Posts Tagged ‘YA’

I am thrilled to announce the release of Eric Edstrom’s novel Daughter of Nothing. It features stunning artwork byAnna Dittmann.

The novel, which launches his new YA science fiction series The Scion Chronicles, can be purchased by clicking on the cover below.

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I have finished reading Daughter of Nothing and while my review is not ready YET, I can say it will be getting some pretty stars all in a row!

Keep an eye out for my review and a great giveaway coming soon!

Daughter of Nothing Cover

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Amazon / Kobo

Few people even know that the Scion School exists. Tucked away on a private Caribbean island, the school is host to thirty-six exceptionally gifted students, all orphans. They train and study every day to prepare themselves for an immense responsibility, to lead humankind back from the brink of extinction.

At least, that’s what they’ve been told.

Among the thirty-six is Jacey, 17, one of four Scions in the Eagle class. She is the favorite of the 93-year-old headmaster, Dr. Carlhagen. But when Jacey overhears a conversation between a strange visitor and one of the school’s first graduates, she learns a stunning fact about her future. One that Dr. Carlhagen has kept from all the Scions.

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I’ve read Erik’s other books and this one he kept close to the vest. I had no clue what it was about when he sent it to me and was surprised it was different from his other stories. A very pleasant and fun surprise!

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Eric Edstrom

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Eric Edstrom
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Eric is an author, songwriter, husband, father, and guitarist. He is the author of YA SF series The Undermountain Saga, which includes Undermountain, Afterlife, and Starkiller.Eric loves working out with kettlebells and eating pretty much anything with peanut butter.
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To Stalk Eric Kent Edstrom, follow the links below:
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Other books by Eric Edstrom
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The Undermountain Saga
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Book #1

Undermountain (The Undermountain Saga, #1)

My Review

Two teens from different worlds . . . Seeking refuge from their troubled home lives, sixteen year olds Danny Michaelson and Breyona Lewis join a group of teens in the Canadian Rocky Mountains for a ten-day hiking excursion.

. . . the encounter of a lifetime . . . Six days in, Danny and Breyona come face to face with a creature of legend–an eight foot tall beast they tag as “bigfoot.” But this is no mere animal, and it doesn’t want humans knowing its secrets.

. . . friendship, love, and loyalty . . . Swept into the hidden city of Undermountain, Danny, Breyona and their friends find themselves in a race for survival against alien forces determined to take control the earth.

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Book #2

Afterlife (The Undermountain Saga, #2)

My Review

Afterlife is the stunning second book in The Undermountain Saga!

They think their adventures are behind them . . . The six teens who were rescued from a mountainside in the Canadian Rockies are now famous. But only they know the true story-of what they discovered, what they survived-of Undermountain. Those secrets bind them together and pull them toward an ill-fated reunion.

. . . the war between tangoga and bigfeet still rages . . . The tangoga boss GorVit searches for a lost technology, the terrible weapon of a vanished race. And he’ll happily use Breyona as leverage to get Danny’s help.

. . . the power of ultimate destruction hangs in the balance . . . Thrust into the midst of war, and into the arms of a beautiful queen, Danny races on a collision course with destiny. And Breyona, still testing the limits of her amazing powers, must choose between what she desires and what is right.

. . . friendship, loyalty, and temptation . . . One will give in.

One will give up.

One will give all.

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Book #3

Starkiller (The Undermountain Saga, #3)

Reviewing soon

Starkiller is the stunning final act in The Undermountain Saga.

While the wicked bigfoot leader, Hanameesovenama, plans First Contact with the human race, Danny and Breyona race to stop the vile tangoga boss, GorVit, from using the starkiller weapon to destroy the sun.

In their search, they find an ancient king who may hold the key to preventing the apocalypse.

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And  the Sal Van Sleen Novella

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My Review

My name is Sal Van Sleen. It used to be that nothing much happened in my town, Mushkobewun. Or at least that’s what I believed for most of my fifteen years.

But then my girlfriend’s little sister got abducted by a nasty, supernatural . . . thing.

I don’t know about you, but I couldn’t just let something like that go . . .

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Thanks so much for visiting fonlyknew!

Elements Covers on black

I love a good Fantasy Romance and love it even more when they are a series.

Join me and welcome author Melissa Pearl for her fun Blast and Giveaway organized by AToMR Tours.

Read on to learn about The Elements Series, get a glimpse inside Unknown, and don’t forget to enter the giveaway!

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Title(s): The Elements Series: Unknown, Unseen, and Unleashed

Author: Melissa Pearl

Release date: Unknown – June 2013, Unseen – July 2013, Unleashed – August 2013

Age Group: Young Adult

Genre: Fantasy Romance

Tour organized by: AToMR Tours

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Unknown

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Amazon / Smashwords / B&N / iTunes

Darkness is covering the land. As the city of Mezrah grows with power and greed, the rest of the world can only stand by and wait for their inevitable destruction. The only hope against this growing power is an ancient prophecy that people have stopped believing in.

Then a star begins to fall.

Princess Kyla of Taramon stopped believing in the power of light the day her father died. Trapped in a city she does not care for, under the watchful glare of her mother, the queen, she struggles to accept her fate.

Then a star begins to fall.

Jethro has loved Kyla for as long as he can remember. Learning that she was to marry his cousin drove a wedge between him and the feisty princess. Watching her from a distance is a torture he is unable to free himself from.

Then a star begins to fall, sparking an ember of hope and sending two seekers on a treacherous journey into the unknown.

A peek inside Unknown!

Athra approached the two guards and gave them a kind smile as they made way for him to get past. He paused and studied the back of his future bride, trying to decide how best to approach this conversation.

It had been nearly an hour since she had left the throne room with her usual flair, and she still had not changed. He glanced at the trail of torn fabric at her feet and then let his gaze travel up her lithe body. Fire lit his cheeks and he looked to the sky. Unlike him, she was oblivious to her beauty.

Queen Elaina had announced the betrothal a year ago. Athra had known they must wait until Kyla’s seventeenth birthday before they were to wed, but some days the wedding night could not come fast enough.

He cleared his throat and Kyla turned at the sound. She gave him a glum smile before leaning back against the turret wall. She always came up here to escape and he understood why. Stepping up beside her, he studied the vast land below them. From here he could see all the way across the forest to the northern mountains. The jagged peaks were covered with powdery white snow, gifting beauty and elegance to something so strong and foreboding. The crystal clear sky was devoid of clouds. Today, nothing could hide the righteous alps that kept whatever lay north of them at bay.

He breathed in the fresh air and rested his arm next to Kyla’s, so they were just touching.

“What really happened with the guard?” He kept his voice easy and light.

Kyla sighed. “I heard a noise near the edge of the forest. When I went to investigate, I saw the guard was…well, I don’t know if he was actually going to attack her, but he was scaring this poor girl. She looked younger than I. How could I just walk away? What if he had…?”

“So you attacked him?”

She gave him an incredulous look. “I’ve not lost my mind completely.”

“Then what did you do?”

Pushing herself off the ledge, she let out a sigh and turned away from him.“I simply provided the distraction that poor girl needed to get away.”

“Distraction?”

“Look, he was so intent on this girl he didn’t even notice me.”

“Do what?”

“I simply—” She licked her lips and gave him a sidelong look. “I sliced the back of his trousers open.”

“What?”

“He was so horrified, he let the girl go. She ran and I ran…” Giggles started to hinder her speech. “And when he tried to chase me, his trousers fell to the ground and he tripped into the mud. It was the funniest thing I’ve seen in months.”

“Kyla.” Athra closed his eyes and dropped his head.

“I understand it was wrong, but…” She squeezed his arm. “It was so triumphant too.” Her laughter subsided and she leaned back against the wall. He glanced up at her and watched her smile diminish. “I hate that she signed that treaty.”

“We all do, but she was trying to stop them from attacking us. Taramon’s army was devastated after your father—”

“I know. And I know she was afraid and alone and she didn’t know what else to do, but placing Taramon at the mercy of King Ashan? It is folly. He is an evil man, if you can even call him a man.”

“I’ve never seen him.”

“No one has, but the rumours are rife and I believe Safeer’s descriptions to be false.”

Athra’s jaw clenched. He never thought himself capable of actually hating another human being, but Ashan’s ambassador, Safeer, was the exception. Having to be pleasant to him during his visits was the purest form of torture.

Forcing his dark thoughts aside, he took Kyla’s hand and gently rubbed his thumb over her soft skin as she spoke.

“I can’t help thinking that any day he will break this treaty and attack us. We have no army to defend ourselves, just a few royal guards. I do not trust him.”

“No one does, but so far, the treaty has kept us safe.”

“I wish my father was still here.”

Athra pulled Kyla into his arms and kissed the top of her head. It had been eight years since King Heron led his powerful army out of the city. The day Taramon’s broken army had straggled home from attacking Ashan would be permanently burned into his mind. A mere few survived. He was lucky enough to see his father limp through the gateway, but all four of Kyla’s brothers had been slain, along with her father. The city had been devastated. Safeer arrived with the treaty only a month later. With the queen still in a complete state of shock, she signed it and they had been “protected” by Ashan ever since. Of course this protection included the fact Taramon was not allowed to build up another army; they had to supply Ashan’s troops with whatever they demanded, and the taxes seemed to be rising yearly without one penny falling into the city’s coffers. Taramon was slowly dying and there seemed to be no way to stop it.

“What’s that?” Kyla lifted her head from his shoulder and pointed to the sky.

Athra squinted and noticed a burning light in the distance. It was being chased by trail of thick smoke and heading for earth at a startling speed. He let go of Kyla and leaned against the turret wall. “I don’t know.”

She came up beside him, her face bunched with confusion. Whatever it was looked to be heading for a crash landing between the northern forest and the foot of the alps. The impact was inevitable and Athra instinctively braced himself.

They both watched with open mouths as it plummeted. Moments later a burst of light lit the sky and a distant boom resounded. Athra shaded his eyes as he watched a mammoth cloud of ash and smoke billow from the landing point. A low vibration rumbled towards them, followed by a shock wave that blew them from their feet.

Athra covered Kyla with his body as the air whipped past them, and then it was over. Rising from the ground, he helped Kyla up and checked if the guards were okay. They stood on shaky feet, looking petrified.

“What was that?” Kyla’s brown eyes were wide with curiosity.

“I’m not sure, but I’m going to find out.”

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Unseen

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Amazon / Smashwords / B&N

 

Danger surrounds the Seekers. Having already faced overwhelming odds, Kyla and Jethro discover it is only the beginning. Now they must face the power of nature itself.

Each day is a test of faith.

Two elements remain undiscovered. The light is yet to be resurrected. Dark forces prepare to descend upon the heroes of prophecy and they have one more power they must over come…their forbidden love for each other.

 

Each moment is a test of loyalty and courage.

In Taramon, Athra faces his own demons as he frets over the safety of his fiancée while trying to counter a dark evil that is brought to his doorstep. Treachery lurks in the shadows, forcing the future king into an action that could destroy his beloved city.

Through it all, they must cling to the truths hidden in the unseen.

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Unleashed

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Amazon / Smashwords / B&N

The prophecy has failed. As Athra lies in the dungeons of Taramon with his defeated army, this is all he can believe. His city has been torn apart. He has failed his people and all that awaits him is an agonising death.

But the light has been found.

Ashan and his dark army proceed in gloating triumph. Safeer heads to Mezrah with Taramon’s women and children, while the rest of his men remain in the northern city, forcing their prisoners to tear it down stone by stone.

But two sparks have been ignited.

Kyla and Jethro learn of Taramon’s demise and, with the children, formulate a plan to rescue their people and bring an end to the overpowering darkness. It will take all their strength and every ounce of faith they possess…

But a furious light is about to be unleashed.

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About the Author

 

Melissa Pearl was born in Auckland, New Zealand, but has spent much of her life abroad, living in countries such as Jordan, Cyprus and Pakistan… not to mention a nine month road trip around North America with her husband. “Best. Year. Ever!!” She now lives in China with her husband and two sons. She is a trained elementary teacher, but writing is her passion. Since becoming a full time mother she has had the opportunity to pursue this dream and her debut novel hit the internet in November 2011. Since then she has produced four more books and has a YA fantasy trilogy coming out this year. Unknown and Unseen (The Elements Trilogy) out now!

“I am passionate about writing. It stirs a fire in my soul that I never knew I had. I want to be the best writer I can possibly be and transport my readers into another world where they can laugh, cry and fall in love.”

Author Social Media Links:

 

Facebook Author Page: http://www.facebook.com/melissapearlauthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MelissaPearlG

Blogs: http://melissapearl.blogspot.com/ and http://yalicious.blogspot.com/

Amazon Author Page:. amazon.com/author/melissapearl

 Goodreads Author Page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5314516.Melissa_Pearl

Smashwords Author Page: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/melissapearl

Newsletter subscription: ‪ http://blogspot.us5.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=ab5a6cb228dc9203d6c179eaa&id=481344857f

Website: http://www.melissapearlauthor.com

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/melissapearlg/

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Tour Giveaway:

(3) eBook sets of the complete series – Smashwords coupon code (International)

Click on the rafflecopter link below to enter.

RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY

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To join the fun and see other stops on the tour for reviews, guest posts, and excerpts click here or the tour button below.

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Thanks for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For all of my giveaways go HERE.

falling stars BANNER FSBLOGTOUR

Happy Release Day to H.D. Gordon and Falling Stars!

To celebrate, Heather is offering Falling Stars, Book Two and Shooting Stars, Book One for the awesome price of 99 cents each! Don’t miss out on this amazing deal!

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I’m reposting my review so you don’t have to leave to read it. You can go HERE for my interview with Heather.

When H.D. told me she had completed writing Falling Stars and asked if I’d like to read it I did this

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I was all over this book and finished it in record time.

Now I get to tell you all about it, and I promise there will be no spoilers, as this is the second book in the series.

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Only 99 cents today!

Get your copy by a simple click on the button below!

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Synopsis

Surah Stormsong’s life has fallen down around her in the past week. Her father is in a coma induced by demon poison, two Highborn Sorceresses have been murdered, and a crazed Sorcerer by the name of Black Heart has made it his mission to take the kingdom for his own. As princess, and next in line to the throne, Surah is his primary target. But he’s not the only one she has to look out for. Now, Surah is on the run, having just helped Charlie Redmine escape from the castle dungeons. This makes her a traitor in the eyes of many, as Charlie is not only a common man suspected of murder and treason, but also Black Heart’s younger brother. The stars are crossed against the two lovers, the universe trying to keep them apart. In the end, will the stars align for Surah and Charlie, or will they fall from the heavens, dead and lifeless, like the tears of angels?

My Review

H.D. has done it again!

I’ve read her Alexa Montgomery Saga, every one, and just like with them, this series just keeps getting better.

I loved Shooting Stars, just loved it. Now that I’ve read Falling Stars, I’ll tell you, it’s so much better. Not to say the first book wasn’t awesome, but with each book, H.D. ups her standards and rises above it every time.

This book grabs hold of you with the first sentence and never lets you go.

My favorite books are character driven and the stars of the Surah Stormsong Series are incredible.

Surah is wonderful. She’s smart yet impulsive, self-confident yet vulnerable, scared yet double-tough. And Charlie has her acting all girlie.

“…this man, just had a way of making her feel like a silly teenager, which was ridiculous considering she was older than most creatures on Earth. For the first time in a very long time, she felt as young as she looked, which was no older than twenty.”

I had such a great time getting to know Surah better. Wait until you read how she cleans house. Wish I could do that.

Charlie. Charlie is delectable. Sexy and sardonic, confident,and shy. How could I not love Charlie. What worries Charlie, worries me too. Will Surah still feel the same about him when she learns his secret. A secret that will shoot straight to her heart?

“The Charlie Effect.”

Another thing H.D. does really well is the romance. This is the second book and Surah and Charlie are slowly falling in love. It’s not instant love but a fondness built on getting to know each other. That makes it much more fun to read. You want them to finally say it, to admit their feelings, and that keeps you pouring over the words, looking for it.

Then there’s Black Heart, Charlie’s brother. He goes deeper into his lust for revenge and is hooked up with Tristell, the Fae Queen. Boy, what a twisted affair that is. Neither one shows any feelings for others. That makes them the perfect diabolical companions.

Follow one of their conversations if you can.

“Michael is always thinking inside of boxes,” she said.

He sighed, “And Tristell is always speaking in riddles.”

I can’t forget Samson, Surah’s tiger. He’s been left behind at the castle while Surah and Charlie are on the run and he’s being very sneaky, staying in the shadows, watching and listening as sorcerers whisper and conspire in dark places. I love reading his thoughts. He’s almost human sometimes, then his tiger side comes through. Wouldn’t want to be on his bad side.

There are some wicked creatures and extreme action in this story. I wouldn’t expect anything less from H.D. Her fight scenes are almost graceful when described. You can practically see the action, feel it, and hear it. Just like her characters, it’s all so real.

Some scenes remind you that Charlie and Surah both can be cold-blooded and it chills you when they exact punishment. And at some points in the story you almost can’t discern their individual voices. That’s how well this is written. You begin to understand how similar these two are, how they think alike, how well they go together, like soul-mates.

“I can only breathe right when you’re breathing beside me.”

Most excellent writing.

As the story races to the finish, you wonder how anything can be alright, how anything good can happen. Each time you think it’s going okay, something goes horribly wrong, taking you in another direction. I felt as Surah so eloquently put it,

“However this ends, wherever this is going, it’s going to effect a lot of people. Innocent people. I can feel that in my blood…I just hope whatever role I play isn’t one that causes heartache and pain.”

There’s so much more I want to tell you. I have nine pages of notes. But I’m going to let you read this super awesome story and find out for yourself.

One more thing. Watch out for the ending. It will rip you up one side and down the other. This ain’t over.

Prepare to be enthralled. I was and still am.

5 Stars

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A quote I just have to share with you. So Poignant.

“Because she was, after all, a princess, and she wanted so badly to believe her story would end in happily ever after.”

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Shooting Stars, Book One

Shooting Stars

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Click on the button below to get your copy for only 99 cents right now!

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My 5 Star Review

Synopsis

Surah Stormsong is one of the most powerful Sorceresses in the world. She is a princess who is next in line for the throne. As someone who has lost almost everything to this world, she only wants to pull away from it and live a normal life, but when Highborn ladies start being murdered and the Black Stone-a weapon that is capable of great destruction-goes missing, she is called upon to solve the issues and return her people to a state of safety. But danger lurks inside the castle walls as well, and when she runs into Charlie Redmine, a common Sorcerer Surah met once as a child, things grow complicated very quickly. He is the main suspect of the murders, but Surah is powerless against the connection she feels to him. Time is ticking, and if she doesn’t figure out what’s going on things will go from bad to worse, and an entire kingdom will suffer for it. From the author of the bestselling series, The Alexa Montgomery Saga, comes a tale of star-crossed lovers and magic, of hope and love and loss. The greatest question is, can love overcome all?

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About H.D. Gordon

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H. D. Gordon is the author of The Alexa Montgomery Saga. Blood Warrior, the first book of the Alexa series was her debut novel and has held a spot in the top 100 fantasy bestsellers for over a month. Half Black Soul is the second book in this series and H. D. plans to complete Alexa’s tales by the end of 2012. In June of 2012, Joe, a fantasy novel about a young clairvoyant, was released as well. H. D. is a lifelong reader and writer, a true lover of words. When she is not reading or writing she is raising her two daughters, playing a little guitar, and spending time with her family. She is twenty three years old and lives in the northeastern United States.

You can follow H.D. Gordon at:

Blog

Author Facebook Page

Twitter

Goodreads Author Page

H.D.Gordon Facebook page

Webpage

Goodreads Fan Club

H.D. Gordon’s Books

The Surah Stormsong Series

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The Alexa Montgomery Saga

       

JOE

falling stars BANNER FSBLOGTOUR

When H.D. told me she had completed writing Falling Stars and asked if I’d like to read it I did this

snoopy dancing photo: dancing snoopy dancingsnoopy.jpg

I was all over this book and finished it in record time.

Now I get to tell you all about it, and I promise there will be no spoilers, as this is the second book in the series.

But first, please join me and welcome Heather. She’s taken time out of her hectic schedule to do a little interview!

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It’s really great to have you on my blog today Heather.  I don’t want to keep everyone waiting, so let’s get started shall we?

1)      How do you write a series? Do you have it all planned out as one story and break it into several books or do you see each story individually?

I start a story, knowing it will end somewhere, and usually even how it will end, but I never know how many words the particular story will take to tell. I get an idea, a character/s, or just a strange situation, and do my best to let it lead me where it will. With my series, I look at the works independently, but I also feel they are just one story broken up into parts, because essentially, they are. While I do my best for people to be able to start with any book (who begins a series with the second or third book anyway?) each book is just a continuation of the last, and being so are dependent on each other.

2)      Which is more fun to write, the good guy or the bad guy?

It depends on the character. But the short answer would be that for me, all writing is fun when it is going well. I look at the thing as a whole-which means that no matter whose perspective I’m writing from at a particular time, if I’m doing my job correctly, it is always enjoyable. I don’t write just word to word or sentence to sentence. I write from beginning to end-something that flows from paragraph to paragraph, page to page, and chapter to chapter. Everything depends on everything else, if that makes sense, so while characters may be different, they all are ingredients to the same cake.

3)      Do the characters come first or the events?

Characters, usually. Then the situation, not necessarily the events. I am inspired in some way to write a particular character, to be that character for a while, and then I place them in some sort of terrible situation, just to see how resourceful they are at getting out of it. That way, I learn more and more about the character as I go along; how they react when faced with certain problems, what morals they guide themselves by, and so on. I also learn a lot about myself, because most of the time the person on the page and their feelings strongly reflect my own at whatever point in my life I’m at. The characters always become their own people, always tell me their stories as we move along. But initially, it is usually about freeing something that’s been trapped in my soul, about sharing those things with other like-minded souls.

4)      Would you like your books made into movies or a television series?

Oh, either one would be cool. I think every author would agree with that, but I also think it would be strange. I’ve already seen the stories acted out on the screen in my head, so the differences between the two would be something interesting to me.

5)      If you weren’t a writer, what would you like to be?

Hmm, no one has ever asked me that. I wouldn’t want to be anything, except a mother, of course. But what I mean is, I didn’t choose writing. Writing chose me. I have been writing since I first saw words fall right on a page, which was pretty early because I was never restricted reading material. My mother gave me To Kill a Mockingbird when I was about seven. She gave me a collection of short stories and poems by Edgar Allen Poe when I was around five or six. I would read and read while other kids did whatever other kids did. It didn’t take very long before I found myself compelled, challenged to see if I could do better. I have always had to write. I have had to write since before I ever even understood what a paycheck was.

Five Fun Shorts!

1)      High heels or flip flops?

Flip flops. Definitely.

2)      If getting a tattoo, what would it be?

I have several actually. But my next tattoo will say “wordsmith” in old typewriter print. Black ink, on the inside of my bicep.

3)      Were you a tomboy or Barbie doll girl?

Tomboy. Still am. I love to fish and be outdoors. I wear sweatpants and t-shirts unless there is a special occasion.

4)      Your favorite indulgence?

I wish I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.

5)      Fly a plane or drive a race car?

Neither. I’m a weanie. I like to keep my feet on the ground.

That was fun! Thanks for answering my questions and letting us all get to know more about you.

Thank you so much for having me!

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And now I get to show you the cover art!

Just look at Charlie!

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Synopsis

Surah Stormsong’s life has fallen down around her in the past week. Her father is in a coma induced by demon poison, two Highborn Sorceresses have been murdered, and a crazed Sorcerer by the name of Black Heart has made it his mission to take the kingdom for his own. As princess, and next in line to the throne, Surah is his primary target. But he’s not the only one she has to look out for.
Now, Surah is on the run, having just helped Charlie Redmine escape from the castle dungeons. This makes her a traitor in the eyes of many, as Charlie is not only a common man suspected of murder and treason, but also Black Heart’s younger brother.
The stars are crossed against the two lovers, the universe trying to keep them apart. In the end, will the stars align for Surah and Charlie, or will they fall from the heavens, dead and lifeless, like the tears of angels?

My Review

H.D. has done it again!

I’ve read her Alexa Montgomery Saga, every one, and just like with them, this series just keeps getting better.

I loved Shooting Stars, just loved it. Now that I’ve read Falling Stars, I’ll tell you, it’s so much better. Not to say the first book wasn’t awesome, but which each book, H.D. ups her standards and rises above it every time.

This book grabs hold of you with the first sentence and never lets you go.

My favorite books are character driven and the stars of the Surah Stormsong Series are incredible.

Surah is wonderful. She’s smart yet impulsive, self-confident yet vulnerable, scared yet double-tough. And Charlie has her acting all girlie.

“…this man, just had a way of making her feel like a silly teenager, which was ridiculous considering she was older than most creatures on Earth. For the first time in a very long time, she felt as young as she looked, which was no older than twenty.”

I had such a great time getting to know Surah better. Wait until you read how she cleans house. Wish I could do that.

Charlie. Charlie is delectable. Sexy and sardonic, confident,and shy. How could I not love Charlie. What worries Charlie, worries me too. Will Surah still feel the same about him when she learns his secret. A secret that will shoot straight to her heart?

“The Charlie Effect.”

Another thing H.D. does really well is the romance. This is the second book and Surah and Charlie are slowly falling in love. It’s not instant love but a fondness built on getting to know each other. That makes it much more fun to read. You want them to finally say it, to admit their feelings, and that keeps you pouring over the words, looking for it.

Then there’s Black Heart, Charlie’s brother. He goes deeper into his lust for revenge and is hooked up with Tristell, the Fae Queen. Boy, what a twisted affair that is. Neither one shows any feelings for others. That makes them the perfect diabolical companions.

Follow one of their conversations if you can.

“Michael is always thinking inside of boxes,” she said.

He sighed, “And Tristell is always speaking in riddles.”

I can’t forget Samson, Surah’s tiger. He’s been left behind at the castle while Surah and Charlie are on the run and he’s being very sneaky, staying in the shadows, watching and listening as sorcerers whisper and conspire in dark places. I love reading his thoughts. He’s almost human sometimes, then his tiger side comes through. Wouldn’t want to be on his bad side.

There are some wicked creatures and extreme action in this story. I wouldn’t expect anything less from H.D. Her fight scenes are almost graceful when described. You can practically see the action, feel it, and hear it. Just like her characters, it’s all so real.

Some scenes remind you that Charlie and Surah both can be cold-blooded and it chills you when they exact punishment. And at some points in the story you almost can’t discern their individual voices. That’s how well this is written. You begin to understand how similar these two are, how they think alike, how well they go together, like soul-mates.

“I can only breathe right when you’re breathing beside me.”

Most excellent writing.

As the story races to the finish, you wonder how anything can be alright, how anything good can happen. Each time you think it’s going okay, something goes horribly wrong, taking you in another direction. I felt as Surah so eloquently put it,

“However this ends, wherever this is going, it’s going to effect a lot of people. Innocent people. I can feel that in my blood…I just hope whatever role I play isn’t one that causes heartache and pain.”

There’s so much more I want to tell you. I have nine pages of notes. But I’m going to let you read this super awesome story and find out for yourself.

One more thing. Watch out for the ending. It will rip you up one side and down the other. This ain’t over.

Prepare to be enthralled. I was and still am.

5 Stars

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A quote I just have to share with you. So Poignant.

“Because she was, after all, a princess, and she wanted so badly to believe her story would end in happily ever after.”

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Shooting Stars, Book One

Shooting Stars

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My 5 Star Review

Synopsis

Surah Stormsong is one of the most powerful Sorceresses in the world. She is a princess who is next in line for the throne. As someone who has lost almost everything to this world, she only wants to pull away from it and live a normal life, but when Highborn ladies start being murdered and the Black Stone-a weapon that is capable of great destruction-goes missing, she is called upon to solve the issues and return her people to a state of safety. But danger lurks inside the castle walls as well, and when she runs into Charlie Redmine, a common Sorcerer Surah met once as a child, things grow complicated very quickly. He is the main suspect of the murders, but Surah is powerless against the connection she feels to him. Time is ticking, and if she doesn’t figure out what’s going on things will go from bad to worse, and an entire kingdom will suffer for it. From the author of the bestselling series, The Alexa Montgomery Saga, comes a tale of star-crossed lovers and magic, of hope and love and loss. The greatest question is, can love overcome all?

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About H.D. Gordon

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H. D. Gordon is the author of The Alexa Montgomery Saga. Blood Warrior, the first book of the Alexa series was her debut novel and has held a spot in the top 100 fantasy bestsellers for over a month. Half Black Soul is the second book in this series and H. D. plans to complete Alexa’s tales by the end of 2012. In June of 2012, Joe, a fantasy novel about a young clairvoyant, was released as well. H. D. is a lifelong reader and writer, a true lover of words. When she is not reading or writing she is raising her two daughters, playing a little guitar, and spending time with her family. She is twenty three years old and lives in the northeastern United States.

You can follow H.D. Gordon at:

Blog

Author Facebook Page

Twitter

Goodreads Author Page

H.D.Gordon Facebook page

Webpage

Goodreads Fan Club

H.D. Gordon’s Books

The Surah Stormsong Series

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The Alexa Montgomery Saga

       

JOE

The Highlight Tour with Prism Book Tours

& Samantha’s Summer Tour

Shudder

348 pages

Published June 15, 2013

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It’s only been three days, and already everything is different.

Paragon is behind her, but somehow Alessa’s life may actually have gotten worse. In a wrenching twist of fate, she traded the safety and companionship of her sister for that of her true love, losing a vital partner she’d counted on for the ordeal ahead. Her comfortable university life is but a distant memory, as she faces the prospect of surviving a bleak winter on the meager remains of a ravaged world. And if she’d thought she’d tasted fear upon seeing a ghost, she was wrong; now she’s discovering new depths of terror while being hunted by a deadly virus and a terrifying pack of superhuman creatures thirsting for blood.

And then there are the visions.

The memory-altering “stitch” unlocked something in Alessa’s mind, and now she can’t shake the constant flood of alien feelings ransacking her emotions. Haunting memories of an old flame are driving a deep and painful rift into her once-secure relationship. And a series of staggering revelations about the treacherous Engineers – and the bone-chilling deceit shrouding her world’s sorry history – will soon leave Alessa reeling…

The Highlight Tour

8/24 – 9/1

Sharing some of the best of the summer-long tour

Shudder by Samanth Durante Blog Tour - June 15th to Sept 1st

24 – The Reading Diaries – The Mystery!

 Why does Alessa keep feeling something following them through the woods? – Review at Here’s the Story

Shudder is filled with surprises around every corner, keeping me guessing till the very end.

 

The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Something Year Old Girl – Raving Fans!

Can I just freaking say how much I LOVE this series?! Stitch was good. Shudder? AMAZINGLY AMAZING!!! I can’t even express how much I just LOVE LOVE LOVED this book. Everything about it was perfection. – Review at Literary Meanderings 

Rose & Beps Blog – Crushing on Side Characters!

Lizzie: I’ll support whoever can deliver that future, whether it’s the rebels or even the leaders of Paragon, if they were willing to change. I do believe in second chances. – Character Interview  at Mousehead & Tales

25 – Chapter BreakVile Villainy!

Samantha: …the Engineers(the bad guys) are based on a variety of people I’ve met and disliked over the years for their general arrogance and lack of ability to connect with people (though I’m not naming names, haha). – Interview at Joanna In the Sky With Books:

Review:

 I enjoyed the merging of genre and thought it was a unique twist on sci-fi and dystopia, with a little paranormal aspect until we learn otherwise. 

Wonderings of One Person – Review

Shudder by Samantha Durante is a deeply touching and sensational story of discovery and freedom laden with heavy doubts and uncomfortable choices. I was swept away…

Mortal Moments – Crushing on Characters!

Do YOU have any favourite fiction crushes or book boyfriends? Care to share them… so we can all swoon together! 🙂

Issac is one to add to the list of “book boyfriends”. – Review at A Thousand Lives

26 – A Tiffyfit’s Reading Corner – Review

…what an ENDING! This story is keeping my head bent to my kindle. Ms Durante has IT, ladies and gentlemen. That thing that some authors have that just keep you turning the pages…

27 Kindred DreamhartCatch some STYLE!

 

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The Bookish Daydreamer – OMG Endings!

Samantha: My favorite scene to write in Shudder was definitely the big revelation in the very last chapter. Heart-wrenching. – Interview at Lovely Reads

Melissa’s Eclectic Bookshelf – Developing Deep Characters

Things get even more complicated when Alessa discovers something new about herself, a twist that I sure never saw coming. Again kudos Samantha for a great job well done. ~Review at Total Book Nerds

28 – YA Book Addict – Review

The one constant thought that kept coming at me while I was reading Shudder was the originality of it. I remember feeling the exact same way while I was reading Stitch. Personally, I have never read anything like it before and I have to give huge applause to an author who can create such a fantastically original, well written, engaging piece of writing.

Library of a Book Witch – POV Perfection!

…the transitions between character to character are smooth and never feel unnatural or jarring, each character’s situation has a different aura to it, I could immediately tell which character I was currently reading about… Review at Book Adoration.

Mommasez…Writerly Wisdom

Do what you love. – Guest Post “Celebrating the Stitch 1 Year Anniversary” at Head Stuck in a Book

Imagine the world ended tomorrow. – Guest Post “Family & Relationships in a Dying World” at My World in Words and Pages 

Review

Samantha teases us with two girls, one stoned by an angry mob, the other in a prison cell. We don’t know who is who. And it’s deliciously mysterious!!

29 – Mel’s ShelvesPraise for Pacing!

Fast paced with not a single dull moment, this book will have you turning pages until the end. – Review at Little Hyuts

Review

Oh, my! Dystopia at its finest! A quick word on Stitch (book 1): It had been a while since I’d read what it was about so I just started reading. It seemed like a nice time travel romance with a hint of something else and then BAM!, in came the dystopia element. At that point, I couldn’t put it down…

Fundinmental – Painstakingly Plotted World

The complexity of the plot and the dynamics have you wondering what exactly Samantha has in her mind to be able to imagine this complex world. I never one time imagined that what happens in the book could actually happen but now the idea is planted firmly in my mind. It is a little freaky. – Review at Cynthia Shepp Book Reviews & Editing

Review:

 Shudder… has so many things going on that, at times, I was torn about where I wanted the story to go. 

 

30 Literary Meanderings – Top Ten Raving Fan Moments!

Shudder is one of the best dystopians I’ve read so far! It’s so intense, so captivating. There’s a lot in it, and it’s so well written. The action, the suspense, the thrill… All of it will leave you begging for more. I know I am! Samantha, you’ve really set the bar with this one. I enjoyed every second of it. ~ Review at City of Books

31 My Devotional Thoughts – More Crushing On Characters! 

 

Isaac Sttich Trilogy

Interview with Isaac at Always YA at Heart

– Green Mountain Couple – More Vile Villainy!

“The memory alteration research mentioned some, well, unfortunate side effects…” – Guest Post at Crys Book Reviews

Review

I absolutely LOVE LOVED this book. It was one of those books that I picked up and didn’t want to set back down even after it was finished.

Sept. 1 – The Book Rogue – Review

Some things were not that unusual for a Dystopian, but there were also some shocking aspects — in the regard that I don’t find them too absurd to actually happen, like right now. Genius and insanity are utterly and truly a very fine line that tends to blur a lot.

Quote:

“What we haven’t told you yet–“

He paused, searching her eyes before he dropped his bombshell.

 

“– is that the outbreak wasn’t exactly a mistake.”

See what you’re missing… read Stitch & Shudder now!!

Stitch (Stitch Trilogy, #1)  Shudder (Stitch Trilogy #2)

Also available in the iTunes store, Kobo, and wherever e-books are sold!

Samantha Durante, Author of the Stitch Trilogy

Samantha Durante

Tour-Wide Giveaway:

5 Winners. August 24 – September 16, 2013

* Signed print copy of Stitch & Shudder for you and two friends (USA only)

* Signed (via Authorgraph) e-book copies of Stitch & Shudder for you and two friends (Int’l)

* Signed Stitch & Shudder bookmarks + e-book copies of Stitch & Shudder (Int’l)

* $10 Amazon Gift Card (Int’l)

* $5 Amazon Gift Card (Int’l)

Enter the Giveaway HERE!!!

For the first time ever, you can download Elisabeth Wheatley’s YA paranormal novella, Fanged Princess,  FREE for your Kindles Saturday,August 31st and Sunday, September 1st.

A great way to celebrate your end of summer holiday!

So check out the blurb and book trailer below, grab your copy, and don’t forget to tell your friends!

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Reviewing Soon!

I will not let my brother suffer the same loss…

Hadassah’s father, the Vampire King, punished her harshly for her choice to love a human. Now her brother, the only person in the world who still matters to her, has fallen for a human girl. Determined to keep the girl safe, the three of them flee from their home in New England and find themselves cornered with their father’s minions closing in. If they want to escape, their only hope may be to join forces with the mortal enemies of their kind…

Be ensnared in this dark tale of enduring love, revenge, and suspense from teenage author, Elisabeth Wheatley.

Download for free!

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About Elisabeth Wheatley

Elisabeth Wheatley

Elisabeth Wheatley is a teenager of the Texas Hill Country. When she’s not daydreaming of elves, vampires, or hot guys in armor, she is reading copious amounts of fantasy, playing with her little brothers, studying mythology, and training and showing her Jack Russell Terrier, Schnay.
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For more about Elisabeth and her other books use the links below.
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Thanks so much Elisabeth and have a wonderful Labor Day Weekend!!

If you haven’t read The Guardians of Vesturon series by A.M. Hargrove yet, I have exciting news!

You can get Survival: Book One and Beginnings: The Prequel Novella, FREE today on AMAZON!

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I read and reviewed this before I started my blog.

Wanting to tell more about awesome books, I started my blog and haven’t stop talking since!

My Review

“Maybe I was caught between the two worlds. I was having serious trouble distinguishing fantasy from reality.”

While on a backpacking trip in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, nineteen-year-old Maddie Pearce finds her world has been thrown into a vortex and is madly spinning toward the impossible. Abducted by a mad psychopath, Maddie narrowly escapes with her life. But that is only the beginning. Her mysterious rescuer introduces her to a world that Maddie has difficulty accepting as reality. Will this strikingly gorgeous stranger be the key to her future or will she return to her mundane world, scarred from her experience? Follow Maddie as she is forced to make difficult decisions that carry her to mysterious places.

Click on the icon below to get your copy now!

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Reviewing soon

You met the Guardians of Vesturon in Survival and Resurrection.  Now read about how their parents, Rowan and Annalise met in Beginnings, the novella Prequel to The Guardians of Vesturon.  Learn more about Rowan and how Annalise unwittingly captured his heart and how his chance meeting of her took him on a journey of forbidden love.

Click on the icon below to get your copy now!

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Other books in The Guardians of Vesturon Series

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My Review

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Reviewing soon

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Reviewing soon.

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A Praestani Series Novel

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My Review

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The Edge Series

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My Review

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My Review

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My Review

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Reading this now.

You can catch my review in the tour coming October 2nd!

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About the Author

Hargrove

One day, on her way home from work as a sales manager, A. M. Hargrove, realized her life was on fast forward and if she didn’t do something soon, it would quickly be too late to write that work of fiction she had been dreaming of her whole life.  So, she rolled down the passenger window of her fabulous (not) company car and tossed out her leather briefcase.  Luckily, the pedestrian in the direct line of fire was a dodgeball pro and had über quick reflexes enabling him to avoid getting bashed in the head.  Feeling a tad guilty about the near miss, A. M. made a speedy turn down a deserted side street before tossing her crummy, outdated piece-of-you-know-what lap top out the window.   She breathed a liberating sigh of relief, picked up her cell phone and hit #4 on her speed dial.

Boss:  Hello

A.M.:  Boss, is that you?

Boss:  Why yes, A. M., who else would be answering my phone?

A.M.:  Er… right.  Well, I’m calling to let you know you can pick up my luxury Ford Focus at Starbucks near the interstate.

Boss:  Why ever would I want to do that?

A.M.:  Because I quit!

A.M. hit the end button and speed dialed her husband.

A.M.:  Hi hubs, can you pick me up at Starbucks?

Hubs:  Sure… Having some car trouble?

A.M.:  Not at all.  I don’t have a car to have trouble with because I just quit my job.

Hubs:  WHAT?!

A.M.:  It’s time for a new career and I am going to be a very famous novelist.

So began A. M. Hargrove’s career as a YA/NA and Adult Romance writer! Her books include Kissing Fire, Edge of Disaster, Shattered Edge, the series the Guardians of Vesturon (Survival, Resurrection, Determinant, Beginnings and the upcoming reEmergent) and Dark Waltz.

Author Social Media Links:

http://www.amhargrove.blogspot.com

http://www.amhargrove.com

http://www.twitter.com/@amhargrove1

http://www.facebook.com/anne.m.hargrove

http://www.facebook.com/guardiansofvesturon

http://www.goodreads.com/amhargrove1

Wavecrossed Tour Banner

I fell in love with the cover art for Wavecrossed when it was being revealed a while ago.

I had to be a part of the Release Day Blitz!

Isn’t it so awesome?!

Check out Wavecrossed and enjoy the peek inside.

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Title: Wavecrossed
Author: Andrea Colt
Date of Publication: August 22, 2013
Genre: paranormal YA
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Purchase links
Amazon | CreateSpace (paperback) / B&N
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Blurb:
A young-adult paranormal novel about selkies, tasers, kissing and secrets.
To Cassandra Kelleher, trust is a dirty word.
A teenage selkie who grew up on land, all she wants is to free her family from the man who stole their sealskins long ago. With her twin brother Brennan losing hope and her window of opportunity disappearing like the beach at high tide, she’ll try anything.
Before long, however, Cassandra can’t tell whether her biggest threat is the man holding her family captive, a classmate who’s discovered her secret, or her own paranoia. Battling broken friendships and alarming romantic entanglements, Cassandra finds that trust could be the key to winning her family’s freedom … or losing her own.
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Enjoy this glimpse inside Wavecrossed
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Chapter One

Midnight is the perfect time to eat a turtle.

Submerged in an icy river, I focused briefly on the thought, then let it go. My brother should be close enough to hear, and it would make him come running, so to speak. Mentally, I grinned.

My lungs craved air, so I flicked my hind flippers to propel me upwards. As my head broke the surface, I spun to scan both sides of the forested shore. No human faces peered back in the moonlight, but I pivoted in the water to check again as I sucked in a breath. Not that a nighttime fisherman would see anything odder than a seal poking her nose out of a coastal Maine river—which wasn’t a totally crazy sight, though most seals kept to saltwater—but it wasn’t random humans I was worried about. It was the other kind, the kind who knew what I was. The lying-in-wait kind.

But if anyone lurked in the shadows, I couldn’t see them. Or, I noted as I drew another breath, smell them. So I was safe. Probably.

Letting my muscles relax, I lifted my nose further into the air so the crisp breeze could ruffle my whiskers. I spun in the water again, this time for fun. Despite the danger, I loved these nights, these escapes. For a while I could lose myself in motion and instinct, forget the problems waiting for me ashore. Here, I didn’t have to pretend to be a normal teenage girl, didn’t have to smother my anger and growing desperation. Here, weightless in the river, the world felt right. For a moment, at least.

The water around me shifted, and my brother surfaced two feet away. The seal version of my twin was darker than my dappled cloud coloring; he was gunmetal spotted with shadow, his eyes round wells of midnight as he huffed out a breath.

Cass, you can’t eat turtles. Outrage tinged Brennan’s thought. What would Nicky say?

Nicky was the snapping turtle Brennan had found injured in a pond when we were in middle school. He’d taken him home and kept him in the basement bathtub for a week until his leg healed. Now whenever we met a snapping turtle, Brennan claimed it was Nicky’s uncle, or grandmother, or sister-in-law.

Nicky can’t talk, so he wouldn’t say anything. I dove, abandoning the moonlit surface. Water pressed against my fur and skin; from below came the faint clicks and rustlings of crayfish scuttling over rocks. The bottom of the river beckoned, a fascinating murky dark, and as always a part of me wanted to paint it. But if I tried, the result would look like a squid threw up on canvas—oils could never capture the life and motion of an inky midnight river.

In any case, I didn’t paint anymore. Not even in human form. I’d won schoolwide awards for it freshman year, but now I wouldn’t touch a brush for all the fish in the sea.

Brennan fell in beside me as I swam upstream.

Maybe turtles can talk. Like we do.

Mind-speaking reptiles? I snorted, bubbles betraying my mirth. I started to tell Brennan how ridiculous that was, then paused. Three years ago, when I thought I was just an ordinary high school freshman, I’d have called the idea of creatures like us ridiculous too.

They can’t talk to us, I pointed out instead.

Brennan swam above me, a shadow against the pale surface, then butted my shoulder with his snout.

Well, in any case, selkies don’t eat turtles. Weaving through the water, he sped on ahead.

I frowned. Says who? Not our parents, for sure. Trapped on land, they found the ways of our people too painful to talk about. And in the two and a half years since Brennan and I discovered the truth about ourselves, we’d never met another selkie.

Without opposable thumbs, how would they get through the shell? Brennan’s logic floated back to me as he somersaulted through the water.

They could eat them while in human form. Turtle soup is a delicacy in France, right?

Gross. Brennan paused to nose under a submerged log. I surfaced for another breath, then ducked safely down before continuing upriver. My whiskers caught vibrations through the water: I sensed fish milling about below, tasty swimming morsels, but they’d get a pass tonight. It was late.

After another thirty seconds, I realized my brother had fallen behind. I twisted in the water, but moonlight only penetrated a few inches; I couldn’t see him in the darkness. The river’s weak current tugged at me, the flow undisturbed by another seal-sized body nearby.

I sent a thought out like a beacon: Come on, Brennan, let’s go home. Tomorrow’s shift is going to suck even more if we don’t get any sleep. We were scheduled to work the Sunday brunch rush at The Golden Fish, our older brother Declan’s restaurant. I’d rather roll in needles, but skipping wasn’t an option.

In my mind, I heard a monumental sigh. Then, hardly more than a shudder of a thought:

What if we just left, tonight?

My stomach clenched. Whirling, I swam upstream without answering. Maybe Brennan hadn’t meant me to hear, and didn’t realize I had—sometimes the line between musing and directed thought was thin. Usually we laughed at apparent non sequiturs from stray thoughts, but this one wasn’t funny.

Selkies belonged at sea. I knew that. And it wasn’t that I didn’t want to bid Granite Harbor, Maine, a thoroughly un-fond farewell. Frankly, staying on land blew chunks. Big, slimy ones. It meant rules and bargains and danger, and being forced not to spit in faces that desperately deserved it.

But selkies couldn’t become their true selves without their sealskins, and my parents and older brother were trapped apart from theirs, forced to stay ashore in human form. Until two-and-a-half years ago Brennan and I had been trapped too; we hadn’t even known of our true natures then, so we’d grown up like normal kids, or near enough.

Now that we knew the truth, and had our sealskins—a gift with a price I hated to think about—we should be at sea. It was unnatural for selkies to stay on land. But though Brennan and I were free, the rest of our family wasn’t. I couldn’t leave them behind, not without a fight, and despite his possibly-unintentional comment, I knew Brennan wouldn’t either. If I looked back, he’d be following.

He’d better be following.

When I reached the stretch of bank where we’d left our clothes I finally turned to check, but no torpedo-shaped shadow darkened the water.

Brennan? I called mentally, but there was no response. My heart seized. Brennan? For an agonized second I thought he’d left us behind after all, but then there came a faint snap, as if of teeth.

Just let me eat this catfish, will you?

At my brother’s happy distracted tone, relief surged in like the tide. Brennan was my twin, and my best friend. My only friend, if you wanted to split hairs; we couldn’t trust any of our classmates with the truth about ourselves. Brennan still went to parties, but I found it next to impossible to socialize with classmates when my paranoid side branded the word THREAT invisibly on their foreheads. If any of them found out what we really were … Disaster. So if Brennan ever did leave, I’d be alone in my fight.

But he was still here, and I exhaled a bit, bubbles trickling from my nose up to the surface. I let Brennan enjoy his fish; I’d make sure the shore was safe.

Edging toward the bank, I raised my head from the water and scanned the woods carefully. This was always the most dangerous part of our nighttime swims. What if someone had come across our haul-out spot while we were downstream? What if they’d found our clothes? What if they were waiting for Brennan and me to emerge and change back into human form so they could snatch our sealskins?

It wasn’t so far-fetched a notion: after all, that’s what happened to our parents.

I inhaled deeply, my nose sorting scents: tangy pine needles, rotting fall leaves, a faint trace of fox scat. Nothing human besides our own belongings. I counted silently to thirty, but heard nothing beyond the normal rustling of small birds. As far as I could tell, we were alone. Time to trudge back to my landlubber life.

Bracing myself, I started the change.

Bone-deep hurt stabbed everywhere, stretching and cracking and reshaping my limbs and flesh. When I was ten I’d broken an arm, and it felt like that—except all my bones at once, while sandpaper raked my skin. I kept going, and after an agonizing eleven seconds—Brennan and I had timed each other once—my form solidified into one with legs and arms and breasts and hair.

And, thank God, thumbs. I used my lovely thumbs and fingers to grasp my sealskin, now floating like a cape beside me. Still underwater, I wrapped it around my torso before kicking my legs to take me to shore. The shallows here were little more than a two-foot-wide submerged ledge between the deeper part of the river and the earthen bank. I pulled myself up onto the ledge and crouched on the slick rock, water lapping at my shoulders. Steadying myself with one hand on an adjacent boulder, I stood.

Heavy. That first moment out of the water always felt like being saddled with a backpack of granite. Though the thigh-deep water would turn a normal human’s toes blue in twenty seconds—it was October, after all, and winter showed up early on Maine’s doorstep—I stayed stock still. My gaze raked the shadowed underbrush for dangers I might have missed from the water, and my ears strained for the sound of a footstep. My muscles tensed, ready to hurl me back into the river, but the night remained quiet. All clear.

Bending over, I found two smooth river stones and rapped them four times against each other underwater—the signal to let Brennan know it was safe. Our mind-speech only worked in seal form. As I clambered onto the dirt bank, Brennan surfaced mid-river, whiskers gleaming white. Waving, I slipped behind a thick, squat fir tree and found my backpack, nestled among the branches close to the trunk. I pulled out my clothes, then reluctantly unwrapped myself.

Once I was dressed, my fingers lingered on my damp sealskin, this strange key to my secret self. Growing up, my sealskin—and I—had been another’s possession, but it was mine now. I was mine now.

I’d never give that up again, not for anything.

To the untutored eye my sealskin looked like a dark, misshapen towel. The skin side was rough but supple, the reverse sleek and padded with guard hairs. There were no claws or a face or anything creepy like that, just an amorphous shape roughly twice as long as it was wide.

Home, I thought. My sealskin was home to me, more so than my bedroom in my parents’ house, or even the ocean. Contact with my sealskin made me feel strong. Cleared my thoughts. I’d been anxious and tightly wound this afternoon, in a mood Brennan classily termed megabitch, but now that I’d had a good swim I felt steadier.

I folded my sealskin, smoothing down the guard hairs possessively. My whole freedom was tied up in this thing. It killed me to part from it, to stow it in one of a dozen hiding places we’d found in the area, but we couldn’t take our sealskins back to the house. It wasn’t safe.

Slipping my sealskin into my backpack, I returned to the riverbank. Was Brennan getting dressed? I heard nothing from behind the holly bush where he’d hidden his backpack of clothes, and the dirt beside the water was dry except for my damp footprints.

I peered into the depths just beyond the ledge.

“Come on, Brennan.” The water would distort my voice, but Brennan would hear. How long did a catfish take to devour, anyway?

I inhaled, but my nose now caught only the overwhelming scent of pine. My senses were always sharper in seal form, except perhaps for touch. My human skin, without the guard hairs that covered my other self, was definitely more sensitive. And delicate—I’d nicked myself on a thorny bramble earlier, and I stretched out my hand to inspect it. The pad of my thumb, which had sported the wound, was pristine again. Changing healed little injuries, though it didn’t, sadly, maintain things like manicures. I hadn’t bothered to paint my nails in over a year.

A shadow in the river caught my eye. Finally. Brennan was … coming up too fast.

“Wait,” I yelped, but before I could move Brennan exploded out of the river, leaping into the air right beside the ledge and flopping down again. The wave of wet hit me nearly full-on. Sputtering, I shrieked a curse as Brennan disappeared underwater. Surprise cannonballs had been my brother’s signature move at the public pool when we were younger—his and every other boy’s.

My twin surfaced ten feet offshore for my reaction. My jeans were drenched, my sweater half-soaked. Not that it really mattered—my long dark hair dripped down my back anyways—but getting mad was part of the fun. I stamped my foot and cupped my hands around my mouth.

“That’s it—I’m making turtle soup out of Nicky’s cousins!”

Brennan blew out his breath in what amounted to a seal laugh, then submerged. I hastily backed up, but when Brennan reappeared he only pulled himself onto the ledge. I settled on a tree stump to wring out my hair, averting my eyes while Brennan shifted forms and wrapped his sealskin around him.

“You wouldn’t dare,” Brennan said, out of breath from the change. It had only taken him seven seconds; I wasn’t sure why he was faster than me. I rolled my eyes as he pushed himself upright. In human form my brother stood two inches taller than my five-foot-eight frame, his driftwood-colored hair lighter than my dark brown waves. But we shared the same blue eyes, and our mother’s narrow nose. And, of course, our selkie genes.

Still grinning about his prank, Brennan jumped up onto the bank and headed for his holly bush to swap his sealskin for his clothes.

As I finished wringing out my hair, my thoughts returned to our trapped family. They were admittedly never far from my mind, but although swimming cleared my head and calmed my nerves, it always brought home exactly what our parents and older brother were being denied. We’d been trying for two years to get their sealskins back, but so far we’d failed. Sometimes it felt hopeless.

“What are we going to do, Brennan?” I said, my humor gone.

“About what?”

“About our parents.” As if I could mean anything else.

“We’re doing everything we can.” His muffled voice was not nearly as urgent as I’d have liked.

“It’s not enough.” An understatement. Last week our latest attempt to find the sealskins had gone belly up, just like all the rest. The fresh failure cut at me like the icy night breeze.

I heard a sigh. “Give it a rest, will you?”

My mouth went flat. A rest. That’s all Brennan said lately. Remembering his possibly private thought, I wondered if he’d given up entirely, if he was just biding his time until I gave up too. Anger twined through my voice.

“They’ll die here if we don’t free them.”

Brennan stepped out of the shadows and shouldered his backpack.

“Melodrama alert.” Seeing my face, he hesitated. “Let’s sleep on it, okay?”

I wanted to tear into him, but getting into an argument now wouldn’t do any good. Taking a deep breath, I stood and twisted my hair into a bun, securing it with what looked like innocent hair sticks—knives, after all, weren’t allowed in school.

“Okay.” I jerked my lips into a smile and picked up my backpack. “There are sandwiches in the truck, right?” Changing took a boatload of energy, so we were always ravenous once we returned to land. Peanut butter was more filling than crayfish—and much easier to catch.

“Two for me, none for you,” Brennan joked.

“Not if I get there first,” I shot back. Falling into comforting, well-worn banter, we headed up the dark path to the truck.

We never did see the camcorder propped in the trees, watching us go.

~~~~~
Okay, now I’m hooked.
I have to know more about Cassandra and Brennan
Will they find the sealskins? Will they be able to save their family?
And I have to get back in the water with them. The first chapter is excellent and I actually felt like I was there, swimming with them, seeing what they saw, and even thinking turtle might not be too bad!
I’m so glad this is now available as I have to know!
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About Andrea Colt
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Andrea Colt grew up reading and squabbling with her identical twin. She lives in Alexandria, Virginia with her husband, a fridge full of cheese, and two feline muses. Visit andreacolt.com to get to know her better.
Author Links
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I’m so happy to be able to reveal the cover for Hated by Mercy Amare.

This is the third book in The Rock Star Trilogy.

I love all of the covers in this series.

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Everything in my life is perfect. I have a family. My music is now going my way. And I have Stephan. Forever. All my dreams are coming true. But the problem with perfection is that eventually everything falls apart. And my whole life is crumbling around me — piece by piece.

I am just trying to get through the next few months with my sanity intact, but that seems like an impossible feat. I’m back in LA, and this time I’m not alone. Between finding time for my new husband, my mother-in-law that hates me, and putting up with Alec and Bridgett’s bickering, I’m not sure how much more I can take… And then Mona shows up. I am in over my head.

I thought I knew the truth about everything, but I was wrong. Secrets that weren’t supposed to come out are now being discovered. Secrets about my biological father… Even Bridgett is keeping a secret… Something big. I have to know what, even if it means running away again.

I tried for normal — now I know that there is nothing normal about being a rock star.

About Mercy Amare

I write YA & NA fiction. I have a slight addiction to NOS. My guilty pleasure is Pretty Little Liars & Vampire Diaries!

For more about the author and a complete list of her books go HERE.

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5 ARCs of HATED

Click on the link below to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I have read the first two books in The Rock Star Trilogy.

Jaded (Rock Star, #1)

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and

Faded (Rock Star, #2)

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You can read my reviews for Jaded and Faded HERE

A flirty,fun romance series.

Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For all of my giveaways go HERE.

Shudder by Samanth Durante Blog Tour - June 15th to Sept 1st

I am beyond thrilled to be a part of the tour for Shudder, Book 2 of the Stitch Trilogy

I have an exciting sneak peek for you, along with my review!

And, a giveaway! Don’t forget to enter.

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Genre/Keywords: Dystopian, Paranormal Romance, Post-Apocalyptic, Young Adult, New Adult, Psychic Abilities, Empath, Clairvoyance, YA, NA
Length: ~80,000 words (348 pages)
Sample Chapters: Ch1-4 (31 pages)
Release Date: June 15th, 2013

Shudder Synopsis

It’s only been three days, and already everything is different.

Paragon is behind her, but somehow Alessa’s life may actually have gotten worse. In a wrenching twist of fate, she traded the safety and companionship of her sister for that of her true love, losing a vital partner she’d counted on for the ordeal ahead. Her comfortable university life is but a distant memory, as she faces the prospect of surviving a bleak winter on the meager remains of a ravaged world. And if she’d thought she’d tasted fear upon seeing a ghost, she was wrong; now she’s discovering new depths of terror while being hunted by a deadly virus and a terrifying pack of superhuman creatures thirsting for blood.

And then there are the visions.

The memory-altering “stitch” unlocked something in Alessa’s mind, and now she can’t shake the constant flood of alien feelings ransacking her emotions. Haunting memories of an old flame are driving a deep and painful rift into her once-secure relationship. And a series of staggering revelations about the treacherous Engineers – and the bone-chilling deceit shrouding her world’s sorry history – will soon leave Alessa reeling…

The second installment in the electrifying Stitch Trilogy, Shudder follows Samantha Durante’s shocking and innovative debut with a heart-pounding, paranormal-dusted dystopian adventure sure to keep the pages turning.

Shudder Purchase Links

Amazon (Kindle $2.99, print $8.99)

Barnes & Noble (Nook $2.99)

Smashwords (multiple e-book formats $2.99) Also available ($2.99 e-book) in the iTunes store, Kobo, and wherever e-books are sold

Buy Stitch on Amazon!

EXCERPT

Alessa looked back to Isaac, who was crouched and picking among the broken glass.  She watched him slip something into his pocket, but before she could ask what he’d found, a loud bang echoed from down the hall ahead of them.

Isaac looked up at her at once and they both froze, waiting.  The tension of the silence clotted in the air as Alessa held her breath in suspense.

When no other sound came, Isaac stood tentatively and inched over to Alessa, placing a gentle hand on the small of her back and motioning ahead with a nod.

She pointed the flashlight in the direction of the sound and they set off with quiet footsteps in search of its source.

As they reached the department store at the far end of the hallway, they paused, staring into the blackness beyond the threshold.  Alessa gripped the flashlight and felt Isaac’s hand slide on top of hers, the pressure of his fingers pointing the torch downward and flicking off the light with a click.

They were plunged into night.

They stepped tentatively into the dark room and gave their eyes another moment to adjust.  From what Alessa could tell, it seemed the clothing racks had all been pushed to the sides, leaving a big open space in the center of the room.

She took another few steps to get a better look.

And that’s when it hit her – an abrupt slam in the face as if she’d pivoted into a wall of brick, and the full-body crash of a tidal wave of pain.

Alessa sunk to her knees, a soul-crushing rush of sorrow and terror flooding her consciousness and draining every ounce of strength from her body.

Like a blow to the gut, the air raced from her lungs and she crumpled over, her face smacking against the cool linoleum of the floor.

A thousand images flashed before her eyes, people and places she didn’t recognize jumbled with thoughts and feelings that she knew were not her own.  Alessa squeezed her eyes shut, her mind pressing outward against the onslaught barraging her senses, but it was no use.

The torrent pounded through her, raging.  Helpless against it, Alessa poured her concentration into the only thing she could think to do – the simple act of breathing.

In, out.

In, out.

In, out.

She drank each shallow breath and waited in agony for the deluge to end.

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My Review

Alessa and Isaac set off to find a secure base for all of those wanting out of Paragon.

They worry that the virus may still be out there, but soon discover they are being stalked by creatures, swift moving things that remain in the shadows of the forest, shrieking their rage.

As they escape an attack, something happens to Alessa. She is frozen in place as her mind is overpowered with fear, frustration and fury. She doesn’t know how it’s happening, but she’s experiencing these creatures feelings and it terrifies her.

They have to hurry. People are waiting for them to return with a location for their safe haven and Alessa has to get her sister, Janie, out of the clutches of the Ruling Class.

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I finished reading Shudder in one sitting, never taking a break.

I could feel it in the authors writing, I was nearing the end of the book. No, not yet!

I needed to know why Joe featured so strongly in Alessa’s mind, what happened to her sister, and where the virus came from.

Samantha started to wrap up the ending while subtly layering in leads to the finale, Stuck. the last book in this trilogy. I liked that. Sure, I didn’t get all of the answers I wanted, but I did get a lot of insight into what the ‘stitch’ was and why and how it was used.

I also learned about the Ruling Class and their reasoning behind the stitch, even though I suspect some, if not most, of them were lying.

It’s no surprise that humanity didn’t learn its lesson. You’d think after all that has been written and studied, all of the wealth of info there is, they would know better. But no, the Ruling Class do the same things as before, believing they know what’s good for all. They buy into their own lies and block out the moral compass screaming stop, and do whatever is necessary to benefit the greater good. And we wonder why we don’t trust our government. Too many chiefs.

I felt twinges of The Matrix and Aeon Flux while reading this. Shudder reads like a dystopian, post-apocalyptic science fiction story. The author did an amazing job of blending these genre into an exciting, addictive series.

It makes me wonder. If Stitch and Shudder are so great, what is Stuck going to be like? I’m sure it’ll be thrilling.

5 Stars

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Haven’t read the first book in the series? Check out my review here

Just $0.99 at Amazon!

Stitch (Stitch Trilogy #1)

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 Blurb

Her heart races, her muscles coil, and every impulse in Alessa’s body screams at her to run… but yet she’s powerless to move.

Still struggling to find her footing after the sudden death of her parents, the last thing college freshman Alessa has the strength to deal with is the inexplicable visceral pull drawing her to a handsome ghostly presence. In between grappling with exams and sorority soirees – and disturbing recurring dreams of being captive in a futuristic prison hell – Alessa is determined to unravel the mystery of the apparition who leaves her breathless. But the terrifying secret she uncovers will find her groping desperately through her nightmares for answers.

Because what Alessa hasn’t figured out yet is that she’s not really a student, the object of her obsession is no ghost, and her sneaking suspicions that something sinister is lurking behind the walls of her university’s idyllic campus are only just scratching the surface…

The opening installment in a twist-laden trilogy, Stitch spans the genres of paranormal romance and dystopian sci-fi to explore the challenges of a society in transition, where morality, vision, and pragmatism collide leaving the average citizen to suffer the results.

Stitch Purchase Links.

Amazon (Kindle $0.99, print $8.99)

Barnes & Noble (Nook $0.99)

Smashwords (multiple e-book formats $0.99) Also available ($0.99 e-book) in the iTunes store, Kobo, and wherever e-books are sold!

Buy Stitch on Amazon!

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A little birdie told me the third book, will be releasing in 2014!

Stuck (Stitch Trilogy #3)

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Book 3 in the Stitch Trilogy.  Expected Publication: Summer 2014.  More information coming soon!

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I have an e-book copy of Shudder to give away!

To enter, click on the rafflecopter link below.

Rafflecopter Giveaway

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 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Samantha Durante lives in Westchester County, New York with her husband, Sudeep, and her cat, Gio. Formerly an engineer at Microsoft, Samantha left the world of software in 2010 to pursue her entrepreneurial dreams and a lifelong love of writing. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Jerome Fisher Program in Management & Technology, Samantha is currently working full time for her company Medley Media Associates as a freelance business writer and communications consultant. The Stitch Trilogy is her debut series.

— Social Media Links —

Facebook: Stitch Trilogy | Author Samantha Durante

Goodreads: Stitch | Shudder | Author Samantha Durante

Twitter: @SamanthaDurante | Hashtag suggestions: #Stitch, #StitchTrilogy, #Shudder

LibraryThing: Stitch | Shudder | Author Samantha Durante

Shelfari: Stitch | Shudder | Author Samantha Durante

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For all of my giveaways go HERE.