Megan Bailey's Blog, page 2

#IABBAddict: Poison by Lan Chan

Check out more information on #IABBAddicts here


Join us every Thursday for IABB #Confessions


ABOUT THE BOOK
 
 

Author: Lan Chan

Title: Poison

Series: Wind Dancer, #1

Pages: 193

Genre: Young Adult Dystopian

Date published: August 31, 2015

Synopsis:
Since the night her mother was murdered, sixteen-year-old Rory Gray has known one truth: There are no good Seeders. 

In post-apocalyptic Australia, the scientists known as Seeders have built a Citadel surrounded by food-producing regions and populated with refugees from the wars and famine. To maintain their control, the Seeders poisoned the land and outlawed the saving of seeds.

It’s been six years since Rory graced the Seeders’ circus stage as the Wind Dancer and still the scars on her body haven’t healed. Even worse are the scars on her heart, left by a Seeder boy who promised to protect her.

Now the Seeders are withholding supplies from Rory’s region for perceived disobedience. Utilising the Wanderer knowledge she received from her mother, Rory must journey to the Citadel through uninhabitable terrain to plead for mercy.

However, the Citadel isn’t as Rory remembered. The chief plant geneticist is dying and rumours fly that the store of viable seed is dwindling. The Seeders are desperate to find a seed bank they believe Rory can locate, and they will stop at nothing to get it. 

To defy the Seeders means death. But Rory has been close to death before–this time she’s learned the value of poison.

Recommended for fans of The Hunger Games, strong protagonists, circuses and nature!


AMAZON // GOODREADS

 

 
EXCERPT

I run until it feels like my lungs will burst and every drag of air is excruciating. Then I stumble around in the dark for hours until I finally give up and start to climb again. I go up as far as I can, as high as the branches will support me, and wait for the coming dawn.

I’m awoken by the hollowness in my stomach. My eyes are grainy and the light is too bright, but I force them open. I’m way above the first canopy, and this high up, the forest is covered in a layer of mist so dense it could be snow. But no layer of weather would be magical enough to obscure the other sight. High above the treetops, pushing upwards so the tips of the skyscrapers disappear into the clouds, is the Citadel. I hadn’t even noticed it was so close. On this level, the Iron Gates and the six-metre wall surrounding the Citadel are obscured by trees. Besides Warden Tower and the distant gleam from the dome over the Forgotten Garden, the skyline has changed dramatically from what I once knew. Skyscrapers have risen and fallen, and there’s a sense that the entire city is slowly expanding over the mountain it rests on.

It feels wrong to be trying to get back into the Citadel after so long. I barely escaped the first time, and only because I suspect Papa made some kind of untoward deal with the Seeders in exchange for my freedom. Yet seeing it so close, knowing it’s not just a figment of my imagination, fills me with a sense of urgency.

I’m not ready. I don’t have enough information about what I’m getting myself into. So I do the only thing that comes naturally when I’m unsure. I start to climb and don’t stop until the branch I cling to is little more than sapwood. I seat myself with my belly against the tiny leader branch and hug the tree as it sways precariously against the prevailing wind. In this moment, I actually feel like I’m a part of the eternal dance between the earth and the sky. The branch tips horizontally, and I close my eyes and pretend I’m on a ride at the fair that accompanies the circus around the regions.

I smile and then catch myself as a sickening thought occurs to me. Do I really love soaring over the earth, or is it something the Seeders have planted in me by conditioning? If it’s the latter, does it say something about me that I’ve embraced being up so high?

 

#IABBAddict: Artist by Juli Valenti

Check out more information on #IABBAddicts here

Join us every Thursday for IABB #Confessions


ABOUT THE BOOK





Author: Juli Valenti

Title: Artist

Series: Redemption Reigns MC, #2

Pages: 193

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Date published: November 8, 2015

 

Synopsis:
Cecili “Artist” Warren knew what she was getting into when she asked to prospect for Hells Redemption Motorcycle Club. At least, she thought she did. What she hadn’t been prepared for was the grueling training, long working hours at her tattoo shop, and falling for the man who’d tested her limits day after day.

Shakespeare Carter, Vice President of Hells Redemption, was ruthless in all aspects of life – from his role within the club to the demands he placed on Artist. It was no secret he was a hard man, but even ice melted when confronted with fire.

After a close friend of Artist’s is shot during a hit on the club, she becomes determined to seek out retribution. Little did she know that would be much harder than any of them ever expected.

With Shakespeare’s help, can she prove to be as strong as he thinks she is? And, more, will she come out alive on the other side and still recognize herself?

 

AMAZON // GOODREADS


EXCERPT

“How many times do I have to tell you not to lean on your back foot when firin?’ That’s why you’re missin,’” Shakespeare barked, scolding her, and it took everything she had not to bash him in the face with the butt of the rifle.

It had been eight months since Artist had been given her prospect patch and officially started her road into being a member of Hells Redemption. Since then, she’d been put through grueling tasks and training, testing her worth and her dedication to the MC, and to herself. Most days she fell in bed exhausted, too tired to think or relive the days. But some days, days like today, she was almost driven to violence.

“I’m trying, damn it,” she whispered through gritted teeth, re-centering herself to the target and preparing to fire once more.

Since Poet had put Shakespeare, HR’s Vice President, in charge of her gun skills, it was his pleasure to put her through hell. When she got up in the morning, it was a vigorous workout routine before hopping on her 2013 CVO Harley and meeting him at the shooting field about seven miles from the clubhouse. There, he would quiz her on the weapons he brought, put her to task cleaning and putting them together, before spending hours target practicing. From there, she was sent on her way, sore and exhausted, to her day job.

It wasn’t the training, the gruelingly long days, or the chill of the New Mexico winter that bothered her, though. What bothered Artist was the man’s attitude. Shakespeare was constantly on her ass about everything – her feet weren’t perfectly positioned, her arm wasn’t extended the way he wanted it, she was relying on sights instead of instinct. It was irritating as hell. Two months ago, she’d called him on it exactly one time.

“Excuse me, prospect?”

Her blood chilled, immediately cooling her temper at the tone of his voice. Her VP’s face had hardened, an eyebrow raised, framing a dangerous expression. Artist sighed, knowing she’d lost the battle and points before she’d even been given the chance to play.

“Nothing, VP. Sorry.”

The man standing before her seemed impossibly large, his stature almost dwarfing her as he stepped forward. He grabbed the pistol from her hands and leaned in close. “I’ll stop treatin’ you like a fuckin’ idiot when you stop actin’ like one. We’re done for the day. Get gone.”

Artist nodded, her eyes to the grass and dirt at her feet, ashamed to look at him. She knew better than to snap at any of the members, especially him, and it didn’t take a rocket scientist to know he was going to tell Poet. Who, in turn, would tell Titan. The day was getting better and better.

“Oh, and Artist?” he called, causing her to turn back. She swallowed her pride and glanced up at him, meeting his eyes with sheer force of will though fearing the threat that was sure to come. “Free pass this time around – but don’t push me. You won’t like what happens.”

GIVEAWAY

***GIVEAWAY***Sometimes… Sometimes the littlest things can bring the biggest smiles.And so, having finished Harry…

Posted by Author Juli Valenti on Tuesday, March 1, 2016

#IABBAddict: Chosen by Jennifer Ortiz

Check out more information on #IABBAddicts here

 

 

Join us every Thursday for IABB #Confessions


ABOUT THE BOOK

 

Author: Jennifer Ortiz

Title: Chosen

Series: The Chosen Chronicles, #1

Pages: 275

Genre: New Adult Paranormal Romance

Date published: January 8, 2015Synopsis:

Cal Reynolds has always been special. He comes from a long line of Hunters – a group of humans gifted with exceptional strength, speed, and magical ability. The Hunters’ purpose is to protect the world from demons from the Underworld. But even among this select group, Cal stands out. 

When his strained relationship with his father causes Cal to leave the Hunters, a series of events is set in motion that causes him to discover secrets about himself, his family, and his future that he could never have imagined. In the midst of trying to decipher the pieces left from this chaos, Cal reconnects with Gabrielle Morgan, the only girl he’s ever loved, after a nearly seven year estrangement. 

But Cal is Chosen – and that has far reaching ramifications, not only on himself but on those he loves as well. When Cal is faced with the ultimate deception, he begins to realize that he will need to choose where his loyalties, and his love, lie…and the seduction of darkness is almost overwhelmingly alluring…
AMAZON // GOODREADS
 
EXCERPT

I was probably going to die.I really shouldn’t be surprised. After all, when you hunted evil, supernatural creatures, getting killed was sort of an occupational hazard. But I was good at what I did – really good. And I figured I was still going to die.I watched the Abassy, an iron-toothed man-eating demon, approach riding a dragon. The Abassy was seriously tough shit…and it only had one arm, one eye, and one leg. To make matters worse, its mount was a two-headed, eight-legged, two-tailed dragon. These things were supposed to solely be creatures of the Underworld so how the hell they had gotten out, I had no idea. I had been trying to banish them back, which, despite how powerful the Abassy was, should have been fairly simple. Only what should have been a pretty quick mystical banishment had turned into an all-out clusterfuck of a fight. I laid in the dirt that was slowly being turned to mud, courtesy of all the blood seeping out of my way-too-many wounds. I knew I was in bad shape when I tried to lift my left arm and couldn’t feel anything on that entire side of my body. Breathing slowly in and out, I focused on the sweet musk of the earth all around me and ignored the prevalent metallic twang of all the blood (MY blood) that was every-freaking-where. Forcing myself to stand up…or at least stand hunched over, I decided to wait for the Abassy to make a move rather than expend energy in chasing it.Clearly I had caused some injury to the Abassy and its dragon since I could see that they limped towards me but, even with my enhanced vision, between the pitch black of the night and the dark skin of the creatures I couldn’t see any obvious wound. I figured I had one decent attack left before my body just completely gave up. My right hand gripped the banishment crystal and I willed my left hand to curl around my dagger. The crystal was going to have to do most of the work so my best hope was to distract with the weapon – thankfully I’d had a semblance of foresight to bring an enchanted blade along, which should sting the Abassy even more, provided I could make direct contact.The Abassy stopped and we engaged in a Western-movie-type stare down. For a nanosecond, I almost felt like John Wayne. But before I had time to blink, it rushed at me. I didn’t think, I didn’t breathe. I stabbed blindly with my dagger hand and slid my right hand up towards the Abassy’s chest, underneath the Abassy’s stretched out arm, while twisting my body to avoid the dragon. Searing, jolting pain shot through my body as the Abassy’s dragon clamped down on my right leg with two of its own. I heard muscle rip and felt bones snap. My world started to go dark – even I couldn’t stay conscious after the vicious ass-kicking I had received.

 

#IABBAddict: Hidden in the Stars by Sadie Grubor

Check out more information on #IABBAddicts here
Join us every Thursday for IABB #Confessions



ABOUT THE BOOK


Author: Sadie Grubor

Title: Hidden in the Stars
 
Series: Falling Stars, #2

Pages: 387

Genre: Erotic Contemporary Romance

Date published: August 13, 2015

Synopsis:
When you’re Jackson Shaw, guitarist of The Forgotten, and your hearts been broken, shattered by the deception of a woman you thought was the one. You can’t hide from cameras and millions of fans hanging on every dirty detail printed and posted.

What you can do, is swear off love and dull the ache with gorgeous women who look nothing like that girl who tore you apart. A supermodel girlfriend and sexplicit escapades splashed across the tabloids is the ultimate revenge. It’s also the perfect way to hide your pain in the media. But when the ache turns to a hollow pit, and there isn’t enough sex, drugs, or alcohol to fill the emptiness, what do you do?

You cut your losses and head to L.A. to mentor the latest reality talent show. You follow an old friend into a world where the art of the tease and bump and grind were perfected. Where the sound of her voice calls to every primal instinct buried within your body and makes the demand for your attention.

Jackson’s an addict, and just one taste puts him back in the precarious position of falling in love with a woman who’s mastered the art of ensnaring and teasing.

AMAZON // GOODREADS

EXCERPT

Showers complete, Lucas, Sean, and Kel convince Jackson to join them for video gaming. I’m thankful for the moment away from his little touches, seductive looks, and that damn mouth of his. My mind is almost cleared when Sid calls.

Of course, she’s more interested in the fact that Jackson is in my apartment. And keeping her on topic regarding my budget is practically impossible.

“You do realize you have Jackson Shaw, guitarist of The Forgotten, playing domestic daddy in your apartment, right?”

“Sid,” I use my warning tone, “it’s not like that, and stop referring to him by his full name and job description. It’s creepy.”

“It’s not creepy, Liza. It is panty melting, nipple tightening, hot as fucking hot can get. The fact that you don’t realize this concerns me. Is your vagina working properly?”

“Stop it,” I laugh.

“Perhaps you should have him check under your hood. And when I say hood, I mean clitoral hood,” she deadpans.

“Oh my God, stop it!” I cry out in laughter.

“Should I be jealous?” His voice, next to my unoccupied ear, ensures my vagina is working just fine.

“Sweet Lord of penises, his voice is sexy,” Sid sighs over the phone.

“Jealous of what?” I pull the phone away from my mouth and tilt my head.

“I only want to hear ‘oh my God’ when it’s followed by my name and you coming around my cock.” His tongue flicks the lobe of my ear.

I shiver and tighten my crossed legs.

“That’s it. I’m ruined,” Sid cries dramatically. “No man will ever live up to this.”

“Both of you stop.” My words are breathy and it takes all my strength to lean away from his mouth.

“Pizza!” Lucas shouts, running toward the buzz of the intercom.

Jackson straightens and steps back from me. Taking a deep breath, I move to stand, but his hand on my shoulder stops me. Instead, he walks over to the door, pulling cash out of his back pocket.

“Damn cock blockers,” Sid grumbles.

“Sid!” I scold, but smile.

“Well, damn, the kid just killed the ear porn I was getting,” she whines.

“Don’t you have enough porn already?”

“You can never have enough,” she snorts. “Besides, this was real life rock star ear porn. Girl, I need to freshen up after that.”

GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

#IABBAddict: Pucked by Rachel Walter

Check out more information on #IABBAddicts here

Join us every Thursday for IABB #Confessions


ABOUT THE BOOK

Author: Rachel Walter

Title: Pucked

Pages: 328

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary

Date published: February 8, 2015

Synopsis:
Does life get in the way of love or does love get in the way of life?

Riley Silk, captain of the Warrior’s Ice Hockey team at Dalesburg High, doesn’t think life can be lived if love is present. If there’s two things in life he knows to be true, it’s that love causes pain and hockey is his ticket to a better life. He’s worked hard to maintain his Frozen Silk reputation in order to stay focused on his duties and goals.

Audrey Jacobs, the Warrior’s number one fan, believes life can’t be lived without love. She can find love and beauty in the muddiest of situations. Her best friend, Riley, is under a lot of stress at home, so she does her best to brighten his mood whenever she can.

When lines cross and blur, they struggle to keep control of the simplicity their friendship once held. With Audrey’s outlook on life usually surrounded by light, the growing darkness of her doubts and insecurities threaten to deflect her toward the wrong path.

Can she find her true self before her world burns around her? When truths become lies, can Riley find the strength to fight his way through his own personal darkness that clings to his mind and soul? Can he win this face-off that life has dropped in his zone, or will fate take him out of the game completely?

Who keeps the puck?

**Warning- Several abuse topics are discussed in this story, which includes parental alienation, physical abuse, alcohol abuse, and mild drug abuse.**

AMAZON // GOODREADS




EXCERPT

 

I growl and force my anger into my next swing. The puck completely misses the net, bouncing off the cement wall.

Audrey’s not leaving this town. Yeah, she’s trying to care for Hannah, but she’s leaving me.

My hopeful heart drops and I kick the bag again, using the blade of the plastic stick to set up the new line of victims. Each puck has a different face.

My father.

For leaving us the way he did for another woman.

He gets another.

He broke my mother’s heart to the point that she’s not even the same woman she was five years ago.

He started this domino effect of bullshit, and for that, he gets a third.

My mother.

For letting a man break her down so badly that she can’t function properly.

She gets another.

She’s forgotten that she’s a mother. I’m not old enough to care for my baby sister properly, not in the parental way she deserves. I still need a mom, but at least I’m old enough to figure things out on my own.

My mother gets another puck just for hurting my baby sister by ignoring her like she does. It smashes into the wall.

Another puck with her face, because it’s her fault that Audrey wants to stay here. Audrey can see that Hannah needs a mother. So why can’t Mom see it?

I kick the bag again, lining up another row.

She gets one more, for bringing another man into our house, causing a whole different world of shit for us.

I tap a puck forward, glaring at it.

This one’s for Ted.

I purposefully miss the net this time. Smashing the puck into the wall so hard I hear it crack as it rattles across the floor.

One more for Ted.

His alcohol addiction nearly ended everything I know and love in one night with his drunken rage.

My mother gets another puck. This one’s for bringing the man that beat her, almost to death, in front of my baby sister last year back into our home. I purposefully crash it into the wall again.

I smash yet another into the cement wall.

For bringing the man who hit my baby sister because she wouldn’t stop crying, back into our lives.

Todd.

For asking my Audrey out and kissing her.

My stick hooks around the last puck.

It gets my face.

For being a coward and not asking my girl to be my girl, for not telling her how I’ve felt for years, for lying, and for hurting her feelings. This puck gets my face for not being a stronger man and calling the police to press charges against Ted.

The puck glances off the post and flies my way.

On instinct, I drop to my knees so I don’t get hit, and hear a soft gasp followed by an echoing thud of a body hitting the floor.

#IABBAddict: The Artist’s Touch by S. H. Pratt

Check out more information on #IABBAddicts here

Join us every Thursday for IABB #Confessions


ABOUT THE BOOK
 


Author: S. H. Pratt

Title: The Artist’s Touch

Series: The Artist’s Touch, #1

Pages: 314

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Date published: November 20, 2015

Synopsis:
Exhausted, disillusioned and disgusted with her life in Los Angeles, Clarice “Rissa” Daniels leaves a successful acting career for the comforts of home in Olympia, Washington. Embracing a simpler life without the overabundance of testosterone that she’d dealt with in California, she works to recover and rebuild her life without the “Hollywood craziness”, away from the toxic presence of her ex-boyfriend, and far from the paparazzi. When a walk in the park drops her into the lap of Spencer St. George, she finds herself drawn to his quiet, unobtrusive demeanor, but Rissa quickly realizes that there is much more to the bespectacled middle-school art teacher.

Spencer St. George prefers the quiet life far from the hassles created by his family. Known as “Saint” to his students, he creates his own sense of peace with a paint brush in his hand while standing behind an easel. When Rissa Daniels crashes headlong into his life, Spencer is sent reeling. Unsure of her intentions, but drawn to her gregarious personality, he finds himself stepping out from behind his easel and daring to hope for more than his quiet life.

But as Spencer and Rissa grow closer, history threatens to destroy them. Met with righteous reticence from his family and stubborn pride from hers, the couple sets out to discover the events that turned their families against each other. As the past begins to surface, the present becomes dangerous, creating an uncertainty that could bind Spencer and Rissa together… or drive them apart forever. 

AMAZON // GOODREADS




EXCERPT

“Excuse me?” Spencer asked in a low tone, unsure he’d heard the challenge in her voice correctly.

“Yes, artist man, you heard me. Let me take you out, we’ll have dinner, get to know each other and you can learn that I’m not who you think.” Rissa proposed. Spencer took his glasses from his face and rubbed his eyes.

“Are you asking me out on a date?” he asked, unable to keep the incredulity out of his voice.

“Yes, Spencer St. George, I am. Do you dare?” Rissa asked.

Spencer gaped at her for a long moment, unsure of what to think of this beautiful, crazy woman sitting next to him asking him out.

“You needn’t look so shocked. It’s the twenty-first century. Women are doing all sorts of crazy things.” Rissa smirked at him.

 


GIVEAWAY
a Rafflecopter giveaway

#IABBAddict: Book Reviews: How to Get Them & What to Do with Them by Felita Daniels

Check out more information on #IABBAddicts here

Join us every Thursday for IABB #Confessions

ABOUT THE BOOK
Author: Felita DanielsTitle: Book Reviews: How to Get Them & What to Do with Them

Pages: 73Genre: Non Fiction

Date published: January 26, 2016

Synopsis:

Authors in today’s environment are finding that they have to be their own marketing and public relations department. Many could use some guidance with these skills. This book grew out of a workshop I have done for local writer’s groups. 
Inside you will find: 
* Tips on approaching blogs and reviewers 
* What not to do 
* Should you read your reviews? 
* Keeping out of Amazon ‘jail’ 
* Approaches to getting reviews- some common, some off the beaten path 
* Current Amazon review policies and what may be coming down the road 
Having a game plan to garner reviews will certainly get better results than doing nothing. This book will help you find some avenues you may not have thought of, or didn’t know about.
AMAZON



EXCERPT
 

Review Etiquette with Bloggers

You want to get this marketing stuff out of the way and get back to writing the next book. It is tempting to get an email list of book bloggers and blast to everyone you can. One email out to 30,000 bloggers and reporters and done in the time it takes to hit the send button.

I can tell you from being on the bloggers end opening the emails requesting a review, this is not an effective method. Bloggers consider their site unique and spend many hours on content, computer geekiness, and growing their traffic. It is their baby, just like your novel is a part of who you are.

Improve your response rate to your review requests by personalizing your emails to the writers of the blog. For a blogger, getting a pitch for an erotica novel, when their review policy clearly states they don’t cover that genre is the fastest way to put a bad taste in their mouth. Not only do you not get a review out of it, you come off as unprofessional. It’s easy to tell yourself you don’t need that blogger anyway if that’s the case. What if next year you decide to try your hand at contemporary romance? You have just shot that potential relationship opportunity.

GIVEAWAY
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Back To Normal

Hello again!

Can we have a moment of real talk?

I am over this whole snow thing. Like, completely over it. I know it’s only January, but let’s just skip the rest of this winter stuff and get to the good parts.  The parts with sunshine and grass and pool parties.

Anyway, I’ve been making progress on my next book. Slow and steady wins the race, right? Well, it’s how I roll, anyway. I’ve added a few scenes to the preview on Wattpad. If you have an account, go on over there and check it out.

Then please let me know what you think of Aiden’s side so far.

https://www.wattpad.com/myworks/50995576-shenanigans-excerpt

For the rest of you, here’s a bit of Chapter 7.

Back To Normal

**Age 12, The Fall**

Life was a little different after The Big Bad Thing.

Taryn was different. Quieter. Jumpier.

She pretended like things didn’t get to her, but he saw her fists clench, her eyes squeeze shut. He saw the look as her mind went a million miles away.

He threw a pillow at her head.

She whipped her gaze over to him, mouth open.

“What the heck?” She squeaked.

“It’s your turn,” He pointed to the board game. Kenzie shared a look with him across the table. She was worried, Allene was worried. It seemed like everyone was walking on eggshells. Yeah, things weren’t exactly normal. But she was home. She was with them. They didn’t need their friend to be normal, just okay.

They could deal with anything else.

****

“I don’t know if I can do this.” The tremor in her voice stopped him in his tracks. Aiden looked over his shoulder. There she was, looking up at the school like it was some towering menace- not the same building they’d walked into for years.

“Sure you can,” he said. “It’s just like any other day.”

“No,” she whispered. “It’s not. Not anymore.”

Taryn held on to the straps of her book bag with both hands, clutching them close. He walked back to her side. Around them, people milled about the front steps. Some, especially the little kids, hurried in the doors, ready to start the year. Others hovered just outside, prolonging the inevitable.

Apparently Taryn was hanging out in the Please-God-No camp.

“Okay, what’s up?”

“They’ll know. About this summer.” Her hair caught the breeze and drifted around her face. She batted it back with one hand.

“Will not.” He pushed at the small of her back. “And standing here isn’t going to change anything.”

She held fast, biting her lip.

“T,” he said. “You know I’ve got your back. Kenzie, too.”

She searched his eyes for a second before nodding.

“Okay?” He asked.

“Okay.”

This time, she let him guide her towards the door.

***

Well, day one was a glaring fail. A disaster. A mess of epic proportions.

Bad.

Aiden sat in one of the chairs outside the office, staring at the hallway floor. The tile sure was ugly. It wasn’t even white, some shade trapped between yellow and tan. Was that some desperate attempt to hide dirt and age? Add that to his list of fails. He might as well keep stock on them. There was nothing else to do out in the cursed hallway of doom.

Across the hall was the wide window that looked into the office. If he leaned to the right, he could catch a glimpse of Taryn. She sat next to Sara, both in from of the principal’s desk.

Hooray!

He didn’t have to see him to know who he was glaring at. Sara was sniffling and crying pretty tears, all innocent.

What a load of crap.

Taryn, on the other hand, had her chin up. Eyes were dry and spitting fire.

“She’s in deep shit,” The kid next to him piped up. He scuffed his ratty sneakers against the floor.

“Taryn? She didn’t start it.” Aiden was pulled in as a witness, or accomplice, depending on the principal’s mood.

“Probably not, but Princess Sara NEVER gets in trouble, even if she’s being a spoiled bitch.”

The kid held out a stick of shiny silver.

“Gum?”

It was practically contraband in these walls.

“Nah, man,” Aiden leaned forward for a better look. “I’m in enough trouble as it is.”

“What’d you do?”

“Basically, I didn’t stop that girl in there,” He sighed. The kid arched a brow.

“What did she do?”

“Punched Sara Winters in her spoiled face.”

The kid burst into a loud, barking laugh that echoed down the hall. Mrs. Smitt peeked her head out of her classroom and glared.

“Props to your girl, then.”

Instantly heat flushed his face.

“She’s not my girl,” Aiden muttered. “Just a friend.”

“Cool, cool.” The kid smacked his gum, loudly. Everything he did was just plain loud. It was becoming clear why had been sent to the office.

“I’m Lance, by the way.”

“Aiden.” He nodded.

“So, Aiden,” he said between smacks. “I heard your girlfriend’s crazy.”

“She. Is. Not. Crazy.” Aiden bit out. Day one, and already it was out. Already the sharks smelled blood.

“Yeah, probably.” Lance nodded. “But beating up people isn’t going to help that rumor, true?”

Aiden sighed as he spotted Allene headed their way, charging in like hell in high heels.

“You’ve got a point there, Lance.”

***

“Oh, Taryn.” Kenzie wrapped her arms around her as soon as she got out of school.

“I’m fine,” Taryn muttered. “It’s just an in-school suspension. No biggie.”

Aiden gave her a glare.

“Quiet you. Grandma bought you a huge sundae. We’re totally even.”

“I was lectured. In the principal’s office. Told I needed to hang out with a better crowd.” Aiden held his arms out wide. “On the first day!”

“I’m sorry, okay?” She tossed her candy wrapper at him. “She was being awful.”

“What did she say to you?” Kenzie’s brown eyes were wide, her voice soft, as she put her arm around Taryn. Full on sympathy mode- activated.

“She brought up my parents, ” She said, her voice cracking at the end. “Said she heard about how I spent my summer.”

“Oh, honey!” Kenzie hugged her tight again. Aiden saw the darkness in Taryn’s eyes, the tears welling up. He needed to derail the Bummed Out train quick.

“And what about me?!” He scoffed. “I suffered, too. She called me a loser. A loser! And I had to talk to the principal. On the first day!.” He stressed that last four words as if that was the worst thing to ever happen. Ever. “Whats a guy gotta do to get a little sympathy around here?”

“Oh my god,” Taryn laughed. “You poor thing.”

She looped her arms around his neck and patted his back.

“Practically tortured,” he muttered.

“So abused,” Kenzie agreed as she hugged him, too.

“Well, I’m just saying.”

“Anyway, I need ideas,” Taryn broke up the hugfest. “Mr. Williams says I need to ‘utilize my aggression in healthy ways.’ That’s adult speak for ‘get a hobby’. What should I do?”

“Art!” Kenzie squealed. “We could paint.”

Taryn made a face, just as he suspected. Hurricane Taryn doing still lifes and flowers? Yeah, right.

“Knitting?” Aiden deadpanned.

“Needles could be used as weapons,” Kenzie pointed out.

“Oh, come on!” Taryn glared at them both.

“I need something useful, for the mission, guys. No wasted time, remember?”

“Interpretive dance,” Aiden offered.

She slapped his arm.

“What?! You could weird vampires out until they run away.”

“Or mime them to death… er re-death,” Kenzie tapped her chin. “How does that work?”

“Tap dance.” Aiden added.

Kenzie waved her arms.

“Learn to play the kazoo!”

Taryn crossed her arms and groaned.

“You guys are the worst.”

#IABBAddict: The Reapers by Ali Winter

Check out more information on #IABBAddicts here

Join us every Thursday for IABB #Confessions
 
ABOUT THE BOOK
Author: Ali WintersTitle: The Reapers

Series: The Hunted, #1Pages: 348

Genre: Paranormal

Date published: May 31, 2015

Synopsis:

Having been a reaper as long as she can remember, Nivian knows that what she does is essential in maintaining balance. After being assigned to a rushed mark she finds that there is more to this human than any other she has encountered.

Kain had been living an ordinary life without a second thought until he meets Nivian who turns his world upside down. He is thrust into a world of hunters and reapers. The keepers of life and death have been feuding for centuries over a reason no one can even remember.

With Kain having been marked for reaping, and Nivian being hunted, they forge a friendship and together must find the truth in order to keep balance in check. Wrong choices could destroy everything. As they journey they discover hidden histories, powers, and lies and truths that have been spun since the beginning of time. The consequence of failure, unimaginable.

AMAZON // GOODREADS


EXCERPT

Nivian leaped over the edge of the bridge and landed with a soft tap on the surface of the water. She reached down, pulled the soul of the driver up by the collar of his shirt, and stood him up next to her on top of the water. She took the driver’s hand, palm up, in hers and waved her other hand over his. Pinching the air, she pulled and lifted up to expose his life thread. His wide eyes stared unblinking, hypnotized by the glowing string of light. Nivian reached behind her and grabbed the scythe strapped to her back, and swung. With a slow, deliberate movement, Nivian sliced the human’s life thread. The light formed into a ball and hovered between them. She pulled out a small pocket watch and guided the life energy down to the watch. It sunk into it and disappeared.

She snapped the watch closed and returned it to her pocket. “You should know better than to drink and drive. You could’ve seriously hurt someone.”

He gaped at her, his mouth opened and closed like a fish. “Yes, you really are dead,” she confirmed and gave him an apathetic look as she turned away.

“Are you … the devil?” he managed to sputter.

“No, of course not. I am just the natural order of things,” she said, looking back over her shoulder. “Wait here. Your spirit counselor will be here soon to guide you to your afterlife. I have other jobs tonight.” She spun on her heel and walked away, as she pulled her hood back up over her head and vanished.

#IABBAddict: Here to Stay by Suanne Laqueur

Check out more information on #IABBAddicts here
Join us every Thursday for IABB #Confessions

 

 
Author: Suanne Laqueur

Title: Here to Stay (Book 3 of The Fish Tales)

Pages: 350

Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Contemporary Romance

Date published: January 14, 2016

Synopsis:
Suanne Laqueur’s Fish Tales series follows the extraordinary romance of Erik Fiskare and Daisy Bianco. When they meet in college, she is an aspiring ballet dancer and he is learning the behind-the-scenes art of stagecraft. Quickly they are drawn into a romance both youthfully passionate and maturely soulful. Their love story thrives within a world of creativity and artistry until it is changed forever by a shocking act of violence on their campus.

Laqueur has chosen a unique slant on an issue sadly prevalent in today’s world, by focusing on the victims of violence and the effect of trauma on human connection. The first book in the series, The Man I Love, won a gold medal for realistic fiction in the 2015 Readers’ Favorite Awards. Told from Erik’s point of view, it follows his emotional journey to salvage the relationships he destroyed, including his estrangement from Daisy which never ceased to haunt him. He equated the end of a love affair with desertion, but now he sees leaving isn’t the end of loving. He must go back and finish, or he will never be free to go forward and start again.
Amazon // Goodreads

The second book, Give Me Your Answer True, inverts the narrative and tells Daisy’s side of the story, as she works to separate her evolution as an adult from the unresolved guilt and grief of her youth. The loss of Erik’s love weighing heavy on her heart, she must learn to hold onto her accountability without letting it become her identity. To find and give her answers true.
Amazon // Goodreads
 
 

 

The third book, Here to Stay, is a continuation of Daisy and Erik’s remarkable love story, as they begin a new phase of life together, knowing now that happily ever afters are built, not found. Though separated for twelve years, the extraordinary bond forged in their youth has endured. But when your soulmate has caused you indescribable pain, how easy is it to forgive? How much trust is needed to place your heart back into the hands that once broke it? How much faith does it take to ask the question, “Do you still want me?” and believe in the reply: “I still want us.”
Amazon // Goodreads

 
This gripping series has been hailed as a new kind of “emotionally intelligent romance.” The books explore themes of love and sexuality, the effects of trauma, the burden of unfinished business and the power of reconciliation. Through Erik and Daisy’s experiences, we reflect on what it means to be a soul mate, a partner and a lover. What it means to be a hero, not a victim, and fight for what you love. What it means to live the truth of who you are and what you feel.

Excerpt from Here to Stay

 

It’s a strange thing to find a lost lover in your hands again. Like finding your childhood baseball glove in an attic box of memories. You’re sure it won’t fit. But the heat of your palm, a flex and a bend. A cautious knead of the leather and a tentative reach into the furthest recesses… It knows you. It remembers you.
It fits you.
“Do I feel the same?” Daisy asked, her voice a silken caress.
After twelve years, Erik thought, of course not. He had loved a girl. It was a woman’s body up against him now, with the heft of wisdom and the weight of experience. He ran his fingers up her backbone and felt all the bits of new fused steel, overlaid with the strong assurance in her muscles and the soft aplomb of her skin. She was a hundred times more beautiful. A thousand times more thrilling.
And as her blue-green eyes stared into his, he was keenly aware of her vulnerability.
“You feel more,” he said, his hands moving along her body, trying to remember how she felt when he last touched her. Thin. Beyond ballerina thin—she was drugged thin at the end of their days in college. Yet beautiful to him. Never anything but stunningly easy on his eyes and liquid in his embrace and sweet in his mouth.
“You feel right,” she said, her own hands gliding along his limbs, in and out of him. “Maybe a little thinner.”
“I probably am. I lost and gained weight over and over. Depending on how I was feeling at the time. When the dark times came around, I’d stop eating.”
“I know, but…” Her delicate, arched eyebrows flickered in her brow. “I think over the years, in my head, I made you bigger than you were. Or maybe I beat myself down into something smaller. But now I remember your body. I remember mine with it.”
She was kissing him, pulling him to roll on top of her again. The digital clock on her bedside table read 2:06 in the morning. They had been going at it like possessed demons for hours now and no matter how tight he held or how hard he clung, Erik could not get both arms around making love to her. Too much feeling grabbed at him, clamoring for attention and precedence. Euphoria, lust, guilt and sadness were four wild stallions chained to each limb, intent on tearing him apart. Yet at the center of the jerking, pulling emotion, his heart was calm and accepting. Quietly riding out the storm, safe in the knowledge he was living his truth, living the life he was born to live.
“Don’t leave me,” she whispered under him.

“I can’t,” he said. “I’d never breathe again.”

About the Author





Suanne Laqueur’s first novel, The Man I Love won a gold medal in the 2015 Readers’ Favorite Book Awards. Its other 2015 accolades include the Beverly Hills Book Award, a gold medal from the eLit Book Awards and a current finalist with the Kindle Book Awards.Suanne graduated from Alfred University with a double major in dance and theater. She taught at the Carol Bierman School of Ballet Arts in Croton-on-Hudson for ten years. She lives in Westchester County, New York with her husband and two chil-dren. An avid reader, cook and gardener.

Author Links:

Website // Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Instagram
 

Giveaway – 1 Signed Copy of Here to Stay

a Rafflecopter giveaway