Posts Tagged ‘fairytale’

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Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Scarred Beauty by Jennifer Silverwood.

Scarred Beauty is the second book in the Young Adult Fantasy Fairytale series Wylder Tales.

This blog tour is organized by Lola’s Blog Tours and the tour runs from 1 till 14 April. You can see the tour schedule here.

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Scarred Beauty (Wylder Tales #2)

By Jennifer Silverwood

 

Genre: Fairytale/ Fantasy
Age category: Young Adult/ New Adult
Release Date: 31 March 2024

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Blurb:

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When the Beast wakens, nothing will stop him from claiming his bride, even if it means destroying everyone she loves.

Vynasha is certain of two things: she is forever bound to the monster who loves her, and she can never return to Castle Bitterhelm again. Escape has come at a high cost, and though Vynasha freed the imprisoned beasts, she has awakened an ancient evil that now stalks her. For the curse is unfinished with the one the prophecy spoke of, and Grendel continues to haunt her dreams.

This time she won’t fight the oncoming darkness alone.

Ceddrych may not be her brother by blood, but their bond has only grown stronger. When the wolves they’ve found refuge with threaten them, Ceddrych and Vynasha must fight together to overcome enemies around them. Danger lurks at every corner, and only by playing the pack alpha’s games can they survive the winter.

One thing rings true in the waking world and her dreams: Grendel won’t sleep forever.

Only by claiming her powers can Vynasha protect her newfound family and prevent the ruination of Wylderland. A dark tale of enchantment and woe, perfect for fans of Margaret Rogerson and Holly Black, Scarred Beauty is the second installment of the epic Wylder Tales Series!

Links:
Goodreads
Amazon
iBooks
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
Books2Read

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Enjoy this peek inside:

Bang! Bang!

They jumped as the barred door rattled in its frame.

“Come out, Wanderer,” a harsh voice called from the other side. “Come and see the cost of harboring your witch!”

Vynasha wrapped her arms around her curled legs. Her awareness spiked as her new beastly senses took over. “Ceddrych?”

He spoke with the village council. What else has been said?

Ceddrych met her gaze and a flash of guilt burning behind his gaze.

The voices on the other side of the wall grew louder.

“My boy is ill because of your witch, Wanderer!” a woman shouted.

“Yes,” growled an older male, “we know you took her outside the village, no doubt to practice her dark magick.”

“Who knows what she summoned from that infernal castle!”

“—not one of us!”

“She’ll murder our children!”

Vynasha dug her forehead into her knees and placed her hands against her ears as the villagers continued to jeer beyond the walls. Until Ceddrych’s hands tugged at her wrists until she surrendered to his hold. His smile transformed his world-weary face to the boy she remembered.

A sob caught in her throat as he pressed his forehead to hers, at his acceptance, at the reminder that he had claimed her regardless. He would always choose her.

Ceddrych’s eyes flashed wolfish green as he pulled away, the only outward sign of his internal fury. He squeezed her wrists briefly in comfort as he released her. Only then, with his back turned, did he seem to grow taller. Magick of the forest, of loam and pine, snow and moss, filled the cabin as her brother crossed the cabin to unbar the door.

“Why have you come?” Ceddrych’s voice cut through the din and stunned the villagers into silence. “Why do you threaten us when Vynasha has not left my side beyond the walls of this cabin?”

“If she is so harmless, why did my Asa’s cough begin the day she arrived?” the woman from before snarled. “Tell me, how is my boy so weakened he can hardly stand from his bed!”

“What if we are all infected with her curse?” someone called.

“Never suffer a witch to live!” another cried.

“Stay back, damn you!” Ceddrych threw his arms to brace against the door frame and began to tremor. “Children fall sick every day. My own sister has been recovering from what those monsters did to her.”

Vynasha cringed at the unspoken implication. Were the villagers somehow right, after all? Had she carried some dark magick with her?

“Our children never fall ill. Our blood has always protected us,” an older male growled. “You have been with us a short time, Wanderer, you do not understand our ways.”

“He is not one of us!” the first woman shouted. “The lone wolf has no place among our pack.”

“Onya is right,” an elderly woman agreed, “you agreed to live among us, but you refuse to protect us.”

“Enough, Gira!” Balos interrupted in his deep voice. “You have said your piece. Wanderer, you know the rules of our pack…”

“Vynasha has done no spell! I would have felt it,” Ceddrych protested.

“And how do you explain Asa’s illness?” Balos asked. “How do you explain the stench of evil infecting our village? We warned you what would happen if she called the beast again. Such magick is forbidden in these lands for a reason.”

Oh, Saints, the amulet, she thought. It had been burning when she woke. Had Grendel called to her dream, or had she called to his? Bile rose to the back of her throat. Was the boy’s illness truly her fault?

“We have survived all these years because we kept noses to the ground and away from the lost city,” Balos continued. “Anyone who breaks our law draws the city’s evil to us. And there is only one punishment for such a crime.”

“You can’t!” Ceddrych cried.

“We cannot suffer a witch to live among us,” Balos snapped back.

“Vynasha is my sister, she is under my protection. And if any of you so much as look at her wrong, I will show you exactly how savage I can be.”

“You cannot endanger our lives like this!” the elderly woman from before cried. “Would you sacrifice everyone in this village for that witch? Mayhap you practice dark magick as well?”

“Better her life than yours,” Ceddrych growled.

The voices rushed together, overlapping with one another.

Vynasha gasped and stumbled forward until her forehead pressed against the door of the cabin. She couldn’t let them harm Ceddrych, she wouldn’t.

Even if I need to become the monster they fear.

The elder male who had spoken before released growling shout. “Silence!”

Vynasha’s claws bit into the wood and she drew in a breath filled with brewing violence as the male continued.

“We took this lone wolf in as one of our own, because he is a protector, by blood right. That is enough claim for him to make his home among us. Let him plead his case, but I warn you, boy, do not threaten or lie to us again unless you seek exile.”

Vynasha peeked through the crack between the wood and the world beyond. The sun blinded her sight at first, masking shady figures in heavy furs. Yet at the edge of her vision she could also see a woman with scales instead of skin and fire-red hair, three men half the size of the other villagers with beards trailing to their knees, and did she imagine a child with wings? The wylderfolk clung to the outskirts, the shadows, watching with solemn faces. But the closest villagers’s eyes were gleaming luminous emerald like the wolves, with the promise of a fight.

Ceddrych’s back was to her, his shoulders heaving as he lifted his head and faced the wolves. “All I know is that my sister was a prisoner in that castle, a victim… just like your missing daughters.”

The crowd shifted and a soft wind carried whispers of ageless sorrow.

Ceddrych straightened to his full height and turned to face a wrinkled male with feathers instead of hair, and the round eyes of a hawk. “Galtis, you and the other council named me a protector. Now you ask me to turn my back on Vynasha because you’re afraid of what you don’t understand. If it were your daughter, your sister standing here, could you abandon them so easily? Would you?”

“Our daughters knew the cost of answering the beast’s call, far better than you, Wanderer,” Galtis replied with a bird-like tilt of his head.

“You speak of what you do not understand,” Gira, the elderly woman from before, snarled and her words shredded with her voice into a wolf’s bark. “Every day she spends is another we risk bringing the wrath of her upon us all!”

The others continued to rave, their protests growing louder, pressing closer. Vynasha closed her eyes and clawed at the amulet burning like ice against her skin.

Balos broke his silence. “Our elders speak true, Wanderer. Whoever your sister was before she entered the lost city is no more. We can all see the marks of her change, the mark of evil. And you know the law. We cannot suffer a witch to live.”

Vynasha shifted on her toes and fought the flare of magick heating her blood. She braced her hands against the wooden door so hard her hands bled.

“You want blood, you’ll have to go through me first!” Ceddrych snarled as he surged forward.

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Get the first book in the Wylder Tales series!

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Craving Beauty by Jennifer Silverwood

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Craving Beauty book cover

A dark tale of enchantment and woe. Become the beast’s bride or become a monster herself.

Links:
Goodreads
Amazon
iBooks
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
Books2Read

About Author Jennifer Silverwood:

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Jennifer Silverwood author picture

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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

Giveaway

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There is a tour wide giveaway for the blog tour of Scarred Beauty. One winner wins a signed hardcover copy of Craving Beauty and Scarred Beauty + swag.

For a chance to win, enter the rafflecopter below:

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

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Today Kelsey Josund and Rockstar Book Tours are revealing the cover for CINDERELLA’S CRIMES, her new Fantasy Fairy Tale Retelling book which releases October 31, 2023! Check out the awesome cover and

enter the giveaway!

 

On to the reveal!

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CINDERELLA’S CRIMES

Author: Kelsey Josund

Pub. Date: October 31, 2023

Publisher: Kelsey Josund

Formats:  Paperback, eBook

Pages: 248

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Find it: Goodreadshttps://books2read.com/CINDERELLAS-CRIMES 

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Cinna would kill for the throne.

For years, Cinna has been forced to serve her wealthy cousins rather than
attend society events alongside them. She has waited for the chance to prove
herself and exact revenge. When a ball at the castle is announced, promising to
bring many powerful people to town, she seizes the opportunity to strike.

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She bets her best friend, Johann, a small-time thief and con-man, that she can
land a greater score the night of the ball than he can. They embark on parallel
heists. But as their plots unfold, things begin to unravel: by the end of the
night, the castle’s on lock down, a duchess is dead, a mansion has burnt to the
ground – and Cinna hasn’t even stolen anything.

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Or has she captured something far more valuable than gold and jewels?

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About Kelsey Josund:

 

Kelsey Josund is a software engineer and author of scifi, fantasyand young adult  fiction, including a series of forthcoming feminist retellings of classic childhood fairytales.

Originally from Seattle, Kelsey loves getting outdoors and livingin places that allow her  to escape to the mountains on the weekends. She cares deeply about the ecosystems that humans impact and that impact them in return. Her writing
explores these themes through the prism of the traditional coming-of-age arcs of science fiction and fantasy. Kelsey is particularly interested in stories and characters that complicate the traditional and familiar, leading her to
rediscover old tales from new and unexpected angles.

With a passion for storytelling in all its forms, Kelsey approaches writing fiction
the same way she approaches writing code: she likes to know where it’s going,
but wants to figure out the details as she goes. She believes good software is
a lot like a good story—full of neat and clever solutions to tricky problems,
beautiful at a granular level but also from a distance.

Kelsey lives and works in Silicon Valley, California with her partner and their cat. She
holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in computer science from Stanford
University, and is currently plotting her return to the Pacific Northwest and
working on her next novel.

For more information, visit www.KelseyJosund.com.

Sign up for Kelsey’s newsletter!

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | Goodreads | Amazon
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BookBub

 

 

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3 winners  will receive an eBook of CINDERELLA’S CRIMES, International.

Ends August 29th, midnight EST.

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

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

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

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

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Craving Beauty (Wylder Tales #1)

By Jennifer Silverwood

 

Craving Beauty book cover

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

Blurb:

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

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

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

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

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

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Enjoy this peek inside:

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

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

Someone must live here after all.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The sudden roar of flame and illumination ahead startled her.

Magick.

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

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

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

The night you failed to save anyone else.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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About Author Jennifer Silverwood:

 

Jennifer Silverwood author picture

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

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

 

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

For a chance to win, enter the rafflecopter below:

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

 

The Unseen
Jacob Devlin
(Order of the Bell #2)
Published by: Blaze Publishing
Publication date: May 9th 2017
Genres: Fairy Tales, Fantasy, Young Adult

Synopsis

Crescenzo and his friends may have survived their confounding journey to the enchanted realms of Florindale, but now they find themselves fighting for their sanity and lives while stuck on the other side of the very mirror they set out to destroy.

With their families trapped by a former ally with a crippling fear of the queen, Enzo, Rosana, and Zack must play a deadly game in Wonderland, where shadows are on the move, kings are at war, and one of them wants Rosana dead.

As darkness hovers over the world, the friends must lean on each other and stop the King of Hearts from following through on Avoria’s orders: Break them.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

Sequel to:

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Enjoy the excerpt

Zack wrinkled his brows. “Who are you? Why have I come to see you? I don’t even know you.”

“You wouldn’t know of Madame Esme. But she certainly knows of you. Lady Fortune keeps painting your name in the cosmos. It would appear there is an important role for you in the journeys of Pinocchio’s son.”

“Enzo,” Zack said quietly.

“Yes.” A chill rippled through the air, and Madame Esme cast a wary gaze around the tent. “Now, Madame Esme has very limited time to speak to you. Please listen carefully.” She lowered her voice, reached across the table, and then seized Zack’s elbow. “I have predicted the death of one of your own . . . the son of Pinocchio. Madame Esme cannot be sure of the circumstances, but it is to take place soon in the realm of wonder.”

Zack yanked his elbow out of Madame Esme’s grip. “What are you saying? Why would you tell me something like that, even if it were true? That’s . . . an evil thing to say.”

The woman edged forward, impossibly calm given the horrible news she delivered. “Madame Esme is never wrong, Son of Pan. Oh, how often she wishes she were! Avoria arrived seven days ago, and what a mess we have become! The lands of Roma are falling to ruins once more. The Grand Canyon crumbles to dust as we speak. Avoria seeks a territory in which to build her citadel, and nothing will ever be the same. But the son of Pinocchio is destined to lead us all to battle. Thus, we need you, Son of Pan. We need you all to dethrone Avoria and restore peace. But if The Carver dies, hope dies with him.”

 


Author Jacob Devlin

When Jacob Devlin was four years old, he would lounge around in Batman pajamas and make semi-autobiographical picture books about an adventurous python named Jake the Snake. Eventually, he traded his favorite blue crayon for a black pen, and he never put it down. When not reading or writing, Jacob loves practicing his Italian, watching stand-up comedy, going deaf at rock concerts, and geeking out at comic book conventions. He does most of these things in southern Arizona.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Youtube

 

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Enter to win a Fantasy eBook Bundle and a $5 Amazon Gift Card.

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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

Grimm & White Banner new 851 x 315

Looking for a fun fairytale? Check out Grimm & White.  And it’s also got something for you urban fantasy fans.

Read the prologue.

And don’t forget to enter the giveaway!

Grimm and White

Heartless, Book 1

by Emily Ann Hansen

Genre: Fairytale/ Urban Fantasy

Date of Publication: January 26th, 2016

ISBN:  978-1522860259

Number of pages: 287 kindle Number of pages: 245 Print

Word Count: 89,000

Cover Artist: Murphy Rae

Synopsis

How far would you go to save your own life? Would you kill the one you love?

I want you to put your hand over your heart. Press down against the skin, meld your fingers into the flesh, and listen to the beats. Can you hear how that one organ is keeping you alive? One pump. Two pumps. Three.

Alice White Cabot would consider you lucky. She can press down in that same exact spot and she would feel … nothing. She is under the curse of the Heartless, and on her nineteenth birthday she will have to rip out the heart of the one she loves or she herself will die.

Kallin Grimm is a regular nineteen-year-old guy from the Chicago suburbs. He’s completely normal, except for the strength he can’t explain. Not to mention, Kallin is in love with a girl that he has never met. The only means of communication between the two of them is through an enchanted journal. Whatever is written in one can be seen in the other. For the past year Allie and Kallin have shared their secrets and their souls, which is why Allie knows they can never be together. It is the only way to keep his heart safe.

Enter the dark world of curses, secrets, and a history as old as time. The novel opens on Allie’s eighteenth birthday. With one year left, she, along with her best friend Miles set off from California to find out more about the curse, her past, and to stay as far away from Kallin Grimm as she can. Their first lead is in Chicago. Maybe this curse is stronger than she thinks. Tick-Tick-Tick.

Who would you choose?

Amazon

 

Prologue: “Happily Never After”

  On Lighthouse Avenue, inside the house at the end of the street, lives a girl with no heart. This is not to say she is cold or unloving, but it is literal and true. If you peeked inside her pale skin, peeled back her veins and muscles, you would find a cavernous hole of sorts.

  Her name is Alice White Cabot, and she is eighteen-years-old today.

  A light turns on in the shed behind the Cabot house. Beyond the roses that line the aged rocks on the side wall of the large house, past the stepping stones, a few feet farther than the toad rot, gundly flax, and verbena flowers (I’m sure we will get to that later), and finally we reach a small wooden box. What served as a gardening shed, now is filled to the brim with papers, maps, pens, various supplies, two pictures, one knife, and the girl in question.

  Allie sits at the window on a small black stool with the knife in her hand. Her dark hair and blue eyes are the only vivid colors in the otherwise grey shed. She is absentmindedly cutting her finger again and again. Three droplets of blood bead off of her fingertips and fall on to the white carpet. Not flinching, she stares out the window at the snow falling like feathers from the sky. Allie thinks she must have heard that somewhere, some time ago. When and where are lost to her.

  It’s Christmas and almost time for dinner. She looks around the ancient space, with its empty flowerpots and cobwebs, and knows this is the last time she will be in this room that has given her solace for so many years. When her mother first died she hid under the desk in the corner and read every book she could find; mostly adventure stories, like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Robinson Crusoe. The ceiling leaked and mice occasionally set up house, but it was her special place.

  The gash on her finger has closed and all that remains is dried blood crusted on the knife blade.

  On top of the cluttered desk is a purple music box. She gets up from her seat and places the knife on a dilapidated shelf. She gingerly opens the golden latch. A ballerina springs to life, and a haunting song echoes throughout the four walls of her sanctuary.

  She pulls out a note. On the front of the folded paper, the words Happy Birthday are scrawled in pretty script.

  My darling Allie,

  I wish more than anything I could have given this to you myself, but I know Gram will be there to do it for me. You must feel the time slipping away like I did. There is so much I want to say and so much that I, myself, don’t know how to explain. I cannot tell you what to do my love. Whatever you decide, no matter what, you are my sweet bean. I know you will choose to be better, to be good. You are so loved and that will never change.

  -Mom

  Her face is scrunched up, her nostrils flared and forehead taut, but she will not cry.

  Allie grabs the knife again. She cradles it in both of her hands for several seconds before she takes the hilt and turns the blade towards her stomach, so close that the tip digs into her belly button.

  Her breath mingles with dust in the unheated shed. Allie holds the knife like one would hold a brush or maybe a spoon—casually, yet calculated.

  With no other thought she plunges the weapon into her stomach, causing blood to immediately pool onto her white sweater. She makes no sound, not even a whimper. Both eyes are popped open, wide and surprised, while her other expressions remain suppressed. As quickly as she put the blade in, she pulls it back out.

  Allie drops the knife, and it clatters across the floor. She raises her hands and clutches them to her stomach, probing the area gently. 1 … 2 … 3 seconds pass.

  “Damn it.”

  She lifts her T-shirt revealing a smooth layer of skin, like the day she was born. The wound is gone; not so much as a scar to remind her of the pain.

Today, Allie White Cabot does not feel like celebrating because in one year’s time, she has to rip out the heart of the one she loves, or she will die.

  “Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!”

  But, until then she is cursed to breathe and live and what she doesn’t want more than anything else, she is cursed to love and be loved.

  The curse of the Heartless.

  What do I know? I’m just the mirror who watched the curse come to life. I’m just a mirror who is trapped like the rest … destined to bend to the will of the curse or break under its power like so many before.

This is not just her story, but it is his as well. Kallin Grimm, the boy who loves the girl.

The boy who can save us all.

  Allie walks over and snatches a map of Illinois from the clutter on the desk. There is a bold red circle around the city of Chicago.

  “See you soon,” Allie says. She opens the door. A gush of cold air blows inside, causing the music box to slam closed. The melody stops abruptly. She wonders if that’s what it will sound like when she dies.

  A snowflake lands on her lip and she licks it off. It will all be worth it. If she can keep him safe.

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Author Emily Hansen

An image posted by the author.

Emily Hansen is a writer currently living in Baltimore City. She grew up in Illinois and will always call Chicago home. She graduated from Columbia College Chicago with a BA in Fiction. She is a 9th grade English teacher. She became a writer because she thinks that people should not have to look far to find magic in their lives. Her obsessions range from depressing poetry to one or ten cups of coffee a day. Grimm and White is her first novel.

 

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