Jessie Harrell's Blog, page 6

Blog Tour - BROKEN PROMISES by Dawn Pendleton

After three years in Boston attending college, Mallory Wells has come home to Casper, Maine to care for her father, who is dying from cancer. She left Casper without looking back, leaving her small-town life and everyone in it, behind. Including her sexy high school sweetheart.

Luke Bates was devastated when Mallory left him for the city life. He managed to pull himself together and move on, even if only just barely. When Mallory shows up in town, Luke vows to stay away from her at all costs. So why does he keep checking in on her and her father, showing up when he's clearly uninvited? Maybe Luke isn't as 'over her' as he thought.

Amazon † Barnes and Noble

Dawn Pendleton is a New Adult & Young Adult author living in Maine with her husband and pup.

Right now, she's working on two manuscripts simultaneously. It's a difficult task for her, but one she's certain will pay off in the end.

Want to meet Dawn?

She is also one of the featured authors of the New Adult Sleepover Weekend. You can find all the details here.

Website † GoodReads † Twitter † Facebook 


Make sure to check out the blog tour kicking off on Monday, May 13th -- HERE.









a Rafflecopter giveaway

Bonus Cover Reveal - OVEREXPOSED by Adrianne James

OVEREXPOSED by Adrianne James
Young AdultPaperbackExpected publication: May 24th 2013 by Star Bound Books

EBOOK AND PAPERBACK WILL BE AVAILABLE

In the tiny town of Willowspring, just about nothing ever happens except for layoffs, hockey games, and your average melodramatic teenage angst.

But that was before.

Vi, Ashley, and Macy are just trying to make it through the school year without one more humiliation when they team up for a simple photography assignment: create a story through a series of photographs. Can't be too much trouble, right?

Wrong.

The shutterbugs happen upon Willowspring High School's darkest secret. When everything around them starts to crumble after trying to do the right thing, their only hope is to stick together.

Reveal hosted by...

K.A. Tucker COVER REVEALS

Today I am excited to be participating in the cover reveal for K.A. Tucker's ANOMALY (Book 4 in the Causal Enchantments Series).  But even more exciting, I get to reveal not just the ANOMALY cover and synopsis, but also the entire redesigned Causal Enchantments Series as all of the previous covers in the series have been redone to celebrate the end of the series. For those of you who don't know, the Causal Enchantments is a Young Adult Paranormal series and the conclusion, ANOMALY, is set to be release in the fall 2013. So without further ado...
ABOUT ANOMALY:

She was merely a pawn in their game.And then something happened.Once the fragile, naïve human, Evangeline has become altogether … different.A being who holds formidable power, she may be the key to changing the course of fate.Or she could be the final nail in the world’s coffin.But Evangeline doesn’t know exactly what she is, what she can do. She knows only that she has to stop an enemy far worse than the Sentinel and the sorceresses—one driven by revenge.And he’s hunting the man she loves.As Evangeline fights to keep Caden alive and the human population from eradication, she can’t help but sense the imminent doom.Find out if fate will prevail in the harrowing conclusion to the Causal Enchantment series.Add it to your Goodreads shelf here.And now, for the cover reveal for the rest of the series.  Do you remember what it used to look like?  (I have the paperback of Anathema that I plan to read just as soon as my CP - I'm looking at you Lynne Matson - brings it back to me this week!) Well, here they are now... ANATHEMA (#1)Evangeline has spent her teenage years in obscurity. Her foster parents have the emotional aptitude of robots and her classmates barely acknowledge her existence. About to turn eighteen and feeling like a social pariah, she is desperate to connect with someone. Anyone.When Evangeline meets Sofie after literally stumbling upon her café, she believes she’s found that connection. Willing to do anything to keep it, she accepts a job as Sofie’s assistant and drops everything to fly to Manhattan, where she is thrust into a luxurious world of Prada, diamonds, and limitless cash.With such generosity and kindness, it’s easy for Evangeline to dismiss certain oddities . . . like Sofie’s erratic and sometimes violent behavior, and the monstrous guard dogs. She’s even willing to dismiss her vivid dreams of mob-style murders, beautiful homeless people living in caves, and white-eyed demons that haunt her each night as figments of her imagination—especially when one of those figments is the gorgeous Caden. When she wakes up with bite marks on her neck, the fairy tale quickly turns into a nightmare. She slowly unravels the mystery surrounding Sofie and friends, and the reality of the bites and the “dreams.” What she discovers is far more mysterious and terrible than anything she could have imagined.In a world where everyone has motive to lie for personal gain, Evangeline must decide which deception is least likely to get her killed.  ASYLUM (#2)Tucked away in Sofie’s wintery asylum with no hope of release for years, Evangeline must come to terms with her situation: the curse still plagues her, she’s now hunted by a two thousand-year-old vampire, and the guy she’s in love with tried to kill her. Plus, she’s locked up with a cranky Max and the Forero kids—two people everyone seems to prefer dead over alive. Things aren’t looking good.Meanwhile, back in Manhattan, Sofie struggles to keep forty trapped and bloodthirsty Ratheus vampires at bay and a desperate Viggo from killing Evangeline’s friends, all while hints stir outside the walls of the NYC vampire asylum of a war brewing between the Sentinel and the witches.Is there any hope for Evangeline and Caden? Can Sofie control the rival powers? Is the fate of Earth predestined? Find out in Book 2 of the Causal Enchantment series, a sequel to ANATHEMA.  ALLEGIANCE (#3)
Evangeline finally got what she longed for—the cursed pendant off her neck and Caden in her arms—only it came at a steep price. An unknown poison now courses through her body, slowly morphing her into something no one but the Fates can foresee.She has her suspicions, though...and if she is right, it will spell certain ruin for her and Caden. But she won’t last long enough to realize that, if Viggo and Mortimer uncover the treasonous secrets she keeps from them– that Veronique, no longer entombed, is now in the torturous clutches of the witches and the People’s Sentinel, or that she is protecting a Sentinel within their very midst.
Always the naive human caught in the vampires’ web of deceit, Evangeline is now weaving her own dangerous web so she can keep her friend alive, rescue Veronique, and stop a seemingly inevitable war from erupting. But can her honor handle the depths of duplicity to which she must descend, in order to be in league with the vampires?
Dark and gripping, riddled with angst, Allegiance will have readers anxiously turning pages to find out if Evangeline can survive, or if she’ll spiral into disaster.
ABOUT K.A. TUCKER:Born in small-town Ontario, Kathleen published her first book at the age of six with the help of her elementary school librarian and a box of crayons. She is a voracious reader and the farthest thing from a genre-snob, loving everything from High Fantasy to Chick Lit. Kathleen currently resides in a quaint small town outside of Toronto with her husband, two beautiful girls, and an exhausting brood of four-legged creatures.To find out more about Kathleen, check out these links:Blog: http://www.katucker.blogspot.ca/
Website: http://www.katuckerbooks.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/K.A.Tucker.Author?fref=ts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kathleenatucker
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4866520.K_A_Tucker

So... what do you think?  Awesome new covers, huh?  They remind me of Mortal Instruments.  And I love that in the final book, the main character is in color instead of black and white.  It hints that she has (or will) come into her own.

Debut YA Book Birthdays: Week of May 6th

Ok, I know you all are excited for Margaret Stohl's new book (ICONS) and the conclusion to Amy Plum's Die for Me series (IF I SHOULD DIE), but let's also celebrate these exciting debut YA books, coming into the world this week!  Hint: the summer hits are coming out...

REBOOT by Amy Tintera

Five years ago, Wren Connolly was shot three times in the chest. After 178 minutes, she came back as a Reboot: stronger, faster, able to heal, and less emotional. The longer Reboots are dead, the less human they are when they return. Wren 178 is the deadliest Reboot in the Republic of Texas. Now seventeen years old, she serves as a soldier for HARC (Human Advancement and Repopulation Corporation).Wren's favorite part of the job is training new Reboots, but her latest newbie--Callum Reyes--is the worst she's ever seen. As a 22, Callum is practically human. His reflexes are too slow, he's always asking questions, and his ever-present smile is freaking her out. Yet he's still her newbie. When Callum refuses to follow an order, Wren is given one last chance to get him in line--or she'll have to eliminate him. Wren has never disobeyed before and knows that if she does, she'll be eliminated, too. But she has also never felt as alive as she does around Callum.The perfect soldier is done taking orders.
CHANTRESS by Amy Butler Greenfield

Lucy’s Chantress magic will make her the most powerful—and most hunted—girl in England.“Sing, and the darkness will find you.” This warning has haunted fifteen-year-old Lucy ever since she was eight and shipwrecked on a lonely island. Lucy’s guardian, Norrie, has lots of rules, but the most important is that Lucy must never sing. Not ever. Now it is 1667, Lucy is fifteen, and on All Hallows’ Eve, Lucy hears a tantalizing melody on the wind. She can’t help but sing—and she is swept into darkness.When she awakes in England, Lucy hears powerful men discussing Chantresses—women who can sing magic into the world. They are hunting her, but she escapes and finds sanctuary with the Invisible College, an organization plotting to overthrow the nefarious Lord Protector. The only person powerful enough to bring about his downfall is a Chantress. And Lucy is the last one in England.Lucy struggles to master the song-spells and harness her power, but the Lord Protector is moving quickly. And her feelings for Nat, an Invisible College apprentice and scientist who deeply distrusts her magic, only add to her confusion…Time is running out, and the fate of England hangs in the balance in this entrancing novel that is atmospheric and lyrical, dangerous and romantic.
HOW MY SUMMER WENT UP IN FLAMES by Jennifer Slavato Doktorski

First she lost her heart. Then she lost her mind. And now she’s on a road trip to win back her ex. This debut novel’s packed with drama and romance!Rosie’s always been impulsive. She didn’t intend to set her cheating ex-boyfriend’s car on fire. And she never thought her attempts to make amends could be considered stalking. So when she’s served with a temporary restraining order on the first day of summer vacation, she’s heartbroken—and furious.To put distance between Rosie and her ex, Rosie’s parents send her on a cross-country road trip with responsible, reliable neighbor Matty and his two friends. Forget freedom of the road, Rosie wants to hitchhike home and win back her ex. But her determination starts to dwindle with each passing mile. Because Rosie’s spark of anger? It may have just ignited a romance with someone new…

NANTUCKET BLUE by Leila Howland

For Cricket Thompson, a summer like this one will change everything. A summer spent on Nantucket with her best friend, Jules Clayton, and the indomitable Clayton family. A summer when she'll make the almost unattainable Jay Logan hers. A summer to surpass all dreams.

Some of this turns out to be true. Some of it doesn't.

When Jules and her family suffer a devastating tragedy that forces the girls apart, Jules becomes a stranger whom Cricket wonders whether she ever really knew. And instead of lying on the beach working on her caramel-colored tan, Cricket is making beds and cleaning bathrooms to support herself in paradise for the summer.

But it's the things Cricket hadn't counted on--most of all, falling hard for someone who should be completely off-limits--that turn her dreams into an exhilarating, bittersweet reality.

A beautiful future is within her grasp, and Cricket must find the grace to embrace it. If she does, her life could be the perfect shade of Nantucket blue. *"Readers should feel empowered by Cricket's efforts to grow up into a strong, honest, and emotionally intelligent young woman, even as they are enchanted by the romantic and exclusive island setting. This is a natural beach read, but will easily win Howland year-round fans, too."--Publishers Weekly, starred review
CODA by Emma Trevayne

Ever since he was a young boy, music has coursed through the veins of eighteen-year-old Anthem—the Corp has certainly seen to that. By encoding music with addictive and mind-altering elements, the Corp holds control over all citizens, particularly conduits like Anthem, whose life energy feeds the main power in the Grid.Anthem finds hope and comfort in the twin siblings he cares for, even as he watches the life drain slowly and painfully from his father. Escape is found in his underground rock band, where music sounds free, clear, and unencoded deep in an abandoned basement. But when a band member dies suspiciously from a tracking overdose, Anthem knows that his time has suddenly become limited. Revolution all but sings in the air, and Anthem cannot help but answer the call with the chords of choice and free will. But will the girl he loves help or hinder him?Emma Trevayne's dystopian debut novel is a little punk, a little rock, and plenty page-turning.
MAID OF SECRETS by Jennifer McGowan

In this breathtaking start to a series, a secret society of young women make up Elizabeth I’s most trusted royal guard. God Save the Queen—or the Maids will.Orphan Meg Fellowes makes her living picking pockets—until she steals from the wrong nobleman. Instead of rotting in prison like she expected, she’s whisked away to the court of Queen Elizabeth and pressed into royal service, where she joins four other remarkable girls in the Maids of Honor, the Queen’s secret society of protectors.Meg’s natural abilities as a spy prove useful in this time of unrest. The Spanish Court is visiting, and with them come devious plots and hidden political motives. As threats to the kingdom begin to mount, Meg can’t deny her growing attraction to one of the dashing Spanish courtiers. But it’s hard to trust her heart in a place where royal formalities and masked balls hide the truth: Not everyone is who they appear to be. With danger lurking around every corner, can she stay alive—and protect the crown?
RIPTIDE by Lindsey Scheibe

Grace has one summer to prove she's good enoughFor Grace Parker, surfing is all about the ride and the moment. Everything else disappears. She can forget that her best friend, Ford Watson, has a crush on her that she can't reciprocate. She can forget how badly she wants to get a surf scholarship to UC San Diego. She can forget the pressure of her parents' impossibly high expectations.When Ford enters Grace into a surf competition-- the only way she can impress the UCSD surfing scouts--she has one summer to train and prepare. Will she gain everything she's ever wanted or lose the only things that ever mattered?
THE END GAMES by T. Michael Martin

It happened on Halloween.
The world ended.
And a dangerous Game brought it back to life.
Seventeen-year-old Michael and his five-year-old brother, Patrick, have been battling monsters in The Game for weeks.
In the rural mountains of West Virginia, armed with only their rifle and their love for each other, the brothers follow Instructions from the mysterious Game Master. They spend their days searching for survivors, their nights fighting endless hordes of “Bellows”—creatures that roam the dark, roaring for flesh. And at this Game, Michael and Patrick are very good.
But The Game is changing.
The Bellows are evolving.
The Game Master is leading Michael and Patrick to other survivors—survivors who don’t play by the rules.
And the brothers will never be the same.
T. Michael Martin’s debut novel is a transcendent thriller filled with electrifying action, searing emotional insight, and unexpected romance.

THE S-WORD by Chelsea Pitcher

First it was SLUT scribbled all over Lizzie Hart’s locker.
But one week after Lizzie kills herself, SUICIDE SLUT replaces it—in Lizzie's looping scrawl.
Lizzie’s reputation is destroyed when she's caught in bed with her best friend’s boyfriend on prom night. With the whole school turned against her, and Angie not speaking to her, Lizzie takes her own life. But someone isn’t letting her go quietly. As graffiti and photocopies of Lizzie’s diary plaster the school, Angie begins a relentless investigation into who, exactly, made Lizzie feel she didn’t deserve to keep living. And while she claims she simply wants to punish Lizzie’s tormentors, Angie's own anguish over abandoning her best friend will drive her deep into the dark, twisted side of Verity High—and she might not be able to pull herself back out.
Debut author Chelsea Pitcher daringly depicts the harsh reality of modern high schools, where one bad decision can ruin a reputation, and one cruel word can ruin a life. Angie’s quest for the truth behind Lizzie’s suicide is addictive and thrilling, and her razor-sharp wit and fierce sleuthing skills makes her impossible not to root for—even when it becomes clear that both avenging Lizzie and avoiding self-destruction might not be possible.
So, have you picked up any new reads for your summer list?  What are you most looking forward to this week?

Double Decker Blog Tours & Giveaways!

I'm quite embarrassed, but it seems I have double booked myself for today. *gulp*  My apologies to the authors, but that means that you - the readers - get an extra special treat today.  Not one, but two, fantastic blog tours to join in.

First up, is LOST IN YOU by Heidi McLaughlin.  I have a very brief teaser to share with you followed by a giveaway for a Kindle Paperwhite.  Yay!  For more details, check out the blog tour page here.

Ryan Stone is a less than average teenager. He doesn’t have fancy clothes. He doesn’t carry around the latest smartphone and he definitely doesn’t have an MP3 player. Instead, he goes to school, does his chores and dreams of a new life away from Brookfield where he’s expected to follow in his blue collar family’s footsteps.

Hadley Carter is America’s Pop Princess. A successful recording artist living her dream with a sold-out tour and a handful of Grammy’s there isn’t much that she wants for, except love. But finding love on the road is near impossible when all she longs for are romantic dinners, a nighttime stroll on the beach and holding hands with someone who isn’t going to exploit her.

When a chance encounter introduces Ryan to Hadley, will he be like her adoring fans looking for a way in, or will it be Hadley who pursues Ryan even though it might cost her the only career she's known.

Lost in You is a story about following your dreams, taking risks and getting lost in love.

 “Are you a good boy, Ryan, or is there a bit of bad boy hiding in there?”This question takes me by surprise and I play with the hem of my shorts thinking about how I’m going to answer. I look at her and try not to smile, but have a feeling I’m failing terribly.“I’m a good boy. I do as I’m told.”“Good boys are nice.” I think she’s flirting with me, but I’m not sure. But the way her voice changed when she said that makes me think that she is. I wish I wasn’t so lost when it comes to girls.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Next up is BROKEN FOREST by Eliza Tilton.  This is such an exciting tour because it's a chose your own adventure.  If you haven't participated in this hop yet, go here to start your own adventure!


If you’ve landed here during your adventure, skip all this and go below. But first, before you begin, here's a bit about BROKEN FOREST ~


Hopeless he'll never be more than the boy who didn't save his brother, 17-year-old Avikar accepts his life as the family stable boy, trying to forget the past. But when his sister, Jeslyn, is kidnapped, the thought of losing another sibling catapults him on a desperate quest. With his best friend by his side, and using the tracking skills he learned from his father, he discovers Jeslyn has been taken, kidnapped by one Lucino, the young lord of Daath, a mystical place thought only to exist in fables.
And Lucino has plans for Jeslyn.Now, here's your adventure:You hear the first whistle; it’s Tavo, followed by three more.“Ready, Lucas?”You smile, nod and then the two of you are heading towards the woods. Moonlight silhouettes the thin pines and crickets fill the air with musical notes. Your feet glide across the grass as you run deeper into the forest, leaving the clearing far behind.“Stop.” Ella holds out her hand. Her body crouches and her head turns left and right as she scans the area.“What do you see?” Your sister’s eyesight is keener than yours. She points to a large tree. A boot sticks out from behind it. The grey fur lets you know it’s Brev who will be difficult to catch if he runs.Your thumb slides over the top of the pouch, ready to tag him before Ella when you hear a rustle in the bush to your right.“Go,” you say. “I’ll be right behind you."Parts of the brush move as you stalk towards it. One hand holds the pouch, ready to tag; the other is holding your swordOne . . . two . . . On three you push the weeds aside and find a large coon who hisses and jumps at you.Your sword slices into it before it can dig its claws into your skin. “Blasted coon,” you grumble.With the creature dealt with, you turn and dash to where Ella stood, but she’s already disappeared. Things will be easier on your own. Part of you worries about Ella, but your sister is a skilled archer. If anyone can protect herself, it’s Ella.Which direction do you go?North, a safe direction, where you know you can find at least two of the others and a few flowers. Go here East, the wolves are known to hunt east, but previous hunters have found the flower here. Finding the flower will greatly help the village. Go here  West, you remember your Mamma speaking of a dark cave where the black flower grows, but caves are never a safe place to be. Go here  South, this is closer to the marshlands. A place where the flower grows and the jade mushroom which is worth much coin back home. Go here  

Goodreads | Twitter  | Tumblr | Website | Pinterest | Facebook 
Eliza graduated from Dowling College with a BS in Visual Communications. When she’s not arguing with excel at her day job, or playing Dragon Age 2, again, she’s writing. Her stories hold a bit of the fantastical and there’s always a romance. She resides on Long Island with her husband, two kids and one very snuggly pit bull. 


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Debut YA Book Birthdays

We have some exciting debut YA authors up this week, and a boatload of book too!, starting with ~

GORGEOUS by Paul Rudnick (now on my TBR list!)


Inner beauty wants out. When eighteen-year-old Becky Randle’s mother dies, she’s summoned from her Missouri trailer park to meet Tom Kelly, the world’s top designer. He makes her an impossible offer: He’ll create three dresses to transform Becky from a nothing special girl into the most beautiful woman who ever lived. Becky thinks Tom is a lunatic, or that he’s producing a hidden camera show called World’s Most Gullible Poor People. But she accepts, and she’s remade as Rebecca. When Becky looks in the mirror, she sees herself – an awkward mess of split ends and cankles. But when anyone else looks at Becky, they see pure five-alarm hotness. Soon Rebecca is on the cover of Vogue, the new Hollywood darling, and dating celebrities. Then Becky meets Prince Gregory, heir to the British throne, and everything starts to crumble. Because Rebecca aside, Becky loves him. But to love her back, Gregory would have to look past the blinding Rebecca to see the real girl inside. And Becky knows there’s not enough magic in the world. A screamingly defiant, hugely naughty, and impossibly fun free fall past the cat walks, the red carpets, and even the halls of Buckingham Palace, Gorgeous does the impossible: It makes you see yourself clearly for the first time.
THE LAST ACADEMY by Anne Applegate

What is this prep school preparing them for? Camden Fisher arrives at boarding school haunted by a falling-out with her best friend back home. But the manicured grounds of Lethe Academy are like nothing Cam has ever known. There are gorgeous, preppy boys wielding tennis rackets, and circles of girls with secrets to spare. Only . . . something is not quite right. One of Cam's new friends mysteriously disappears, but the teachers don't seem too concerned. Cam wakes up to strangers in her room, who then melt into the night. She is suddenly plagued by odd memories, and senses there might be something dark and terrible brewing. But what? The answer will leave Cam--and readers--stunned and breathless, in this thrilling debut novel.

DEFRIENDED by Ruth Baron

Be careful who you friend...

Jason has met the perfect girl. OK, so maybe he hasn't actually MET Lacey yet, but they talk online all the time. Yet despite spending most nights chatting, Lacey refuses to meet up in person. Suspicious, Jason starts googling, and his cyberstalking leads to a shocking discovery: According to multiple newspapers, Lacey died a year earlier.

Soon, Jason finds himself enmeshed in a disturbing mystery. Has he found a way to iChat with the dead? Or is someone playing a dangerous trick? Either way, Jason has to discover the truth before it's too late. You can't put up away messages from beyond the grave. . . .
IF HE HAD BEEN WITH ME by Laura Nowlin

If he had been with me everything would have been different...I wasn't with Finn on that August night. But I should've been. It was raining, of course. And he and Sylvie were arguing as he drove down the slick road. No one ever says that they were arguing about. Other people think it's not important. They do not know there is another story. The story that lurks between the facts. What they do not know--the cause of the argument--is crucial.So let me tell you...
THE WARD by Jordana Frankel

Jordana Frankel’s thrilling and imaginative YA dystopian novel The Ward is set in a near-future New York City. A catastrophic flood has washed out Manhattan, leaving the rivers polluted, and entire neighborhoods underwater. Some areas are quarantined because of an outbreak of a deadly disease.
The illness, known as the Blight, is killing sixteen-year-old Ren’s sister. Desperate to save her sister’s life, Ren agrees to lead a secret mission from the government to search for a cure. But her quest leads to a confounding mystery beneath the water and an unlikely friendship with a passionate scientist.
Readers who love speculative fiction and crave action-packed stories similar to Veronica Roth’s Divergent will find The Ward absolutely unputdownable.

GAME. SET. MATCH. by Jennifer Iacopelli

Nestled along the North Carolina coast, the Outer Banks Tennis Academy is the world's most elite training facility. In this pressure-cooker environment, futures are forged in blood and sweat, and dreams are shattered in an instant.
Penny Harrison, a rising female star, is determined to win the French Open and beat her archrival, Zina Lutrova. But when her coach imports British bad boy Alex Russell as her new training partner, will Penny be able to keep her laser-like focus?
Tennis is all Jasmine Randazzo has ever known. The daughter of two Grand Slam champions, she's hell-bent on extending her family’s legacy and writing her own happily-ever-after...until her chosen Prince Charming gives her the just-friends speech right before the biggest junior tournament of the year, the Outer Banks Classic.
With a powerful serve and killer forehand, newcomer Indiana Gaffney is turning heads. She’s thrilled by all of the attention, especially from Jack Harrison, Penny’s agent and hot older brother, except he keeps backing off every time things start heating up.
With so much at stake, dreams—and hearts—are bound to break. Welcome to OBX: Where LOVE is a four-letter word, on and off the court.

NEVER LET YOU FALL by Michele G. Miller

Orphaned at 7, with no memory of her past or the family she lost, 17 year old Skye Martin is tired of being alone and afraid. After a hard night of partying, Skye wakes up alone in an unfamiliar hotel. All she can remember is the deep voice of her rescuer and his promise: “I am safe.”
Xander has been tasked with watching Skye from afar for the past two years, in order to keep her safe from the demons that hunt her. An easy job - until a pair of red glowing eyes reveal themselves to Skye, and Xander, in a moment of weakness, is forced to break his cover to protect her.
Never good at trusting people, Skye is inexplicably drawn to Xander and the immediate bond she feels for him. However, Xander is filled with secrets and ties to her past that threaten to thrust Skye into a world she could never imagine existed…
As she begins to unravel the truth about who Xander is and the details surrounding her family, she discovers that she might just be the key to saving everything... 
And, most importantly, she finds that there has always been someone by her side who would never let her fall.

UNTETHERED by Katie Hayoz

Sylvie isn’t comfortable in her own skin. In fact, there are times she can’t even manage to stay inside it. But if there is one thing she’s sure of, it’s her love for Kevin Phillips. She’s willing to stake everything on it –her family, her friends, and possibly her soul.
Sixteen-year-old Sylvie has been best friends with Cassie forever. But everything is turned around when the boy Sylvie’s loved since fifth grade falls for Cassie. Devastated, Sylvie intends to get Kevin by any means possible, even if it involves treachery, deceit, and the dark side of astral projection. She is positive her plans will give her what she wants, but she doesn’t count on it all spiraling out of control. Untethered explores the intoxicating and dangerous world of jealousy and obsession when coupled with paranormal ability. Finalist in Mslexia novel competition.

THE BOYFRIEND APP by Katie Sise (does this sound cute?)

In The Boyfriend App by Katie Sise, super-smart, somewhat geeky Audrey McCarthy can’t wait to get out of high school. Her father’s death and the transformation of her one-time BFF, Blake Dawkins, into her worst nightmare have her longing for the new start college will bring.
But college takes money. So Audrey decides she has to win the competition for the best app designed by a high schooler—and the $200,000 that comes with it. She develops something she calls the Boyfriend App, and suddenly she’s the talk of the school and getting kissed by the hottest boys around. But can the Boyfriend App bring Audrey true love?

SKETCHY (Bea Catcher Chronicles) by Olivia Samms

A popular cheerleader—raped, beaten, and left for dead. An edgy outsider with a gift. Can they team up to catch a killer? 
Bea’s life has been a mess ever since she got kicked out of private school and sent to rehab. Now clean, Bea is starting over at Packard High School, in a city shaken from two assaults on young women. The latest victim, Willa Pressman—the one who survived—doesn’t remember a thing. But Bea has a disturbing new “skill”: she can see—and then draw—images from other people’s minds. And when she looks at Willa, Bea is shocked by what she sketches. Bea might be the only one who knows Willa’s secrets—and who can take down the killer before he strikes again.

ANTHEM FOR JACKSON DAWES by Celia Bryce
Megan Bright and Jackson Dawes are two teenagers who first meet each other on the hospital ward where they are both being treated for cancer. Megan is scared and worried about her illness, but Jackson seems to be an old hand, having been on the ward for ages. And everybody loves Jackson! He is a whirlwind of life and energy, warmth and sparkle. Megan will need to borrow some of Jackson's extraordinary optimism to face her and Jackson's future. A moving story of first love and a remarkably powerful debut novel.

DESCENDANT by Nichole Giles

Seventeen-year-old Abigail Johnson is Gifted.
Blessed—or cursed—with Sight and Healing, Abby lives an unsettled life, moving from place to place and staying one step ahead of the darkness that hunts her. When she arrives in Jackson, Wyoming, she is desperate to maintain the illusion of normalcy, but she is plagued with visions of past lives mixed with frightening glimpses of her future. Then she meets Kye, a mysterious boy who seems so achingly familiar that Abby is drawn to him like he’s a missing piece of her own soul.
Before Abby can discover the reason for her feelings toward Kye, the darkness catches up to her and she is forced to flee again. But this time she’s not just running. She is fighting back with Kye at her side, and it’s not just Abby’s life at stake.
Ok, deep breath.  That was a lot, right?  How many are going into your TBR pile?  [Secret confession ~ I used to try to astral project, like in Untethered, when I was in middle school but was never successful.  Have you ever tried?]

ECHO by Alicia Wright Brewster (excerpt + giveaway)

The countdown clock reads ten days until the end of the world. The citizens are organized. Everyone's been notified and assigned a duty. The problem is . . . no one knows for sure how it will end.

Energy-hungry Mages are the most likely culprit. They travel toward a single location from every corner of the continent. Fueled by the two suns, each Mage holds the power of an element: air, earth, fire, metal, water, or ether. They harness their powers to draw energy from the most readily available resource: humans.

Ashara has been assigned to the Ethereal task force, made up of human ether manipulators and directed by Loken, a young man with whom she has a complicated past. Loken and Ashara bond over a common goal: to stop the Mages from occupying their home and gaining more energy than they can contain. But soon, they begin to suspect that the future of the world may depend on Ashara's death.

Purchase Amazon - Barnes & Noble



About Alicia Wright Brewster


Alicia Wright Brewster is a mild-mannered lady of average height and above average paranormal obsession. By day, she works in an office. At night she is an author, an electronics junkie, and a secret superhero. (Please don't ask what her superpower is; that's not very polite.)

In her virtually non-existent free time, she loves to read, watch movies, and eat food. She is particularly fond of the food-eating and makes a point to perform this task at least three times per day, usually more.

Home | Facebook | Twitter




Make sure to check out the blog tour kicking off on Monday! You could win an awesome prize pack! http://gcrpromotions.blogspot.com


SNEAK PEEK of ECHO...

A metal plate occupied the wall to the right of the door. Loken pressed his hand to it. The door slid away and disappeared into the left side of the doorway. Loken stepped through and down the stairs on the other side. His footsteps clanged against the metal steps as he descended.

Unlike in the overly bright training room on the other side of the building, dim lights filled this room with shadows. The team clustered at the bottom of the steps, blocking my view. As they shuffled slowly out of the way, I caught sight of what had stopped everyone else in their tracks.

A glass wall separated us from what looked like a large cell. The only entry point into the cell was another thick metal door with a security pad next to it. Behind the glass, three people stood as far away from one another as they could possibly get within the enclosed space: a hugely tall man, a woman with blond hair that hung past her waist, and a smaller man. All three were nude.

They looked human but . . . wrong somehow. Despite their lack of clothing, they made no effort to cover themselves. The larger man’s muscles bulged in odd places. While the woman wasn’t as massive, her body was more toned than any woman I’d ever met, more so than even Elder Ethereal.

From across the room, their black eyes cut through the darkness. A chill raced up and down my back like icy fingertips.

I stared at the smaller man. His eyes bore through me. I wondered if he saw me at all, or if he just happened to be looking where I was standing. At first glance, I’d thought him to be relatively slight. Although the other man dwarfed him, his thin arms were as tight as a predator’s, coiled to strike. The sharp planes of his face only emphasized the eerie black of his eyes, sunken into their sockets.

Loken’s voice startled me from the man’s hypnotic gaze. “In case you haven’t guessed it, these three are—”

“Mages,” I whispered.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Debut YA Book Birthdays + bonus content

It's a slow week for debut YA authors -- I found only this one.  (And yes, there are a ton of non-debut releases this week, so maybe that has something to do with it.  But here, we focus only on the debut authors, so here's what you get.)
ACID by Emma Pass (talk about a kick-butt cover!) 2113. In Jenna Strong’s world, ACID – the most brutal, controlling police force in history – rule supreme. No throwaway comment or muttered dissent goes unnoticed – or unpunished. And it was ACID agents who locked Jenna away for life, for a bloody crime she struggles to remember.
The only female inmate in a violent high-security prison, Jenna has learned to survive by any means necessary. And when a mysterious rebel group breaks her out, she must use her strength, speed and skill to stay one step ahead of ACID – and to uncover the truth about what really happened on that dark night two years ago.
Since that's the only debut YA I found this week, how about a little bonus content?1.  There's a swag contest going on over at Oasis for YA.  Enter before Thursday.
2.  Suddenly Royal by Nichole Chase is available NOW.  If you like the NA genre but still adore fairytales too, this book will be right up your alley.
3.  It's mid-April and the high is in the 60s.  In Florida.  I am not good with this.
4.  My daughter is a kick butt little flag football quarterback.  Girl's got an arm on her.
So, those are my rambling thoughts this week.  What have you got going on?  Are you interested in ACID?

The Angel Chronicles, Book 3: Excerpt & Giveaway

A Privilege:
The Angel Chronicles, Book 3

The beloved Angel/Warrior team face pure evil in their final climactic story!

The first time they were sent down, Irish lives were led. Emily, the angel, ended up embedded in murder and lost in the realm of true love. While Matthew, the warrior, took over a life that left blood on his hands and anger in his soul.

With their second coming, Emily found herself facing an oncoming war that brought her to the shores of America. While Matthew tried desperately to unveil the evil character of a young man who was intent on locking his partner in a ‘gilded’ cage.

Now...Emily and Matthew find that their lives are all their own. Yet, all the memories, hatred, longing and regret have come hand-in-hand with this newfound freedom.

In small town U.S.A., Matthew finds himself loving his new life. From his military school existence to a new, ‘odd’ friend who’s arrived in town, Matthew’s looking forward to graduation and heading off into a brilliant future with Emily by his side.

Emily wants nothing more than to hide. Although doing her best to fit in, she lives a life on the edge, wondering when her past love with reappear to either forgive or seek revenge on the angel who let him down. Battling the shadows that seem to be breaking her soul in two, Emily soon discovers that her small, quiet town has a secret that’s beyond dangerous...

As she and Matthew join forces to help a ‘haunted’ victim, they open the door on a mystery neither of them can believe. A true villain has returned from the past, and not even their heavenly family will be able to save them. This time they’re on their own, as they face a fight that could lead them straight to Hell…and end the angel/warrior team forever.

Kindle  *  Nook  *  iBookstore
Smashwords  *  Google  *  PDF

Excerpt

Without a word, Matthew reached out, took Emily by the hand and pulled her down beside him. He looked into her eyes and smiled. “I knew my Emily was still in there.”

Out of the blue, the room became incredibly hot, as if Gabriel had entered in order to give a lesson to his favorite students. “What?”

“That spark.” He pulled Emily’s face closer before she could push herself away. “You’ve been acting all this time like you’re just here to sit and wait it out until you’re lucky enough to go Home. But you’re still in there, Emily. You still have all that energy and belief in there and you want to do something. That’s the partner I know.”

Shaking her head, Emily listened to her own breathing intensify as she stared at his full lips and wondered why she felt so completely and utterly strange...vulnerable even. “I want to help this girl. This is a job, maybe my only job down here. She saw a ghost and she wants me to help her out, that’s all.”

“And you will.” Matthew captured Emily’s lips, and she could no longer feel the breath in her lungs. Completely different than the one kiss they’d shared up above so long ago, this one was far more demanding, as if Matthew was a young man determined to kiss his human love for the very first time.

Sitting back, Emily practically jumped off the bed.

“I’m sorry,” she heard him whisper behind her. “I guess I was just excited to see you again.”

Not trusting her voice, she remained silent.

“We have jobs, but we also have a life to live. Our own lives this time around. Maybe you should think about adding that into your angelic plans.” Matthew continued softly, “Jason isn’t here, Emily.”

The name being said out loud sent a chill down Emily’s spine. It reminded her of the vow she’d made a long time ago—a vow that an angel couldn’t break.

She cleared her throat. “It doesn’t matter if he’s here. We were sent to do a job, and maybe helping this little girl prove her story is what I need to begin.”

Standing up, Matthew looked as if he was a man who wanted nothing more than to turn back the clock and erase the name he’d spoken aloud. He walked to the open window. “Well, I hope the job goes well. Good luck with it.”

“Matthew,” Emily took a step toward him. “Don’t leave like this.”

He nodded at the book on the bed. “You have your mission, Emily...your job. Ghosts, goblins, lost souls—knock yourself out.” He took a deep breath. “I wonder when you’re going to figure out that the living souls around you would like some of your attention as well.”

Closing her eyes, Emily shed silent tears as she heard his feet hit the ground beneath her window. A friend, a partner, the one who actually listened, was now just an angry young man racing back to The Armory—a place where warriors reigned.

Emily sighed. She’d done it again. No matter how hard she tried to be good, her mouth always got her into trouble. She needed Matthew to understand. She’d made a promise to a young man a long time ago; a promise that was supposed to last for eternity. How was she to know at the time that their eternity would include death by her hand? Had the second time around broken their vow? Emily had no idea. But whatever happened she could not and would not offer Matthew her heart if payment was still due for her past sins. Above all, Matthew was the last person who deserved to be punished for her mistakes.

Author Amy Lignor

Amy Lignor began her career at Grey House Publishing in northwest Connecticut where she was the Editor-in-Chief of numerous educational and business directories.

Now she is a published author of several works of fiction. The Billy the Kid historical The Heart of a Legend; the thriller, Mind Made; and the adventure novel, Tallent & Lowery 13.

She is also the owner of The Write Companion, a company that offers help and support to writers through a full range of editorial services from proofreading and copyediting to ghostwriting and research. As the daughter of a research librarian, she is also an active book reviewer.

Currently, she lives with her daughter, mother and a rambunctious German Shepherd named Reuben, in the beautiful state of New Mexico.


Website * Twitter * Facebook * Goodreads


Books 1 and 2 are now 99 cents on Kindle!
   




a Rafflecopter giveaway

#RockTheDrop and Debut YA Book Birthdays

Before we get started with this week's debut YA book birthdays, I wanted to talk to you about Rock the Drop, sponsored by Reader Girlz.
On Thursday, take a YA book of your choice and leave it some where conspicuous in the wild for a lucky reader to find and enjoy.  ReaderGirls have a cool book plate for you to print out and place in the book to mark it as a donation.  Then, take a picture of the book and upload it to Facebook to keep the excitement going.  More details are here.

Last year, I left my book on the pool table (frequented by teens) at my local JCA.  Turns out, the cleaning staff got it before any kids could and it ended up in lost and found.  Boo!  So this year, I'm going to try a local teen lunch place and hopefully my donated book will find some new people to love it.  :)

As for the debut YA books this week, we've got 3 vastly different books:

TAKEN by Erin Bowman (this one gets the award for Best Cover)

There are no men in Claysoot.There are boys--but every one of them vanishes at midnight on his eighteenth birthday. The ground shakes, the wind howls, a blinding light descends . . . and he's gone.They call it the Heist.Gray Weathersby's eighteenth birthday is mere months away, and he's prepared to meet his fate--until he finds a strange note from his mother and starts to question everything he's been raised to accept: the Council leaders and their obvious secrets, the Heist itself, and what lies beyond the Wall that surrounds Claysoot--a structure that no one can cross and survive.Climbing the Wall is suicide, but what comes after the Heist could be worse. Should he sit back and wait to be taken--or risk everything on the hope of the other side?
THE MILK OF BIRDS by Silvia Whitman

This timely, heartrending novel tells the moving story of a friendship between two girls: one an American teen, one a victim of the crisis in Darfur.Know that there are many words behind the few on this paper…Fifteen-year-old Nawra lives in Darfur, Sudan, in a camp for refugees displaced by the Janjaweed’s trail of murder and destruction. Nawra cannot read or write, but when a nonprofit organization called Save the Girls pairs her with an American donor, Nawra dictates her thank-you letters. Putting her experiences into words begins to free her from her devastating past—and to brighten the path to her future.K. C. is an American teenager from Richmond, Virginia, who hates reading and writing—or anything that smacks of school. But as Nawra pours grief and joy into her letters, she inspires K. C. to see beyond her own struggles. And as K. C. opens her heart in her responses to Nawra, she becomes both a dedicated friend and a passionate activist for Darfur.In this poetic tale of unlikely sisterhood, debut author Sylvia Whitman captures the friendship between two girls who teach each other compassion and share a remarkable bond that bridges two continents.
THE SYMPTOMS OF MY INSANITY by Mindy Raf

For fans of Louise Rennison, Sarah Mlynowski, and Stephanie Perkins comes a laugh-out-loud, bittersweet debut full of wit, wisdom, heart, and a hilarious, unforgettable heroine.

It's kind of crazy how you can pay so much attention to yourself and still not see a thing.

Izzy is a hypochondriac with enormous boobs that won't stop growing, a mother with a rare disease who's hiding something, a best friend who appears to have undergone a personality transplant, and a date with an out-of-her-league athlete who just spilled Gatorade all over her. Yes, Izzy Skymen has a hectic life. But what Izzy doesn't realize is that these are only minor symptoms of life's insanity. When she discovers that the people she trusts most are withholding from her the biggest secrets, things are about to get epic -- or is it epidemic?

So, are you planning on rocking the drop?  Or picking up any of these debut YA beauties?