to make science fiction and fantasy meaningful for everyone.
At the age of 16, Christine was diagnosed with Stargardt’s Disease, a condition that effects the retina and causes a loss of central vision. She is now legally blind, but has not let this slow her down or get in the way of her dreams.
In addition to writing, Christine teaches workshops on writing at Savvy Authors. She also does some freelance editing work.
Christine currently lives in the Kansas City area with her husband, Austin, who has been her biggest fan and the key to her success. They have two beautiful children.
Social Media Links:
Web site ~ Newsletter ~ Blog ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~Goodreads
.
Praise for the Cassie Scot Series
“Amsden continues the story of the only mundane member of a supernaturally-gifted family in this middling sequel to Cassie Scot: ParaNormal Detective. Cassie, stubborn and proud, is bravely trying to live on her own after her family disowns her. Struggling to make ends meet, she accepts a case involving a pair of magical girls who disappeared from summer camp. With the aid of the handsome Evan Blackwood, to whom Cassie is attracted despite her family’s disapproval and her own better judgment, she follows the trail of the missing girls. What she finds is a dark side of the magical world, and the hidden depths of her family’s past force her to reconsider long-held assumptions. The growing complexity of Cassie’s world makes this an entertaining installment, focusing as much on the will-they, won’t-they romantic chemistry between Cassie and Evan as on the primary mystery. An inconclusive ending is clearly intended to feed into the next volume.” — Publisher’s Weekly
“When sorcerers call the shots, what’s a girl without powers to do? Get ready for a ripper of a murder mystery full of romance and intrigue, where magic potions bubble, passions spark and vampires are definitely not your friend. Cassie Scot: ParaNormal Detective grabs you by the heart and won’t let go until the very last page. Well written, immersive and unputdownable. This is urban fantasy at its best. More please!” – Kim Falconer, bestselling author of The Spell of Rosette, Quantum Enchantment Series
~~~~~
$100 Amazon Gift Card
Click on the rafflecopter below to enter.
~~~
Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!
To see all of my giveaways click on the lucky horseshoe below!
Welcome to the cover reveal for Melissa Wright’s third book in her Descendants Series, Reign of Shadows.
I really like all of the covers for this series.
One thing has me curious. Why is he the only one on this third cover?
Hmm…going to have to find out!
Enjoy the reveal. There’s chapter excerpts and a fun Cover Game.
Oh Yeah! Bound By Prophecy, the first book in this exciting series is FREE to download. Find the link below and grab yours. And don’t forget to enter the giveaway!
~~~
On Tour with Prism Book Tours
Welcome to the Cover Reveal for the third book
in the YA/NA Urban Fantasy Descendants Series:
Reign of Shadows
By Melissa Wright
Brianna can see her future, but it’s the past that haunts her. Plans laid in place centuries ago are threatening not only her and her sister, but all of the Seven Lines. As the shadows plot their way to old rule, the visions shift again. Her power has led to some hard choices—and the occasional stab wound—but this set of futures holds nothing but darkness.
Unable to bear the idea of losing the footing they’ve so recently gained, she turns the soldiers of the Seven. But with shadows hidden among the ranks, can she overcome the path they’ve set in place, or is she blindly following their lead?
~~~~~
The other books in the Descendants Series
Shifting Fate
(Descendants #2)
by Melissa Wright
Summary
According to prophecy, Brianna Drake was born to save the world. The trouble is, she doesn’t have the slightest idea how. Her visions should have given her the answer, but they’re beginning to shift, making the danger too unpredictable, even for a prophet.
If she can just help her sister restore their hidden powers, she might be able to stop what’s coming. But an old enemy returns, and he’s got plans for Brianna and her visions.
What neither of them knows is that fate has given a stranger one chance to find her. He was trained to protect the chosen—but if he fails, the future will crumble.
Shifting Fate is the second book in the Descendants Series (following Bound by Prophecy) and focuses on Brianna and Logan.
There is a teaser posted here and the first chapter posted here, but beware, it’s full of spoilers from the first book.
Purchase from Amazon , Barnes and Noble, and the Book Depository. Can also purchase in audio at iTunes and Audible.
~~~~~
Bound by Prophecy
(Descendants #1)
by Melissa Wright
Summary
Twenty-two-year-old Aern is done watching his brother destroy the only thing that matters. He never wanted to take Morgan’s place among council, never wanted to rule their hidden world. But when the key to the prophecy is found, a young girl named Brianna whom Morgan will destroy, Aern knows he has to take action.
What he really wants, is for things to go back to normal. But now he’s kidnapped a girl, and his brother’s men are after him. His only hope is to join with the Division, but they have plans of their own, and it’s the last thing Aern is willing to do.
Emily just wants her sister back. She doesn’t care about the prophecy, or realize what’s at stake. But when she goes after Aern, the truth of the matter uncoils, and Brianna isn’t the only one who’s in danger.
Suddenly, they’re at the center of a secret war, and unless they can work together, they’ll both have a sacrifice too big to make.
You can read an excerpt of Bound by Prophecy here.
Get the ebook for FREE on Nook and Kindle. Can also purchase from the Book Depository, and in audio at iTunes and Audible.
~~~~
About the Author
Melissa Wright is the author of the Frey Saga and the new Descendants series. Melissa spends her time working on novels, but when not writing she can be found on Goodreads and Pinterest.
Website – Blog – Goodreads – Twitter – Pinterest – Google+
~~~~~
Want to have some fun? Play this online matching game with Melissa’s covers!
~~~~~
$25 Amazon Gift Card
Open internationally.
Click on the rafflecopter below to enter.
Ends May 25th.
~~~~
Are you a blogger and want to receive information about new tours? Go HERE.
Are you an author or publisher and would like to have us organize a tour? Go HERE.
~~~
Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!
To see all of my giveaways click on the lucky horseshoe below!
I’ve got another exciting book to show you today.
Hunted is the second book in The LeKrista Scott, Vampire Hunted Series.
The cover art is spectacular and if you like slayers and vampires with some romance too, this is something you’ll want to read.
Read the character bios and get to know a bit about them. Then enjoy the peek inside Hunted.
Hunted
LeKrista Scott, Vampire Hunted Series # 2
By Tyffani Clark Kemp
Publication Date- April 16th, 2014
Genre- Paranormal/Vampires
Blurb
LeKrista Scott survived three separate vampire attacks, almost drowned, and turned down her boyfriend’s proposal. What else could possibly go wrong?
Apparently, if it’s not one thing, it’s another. Lizette, a brand new vampire with a grudge, blames LeKrista for being turned into a monster. In retaliation, she decides to go straight for the throat, so to speak, and attack LK’s ailing mother at her rest home. LeKrista enlists the help of her “Vampire liason” Roman, but it could never be that easy. Not for her.
A daywalker, a born vampire who can walk in the sun, has been hired by the head of the Vampire Counsel to collect LeKrista and the debt she owes him. As payment, her great great aunt is taken. Once again, the Mages refuse to help, so what is a girl to do, but rescue her family herself?
With her back against the wall, LeKrista will rise up stronger and teach the preternatural world to fear the Vampire Hunted.
Links-
Goodreads ~ Kindle ~ Amazon UK ~ Createspace
~~~
Character Bios
LeKrista Scott
25 and in a committed relationship, even if things are a little rocky with everything she’s dealing with. Like Vampires. And the fact that she’s a powerful mage. She has trouble controlling her magic because of a darkness that lurks deep inside her, made stronger by vampires.
Pierce Wisely
LeKrista’s boyfriend. They’ve been together for six years. He has supernatural qualities, but can’t tell LK what he is until after they consummate their marriage…if they ever get to.
Roman
2000 year old vampire. He was born during the Roman Empire and served as a Centurion. He was one of the men who crucified Jesus. Cursed for all eternity to be a vampire, he is one of the oldest still living. And one of the strongest.
~~~
And a peek inside!
Pierce laughed like he was trying to hold it in. “I promise I don’t turn into any kind of bug, creepy crawly, or biting thing.” He paused and his eyes flashed in that otherwordly way. “No, that’s not true. I do bite.”
“Pierce, I’m being serious.”
“So am I. I do bite, but no bugs and no spiders. Look at me.” He took my chin and forced my eyes to his. They were soft, amber orbs that smiled at me, full of love and tollerance. “You’re special because I love you like I’ve never loved anyone ever before, and when you learn what it means for me to say that, you’ll understand just how important it is that I can. You are my whole world, LeKrista Scott. You are everything to me. None of the other women in my life matter. Do you hear me? Well, except for my mother.” He winked. “Gotta love mama.”
~~~
About Author Tyffani Clark Kemp
Tyffani Clark Kemp has been writing since she discovered in the sixth grade that it wasn’t enough just to read about fantastic places, but she could create her own. She weaves small bits of herself into everything she writes whether it be a science fiction piece about aliens or a dramatic romance fraught with conflict and love. In September 2012 Tyffani and a friend started SideStreet Publishing LLC. She lives in South Carolina with her family and her fluffy shii tzu-mix dog who thinks he’s a Saint Bernard.
Links-
Facebook ~ Goodreads ~ Website ~ Twitter
Facebook Events-
~~~
Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!
Mosaic by Leigh Talbert Moore
(Dragonfly #4)
.
.
.
Publication date: June 2014
Genres: New Adult, Romance
Synopsis:
The future never goes as planned.
People are never what they seem.
Time changes everything.
So you want to know what happened to Anna and Julian? Well, listen up, because I’ve got the whole scoop. I’m Jules, btw, and I am an artist, as you already know if you’ve read Watercolor. What you might not know is I inherited my mother’s cute little newsy nose, thank you very much.
It’s high school reunion time, and everyone’s coming back to Fairview—everyone who’s not already there, mind you. What went wrong, who’s fault it was, and why the heck nobody knew about me… it’s all coming out.
Long-distance relationships rarely last, and a lot of water has passed under that bridge. Big Secrets will be exposed, and in the end we’ll know if that old saying is true: Love is stronger than time.
Mosaic, the exciting conclusion to The Dragonfly series, coming June 2014!
~~~~~
I just recently won this series! So I’m thrilled to reveal the splendid cover art for the fourth book in the Dragonfly Series, Mosaic.
And some exciting news. Dragonfly: Book One in the series is free right now. Here are the buy links or you can click on the cover to go to Amazon.
~~~~~
AUTHOR BIO:
The Friday 56 hosted by Freda’s Voice.
The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader and find any sentence, or a few (no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.
~~~~
“It’s me,” came an achingly familiar voice.
…I shook my head, feeling strangely dizzy. This couldn’t be happening. Not now. Not when I had just made my first step forward with my life. I couldn’t see him now. I wouldn’t.
“Cassie, Please, we need to talk. It’s important.”
The last thing he had said to me was a nonverbal door in my face, and I had every intention of reciprocating. If that’s as much as he cared about me, then that’s as much as I cared about him. Which was not at all…An expanding pressure in my chest tried to disagree, but I held firm.
~~~~
Mind Games
Cassie Scot #3
By Christine Amsden
Beware your heart and soul…
Evan broke Cassie’s heart two months ago, and she still doesn’t know why. She throws herself into family, friends and her new job at the sheriff’s department, but nothing helps. The only thing that finally allows her heal and move on is the love of a new man, mind mage Matthew Blair. Cassie finds him… irresistible
Matthew may also be the only one who can help keep the nonmagical residents of Eagle Rock from going crazy over the murder of a beloved pastor’s wife. It looks like a sorcerer is to blame, but while Cassie tries to figure out who, others take matters into their own hands. With tensions running so hot, a single spark might set Eagle Rock ablaze.
~~~~
Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!
I recently won the hard cover copy of Elysian Fields and am dying to read it. But I want to start this series at the beginning. Can’t wait to dive into these and read for myself about the great things I’ve been hearing.
Check out this series, enjoy the glimpse inside the book and the book trailer and don’t forget to enter the awesome giveaway!
~~~
Elysian Fields Sentinels of New Orleans Series
Book Three
Suzanne Johnson
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Tor Books / Date of Publication: August 13, 2013
ISBN: 978-0765333193 / ASIN: B00CQY7TOI
Number of pages: 352 / Word Count: approx. 102,000
Cover Artist: Cliff Nielsen
Amazon Barnes and Noble Book Depository
Book Description:
The mer feud has been settled, but life in South Louisiana still has more twists and turns than the muddy Mississippi. New Orleanians are under attack from a copycat killer mimicking the crimes of a 1918 serial murderer known as the Axeman of New Orleans.
Thanks to a tip from the undead pirate Jean Lafitte, DJ Jaco knows the attacks aren’t random–an unknown necromancer has resurrected the original Axeman of New Orleans, and his ultimate target is a certain blonde wizard.
Namely, DJ. Fighting off an undead serial killer as troubles pile up around her isn’t easy. Jake Warin’s loup-garou nature is spiraling downward, enigmatic neighbor Quince Randolph is acting weirder than ever, the Elders are insisting on lessons in elven magic from the world’s most annoying wizard, and former partner Alex
Warin just turned up on DJ’s to-do list. Not to mention big maneuvers are afoot in the halls of preternatural power.
Suddenly, moving to the Beyond as Jean Lafitte’s pirate wench? It could be DJ’s best option.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NskZi9B0gU]
Excerpt
By midafternoon, I was out of ideas and full of nervous energy that finally sent me out of doors, catching up on yard work I’d neglected all season, raking the small, crunchy leaves from the live oaks into piles a kid would love to play in.
“Need help?”
I ignored the voice and counted to ten, hoping it would go away. Instead, Quince Randolph knelt next to a tall pyramid of leaves I’d erected and took the lid off the big green trash can he’d brought with him. He began scooping up armfuls and piling them in the can. “You should compost this down. It would make a good mulch for flowerbeds. Plus you need more color in your landscaping.”
“Whatever.” I didn’t know what mulch was, didn’t care enough to ask, and had such a brown thumb that flowers never survived my gardening efforts.
Rand wore a chocolate-brown sweater almost the same color as mine, with jeans in a similar wash. With our comparable shades of long blond hair, we resembled grown-up Bobbsey Twins, except he was prettier. Freddie and Flossie do New Orleans.
“Are you here for any particular reason?”
He squinted up at me against the soft afternoon sunlight. “I just want to get to know you better.”
Uh- huh. “Tell me what you are, and then we’ll know each other better. I’m betting elf or faery.” I was kind of betting elf— it might explain his interest in me although, thankfully, he’d never shown any inclination to plunder my brain.
He grinned. “Go to dinner with me and I might tell you.”
I noted the return of his peridot earrings. Big liar. Super-big cheater. “Where’s Eugenie? You know, your girlfriend?”
A flash of irritation spoiled his perfect features a half second before he answered. “Working. Can we—”
What ever he planned to ask, my answer would be no, but he didn’t get a chance because a clomping noise reached us from the direction of Prytania Street. Rand and I both were stricken speechless at the sight of Jean Lafitte sitting like royalty in the back of a gold and white French Quarter tourist carriage. It was being pulled by a light- gray mule wearing a hat festooned with
fake flowers and driven by a smiling guy who had no idea how many daggers his undead pirate passenger had hidden on him.
The ornate carriage rolled to a stop, and the mule flicked an ear at the passing traffic. Those animals pulled tourists around the French Quarter all day, and it would take more than an impatient Toyota driver to rattle one of them. The carriages were also ridiculously expensive if one commissioned a ride outside the Quarter.
Then again, Jean Lafitte was loaded. The driver probably had a reason to smile.
Jean exited the carriage with extraordinary grace for such a large man. He was tall, powerfully built, black-haired, cobalt-eyed, a shameless flirt, and talked with a raspy French accent that made me swoon even though he was technically dead. In other words, I had a bit of a problem with Jean Lafitte and my own common sense being present at the same time.
Jean said a few words to the carriage driver, then turned to prop his hands on his hips in a broad pirate-like stance, giving Rand a disapproving visual once-over. The mule backed up a
few awkward steps before pulling the carriage into my driveway.
God help me, I hoped Alex didn’t get home in time to see this. I’d never hear the end of it.
“Do you wish me to rid you of this intruder, Jolie?”
~~~
River Road
Sentinels of New Orleans
Book Two Suzanne Johnson
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Tor Books
ISBN: 978-0765327802 / ASIN: B00842H5VI
Number of pages: 336 / Word Count: approx. 92,000
Cover Artist: Cliff Nielsen
Amazon Barnes & Noble Book Depository Indiebound
Book Description:
Hurricane Katrina is long gone, but the preternatural storm rages on in New Orleans. New species from the Beyond moved into Louisiana after the hurricane destroyed the borders between worlds, and it falls to wizard sentinel Drusilla Jaco and her partner, Alex Warin, to keep the preternaturals peaceful and the humans unaware. But a war is brewing between two clans of Cajun merpeople in Plaquemines Parish, and down in the swamp, DJ learns, there’s more stirring than angry mermen and the threat of a were-gator.
Wizards are dying, and something—or someone—from the Beyond is poisoning the waters of the mighty Mississippi, threatening the humans who live and work along the river. DJ and Alex must figure out what unearthly source is contaminating the water and who—or what—is killing the wizards. Is it a malcontented merman, the naughty nymph, or some other critter altogether? After all, DJ’s undead suitor, the pirate Jean Lafitte, knows his way around a body or two.
It’s anything but smooth sailing on the bayou as the Sentinels of New Orleans series continues.
~~~
Royal Street
Sentinels of New Orleans
Book One
Suzanne Johnson
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Tor Books
ISBN: 978-0765327796 / ASIN: B006OM459U
Number of pages: 337 / Word Count: approx. 94,000
Cover Artist: Cliff Nielsen
Amazon Barnes and Noble Book Depository
Book Description:
As the junior wizard sentinel for New Orleans, Drusilla Jaco’s job involves a lot more potion-mixing and pixie-retrieval than sniffing out supernatural bad guys like rogue vampires and lethal were-creatures. DJ’s boss and mentor, Gerald St. Simon, is the wizard tasked with protecting the city from anyone or anything that might slip over from the preternatural beyond.
Then Hurricane Katrina hammers New Orleans’ fragile levees, unleashing more than just dangerous flood waters. While winds howled and Lake Pontchartrain surged, the borders between the modern city and the Otherworld crumbled. Now the undead and the restless are roaming the Big Easy, and a serial killer with ties to voodoo is murdering soldiers sent to help the city recover.
To make it worse, Gerald St. Simon has gone missing, the wizards’ Elders have assigned a grenade-toting assassin as DJ’s new partner, and undead pirate Jean Lafitte wants to make her walk his plank. The search for Gerry and the killer turns personal when DJ learns the hard way that loyalty requires sacrifice, allies come from the unlikeliest places, and duty mixed with love creates one bitter roux.
~~~
About the Author:
On Aug. 28, 2005, Suzanne Johnson loaded two dogs, a cat, a friend, and her mom into a car and fled New Orleans in the hours before Hurricane Katrina made landfall.
Four years later, she began weaving her experiences and love for her city into the Sentinels of New Orleans urban fantasy series, beginning with Royal Street (2012), continuing with River Road (2012), and now with Elysian Fields (August 2013).
She grew up in rural Alabama, halfway between the Bear Bryant Museum and Elvis’ birthplace, and lived in New Orleans for fifteen years—which means she has a highly refined sense of the absurd and an ingrained love of SEC football and fried gator on a stick.
As Susannah Sandlin, she writes the best-selling Penton Vampire Legacy paranormal romance series and the recent standalone, Storm Force.
Website and Blog Twitter Facebook Facebook Fan Page Goodreads
~~~
1 $25 GC to Amazon or equivalent to Book Depository
2 $10 Gift Cards
2 signed books and swag packs
Click on the Rafflecopter below to enter.
~~~~
Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!
To see all of my giveaways click on the lucky horseshoe below!
Welcome to my stop on the tour for Fractured Truth. This is a new series for me and I’m excited to get started reading it. I especially love the beautiful book covers!
Check out the books, enjoy the excerpt and don’t forget to enter the giveaway.
~~~~
Fractured Truth
Fractured Light Book #3
Llona is determined to end the fight with the Vykens once and for all. All she needs is to find and destroy the Shadow—the ultimate source of dark power. But when she makes a startling discovery about someone she loves, Llona has to fight the toughest battle yet in this exciting conclusion to the Fractured Light series.
Chapter One
“You have four minutes, Llona,” Liam said through a microphone in my ear. His voice, like the ringing of a great bell, pounded my already aching head.
The small plane’s engine shrieked, a high-pitched sound different from the steady hum of the last twenty minutes. Everyone had boarded a while ago. It was a silent crowd, not one likely to converse with each other.
I shifted my weight in the plane’s cramped closet. I could’ve come out as I’d just turned invisible, but I wanted to wait until the speed of the plane increased, covering any sounds the closet door might make when opened.
It was shortly after Cyrus kidnapped my aunt Sophie from Lucent academy that I taught myself to turn invisible. I’d practiced every day, sometimes for hours, until I could do it without the accompanying paralyzing weakness. And although the pain hadn’t gotten any better, I was able to increase the time I could maintain invisibility to several minutes. I’d accomplished all this in just the few short months since Christian’s death.
Just then the plane lurched forward, picking up speed on the runway. I opened the door and peered into the plane’s small kitchen. Empty. Perfect. I quietly slipped out and closed the door behind me.
The front wheels of the plane bounced. The cabin, as I suspected, was full of Vykens sitting in their seats, their backs to me, as if they were regular passengers. Most of them looked like normal humans, which meant they’d fed on Auran blood recently, but a few were in their purest form— facial features deformed and gray with moldy skin peeling back from their faces.
There was only one different from the rest. Jackson. He sat three rows up to the right of the center aisle.
With the Deific’s help, Liam had finally received a tip on Jackson’s whereabouts. It was the closest we’d come to finding out where Cyrus was keeping Sophie. I glanced to my left, to the emergency exit. By the way the plane was vibrating, it was close to taking off.
A Vyken stood and slid into the aisle. I pressed myself against a seat to keep him from bumping into me. I had yet to learn how to let matter pass through me. That may be a trick only my mother knew.
After the Vyken passed by, I went to Jackson. He was looking down at his bloodied knuckles. How did that happen? Jackson used to be a guardian. He (and a bunch of others who had followed him) had joined the Vykens against the Auras months ago. I’d been training harder than ever to stop them all and restore the Auras to their former strength. The strength only a few knew about.
The plane lifted. Still plenty of time to make my move.
I reached down, careful to avoid touching Jackson, and undid his seat belt. He glanced to his lap, brow twisted together. I smacked the back of his head, hard. He turned around and stared at the Vyken behind him.
“What’s your problem?” Jackson asked.
The Vyken ignored him.
Jackson stood and confronted the Vyken again. “Hey, I’m talking to you!”
The Vyken lifted his gaze from the sports magazine in his hand. “I know Cyrus said we can’t kill you, but he didn’t say we couldn’t hurt you. Sit down, guardian.”
Liam’s voice spoke again in my ear. “Hurry up.”
Several Vykens looked around. His voice, this close to so many of them, must have drawn attention.
Time to pay for your crimes, Jackson.
I drew my fist back and punched Jackson in the face. His hand came up to his bloodied nose. “What the . . . ?”
A few Vykens stood up.
I punched him again. He stumbled back toward the exit, arms outstretched as though to steady himself. Blood ran onto his chin.
“What’s going on?” he yelled.
I answered with a swift kick to his chest. It took just a second for him to recover before he started blindly throwing punches. “Someone help me!”
Vykens looked around as if they didn’t know what to do.
I dodged Jackson’s fist and punched him again. He was in position. I took hold of the emergency latch and pulled it as hard as I could. The door flew open, sucking air from the cabin.
Papers and all kinds of debris flew past me. Jackson scrambled backward, his eyes darting around until he was pressed against the wall separating the kitchen from the cabin.
The others stood alert, some in a fight-ready stance. But who were they going to fight? They couldn’t see me. No one could.
Grabbing Jackson, I spun him around until he was facing the open door; his clothes and hair whipped around violently. He stuttered.
His fear excited me, sending a wave of adrenaline through my blood stream.
I was about to reveal myself to him, just so I could see the surprise in his eyes, but Liam’s voice sounded in my ear. “Get out of there—now!”
Jerking into action, I wrapped my arms around Jackson’s chest and jumped from the plane, spiraling into a black abyss.
~~~
Fractured Light
Book #1
I’m dying, I thought. This was unexpected and not at all how I envisioned my death. I was supposed to die gardening in a flowerbed as a hundred-year-old woman, not as a seventeen-year-old trapped in a lake beneath inches of ice.
Llona Reese is used to living on the run. After the Vykens killed her parents, she knew they would eventually come for her too. She can’t take any chances. But when she starts to make friends for the first time in her life, she gets careless and lets her guard down. Big mistake.
As an Aura, Llona can manipulate light and harness its energy. But if she wants to survive, Llona will have to defy the Auran Council and learn to use her power as a weapon against the Vyken whose sole desire is to take her light. Now she’s caught in something even bigger than she can understand, with a power she can’t wield, and no one she can trust, except, just maybe, a mysterious stranger.
In this breathtaking and romantic adventure, Rachel McClellan delivers a truly mesmerizing story that will keep you guessing to the very end.
~~~
Fractured Soul
Book #2
Llona will do whatever it takes to protect her new found friends and home, but the dark plot that is threatening Lucent Academy, a school that’s supposed to be a safe place for Auras, may be too powerful for even Llona to defeat. This fast-paced tale of love, loyalty, and overcoming the darkness will keep you on the edge of your seat until the last page!
~~~
Rachel McClellan
Look what you can win!
GRAND PRIZE: $25 Amazon Gift Card and a printed copy of Fractured Truth
Runner-up 1: Printed copy of Fractured Truth
Runner-up 2: Ebook copy of Fractured Truth
Click on the rafflecopter below to enter.
~~~
Fractured Truth by Rachel McClellan is now on Tour!
Check all the hosts and join the International giveaway
running here and on each tour stop!
Fractured Truth Tour schedule:
~~~~
Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!
To see all of my giveaways click on the lucky horseshoe below!
I think I’m going to need a new Kindle. After reading Dark Cravings, my Kindle was in danger. Now that I”ve finished reading Dark Innocence, my Kindle is charging up again. I just hope the CPR works or I’ll be shopping for a new one!
I didn’t think I was a reader of erotic books, but I’ve changed my tune. I can’t imagine not meeting Madeline’s characters or immersing myself in their stories. Erotic it may be, but that’s only the icing on the cake. There’s so much happening in these books, you’ll be hoping for some hot sex to relieve the tension!
Check out my review of Dark Innocence. And I’ve also reposted my review of the first book, Dark Cravings, so you’ll see how much I loved these books!
My Review
I had so much fun reading Dark Cravings that I was’ over the rainbow’ thrilled to get Dark Innocence!
In Dark Cravings I met Hannah and Dante, but they were not the main characters. In this second book, they are the stars and boy do they shine.
Hannah has a photographic memory and she’s so haunted by the memories of her abduction, rape, and torture. She feels worthless, so she drowns out her memories with booze, drugs, and loveless sex.
Her rescuer, Dante, is older than her, and dates super models. She can’t imagine he’d be interested in her.
When she desperately needs help, she reaches out to Dante, and the sexy lion shifter comes to her rescue again.
The sexual tension between the two could burn down a house, and it’s up to Hannah to seduce the lion, show him she’s stronger, more the girl she used to be, not a wounded lamb anymore.
They don’t get to savor their newfound passion for long. A vampire intrudes on their lives and Hannah’s enemies gather to strike again. She’ll have to draw on her new courage and strength if they are going to survive what’s coming.
When I read this was an erotic novella, I was thinking it would be a ‘wham bam, thank you maam’ read. Not so. Each time I thought it was safe to come up for air, I was sucked back in by several events that ripped out my heart, stomped on it, and left me begging for relief.
Dante’s travails had me crying and Hannah’s courage had me yelling, ‘give it to em!’
I’m giving you a heads up. This is not intended for young readers. There’s steamy sex scenes, violence, and strong language. If you don’t mind that, like me, you’ll love Madeline’s writing. Her characters aren’t perfect, which, to me, is a requirement if they are going to read as genuine. Without flaws, they’d feel flat, like paper dolls, and I wouldn’t be able to connect with them or care what happened to them. I cared so much it hurt.
Now, I’m bereft. Wanting more so badly. And I’ll have it. Madeline has a couple new releases coming very soon. Be sure to get started on this series now so you’ll be ready too.
5 Stars +
~~~~
Synopsis
Hannah Grey will do anything to escape the tortured memories haunting her. Every breath brings back the pain, the fear and the unbearable knowledge that she’ll never be the once-perfect girl everyone thought her to be. When the self-destructive fog of drugs, alcohol and meaningless sex starts to clear, Dante, a lion shifter sexier than sin itself, emerges through the darkness ready to rescue her for the second time in so many weeks.
In the safety of Dante’s embrace, Hannah allows herself to become the woman she’s always wanted to be—smart, sexy, capable and empowered. His every touch electrifies. His hot, hungry kisses set her senses ablaze. As Dante masters her body, Hannah finally finds the strength to master her fears.
Perfection shatters as a mysterious vampire escalates from anonymous phone calls to violent encounters. When Hannah’s enemies unite, placing both her and Dante in mortal peril, it’s going to take all of her newfound strength to face the coming darkness and save the man she loves.
A Romantica® paranormal erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave.
~~~
I don’t normally rereview (is that even a word?) a book but when I heard about Dark Cravings I couldn’t resist. I adored this book when it was titled Blood Lust Rising and when I learned it was being released by Ellora’s Cave Publishing with a new title and new content, I had to read it.
I’m going to get right to it!
Dark Cravings
By Madeline Pryce
MY REVIEW
I reviewed this story when it was titled Blood Lust Rising. Since then it has received a new title and cover art, the author has a new pen name, Madeline Pryce, and she’s added a whole bunch more to this story.
I mentioned in my review how the sex was so steamy it fogged up my Kindle! Well it did it again and yes, my Kindle survived round two! LOL
The characters are a bit older which makes it more appropriate as the sex is even steamier, more erotic. Don’t let that fool you though. There’s one hell of a lot of action and danger, much more to this than just romance.
The ending is different too but I can’t talk about it as it’ll spoil things and I don’t think you’d appreciate that much.
Here are my previous review comments:
This is one of the best first chapters I have read. I am not one to blush easily, but my whole face was rosy before I finished it.
You don’t have to kneel down and peek through the keyhole because the author leaves the bedroom door (or any door) wide open. The intimate, arousing sexual scenes fogged up my Kindle screen, they were that HOT!
About the story
They don’t get along at all. Micah and Ella are partners, working for the Shadow Agency. Their job, hunt vampires and demons.
A late night chase after a succubus through the cemetery does not go as planned. The Demon hits them with a spell that changes everything.
They awaken in a hotel 4 days later with no memory of how they got there. Both are exhausted and dehydrated, weak from a marathon of sex. Separating them is out of the question. The demon’s spell has awakened a yearning that can’t be ignored, an intense sexual need that was already there, just beneath the surface.
As their sexual desire deepens into something more, they join together, battling vamps, weres and numerous types of demons, while delving into Micah’s mysterious origins and fending off the unwanted and lethal attention of Julian, Ella’s sire.
What I felt
I feel a strong physical and emotional connection to Micah and Ella. I want them to be safe and I want a happy ending for them.
Characters
Ella starts out as a self-contained, don’t need anybody, kick-butt slayer. The author is able to show me Ella’s transformation, making me see all sides of her character, including her flaws. Ella is still tough as nails, but her fierce loyalty to family and friends, and her deepening love for Micah make her very real to me.
And Micah. I was already attracted to his oozing sexuality and sarcastic personality. As I read more, I was able to see his tender side, his love for family and his passion for and commitment to Ella.
Scenes to share – I want you to feel what I felt.
The green glow emanating from Micah’s eyes lit the night. Micah threw himself at Julian. The two men collided and rolled in the mud, a tangle of blood-smeared fists. They were both wearing black and, the more they coated themselves in mud, the harder it was to tell them apart.
Micah pulled his fist back, drove it into Julian’s face again and again. Crack. Crack. Crack. Julian threw Micah to the side, straddled his body. Blow after blow, they rolled and cursed, jockeyed for position. They pounded the holy living hell out of each other.
A body melting scene – Micah to Ella
“If you go upstairs with me. I’m not going to be able to stop from touching you, from stripping you naked. You’re tired and hurt and I can’t promise to be gentle. The Darkness.” He drew in a breath and corrected himself. “The demon wants you tied to my bed, wants you screaming and so drunk with pleasure you won’t be able to walk away from us. You are ours. The man and the demon. We need to claim you.”
Thoughts
It had to have been really challenging for the author to put her characters into very dangerous and compromising situations and make the conclusions believable and satisfying. She has shown that she can and has what it takes.
Blood Lust Rising took me by surprise. My connection to the characters was deep. The story was flush with sexual tension, grueling fighting scenes and compelling dialogue. I found myself immediately engaged and immersed in the book without even trying.
Quotes I loved. You will understand it’s significance once you read the book.
Slaughter. Defend. Obliterate.
Murder. Guard. Destroy
Something Funny:
I had Vampire ED, on top of everything else!
Something tender:
Micah pulled back, gave Hannah a smile that melted solid objects.
Warning:If your kindle starts smoking while you are reading this book, don’t be alarmed. Mine still works fine!
There you have it. I swear my Kindle was overheating. Either that, or I was!
When you think a book can’t get any better, think again. Dark Cravings did!
5 STARS Again!
~~~~
Synopsis
As a half-breed vampire, Ella Grey’s life sucks. She does her best to pass the time killing demons and secretly admiring her Shadow Hunter partner, Micah. He’s hot, dangerous and knows it. He’d be just Ella’s type if he weren’t likely to kill her the moment she put a toe out of line.
A chance encounter with a succubus changes everything. From the second the succubus’s spell washes over them, Ella and Micah are helpless to keep their hands off one another. The sex, when it’s not leaving them on the verge of death, is earth shattering and for the first time in ages Ella is connected with someone on a level she’d feared lost forever. But a dangerous prophecy has been set into motion, and if Ella’s not careful it’ll pull her straight from Micah’s arms and into the deepest bowels of the underworld.
A Romantica® Paranormal erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave
Publisher’s Note: This book was previously published under the title Blood Lust Rising. It has been revised and expanded for EC.
~~~~
And the newest release by Madeline!
Claiming Ecstasy
I’ll be reading this soon.
Synopsis
Jolie Dupree is prophesized to bring an end to the deadly war waging between the vampires and the Seelie court. Groomed from birth by a vicious mother, Jolie knows her future can only end in blood—and the murder of the one man she can’t resist. Consumed with guilt, Jolie can’t fight the lure of Nicolas Larkin, the vampire king. She returns to him over and over again, every caress of pain and every stroke of pleasure drawing her deeper into the darkness. She must decide between the concrete and the chaos, the light and the dark, for her choice will tip the scales between good and evil, and quite possible, cost Jolie her soul.
A Romantica® paranormal erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave
~~~
About Madeline Pryce and her books
Blog ~ Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ Twitter ~ Ellora’s Cave Publishing
Madeline Pryce on Facebook ~ Madeline Pryce – Author on Facebook
~~~
Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!
