Laurisa White Reyes's Blog, page 62

GIVEAWAY: SECRETS AND SOULS by Kelly Stock

Secrets and SoulsPrequel to The Soul Guideby Kelly StockGenre: Urban Fantasy
Set forty years before The Soul Guide, this is a story of Bertram and Mellissa… 


"You think I don't know that you’re keeping secrets from me? I am not the only liar here..."
The last thing Bertram expected after his grandfather’s death was to find himself the owner of Clayhill Manor, a decrepit mansion with little going for it other than musty rooms filled with moth-eaten furniture and mice. But at least he gets to maintain the solitary life he’s used to. That is, until red-headed beauty, Mellissa, walks into his home and changes his life forever. 
With one touch of her hand, Bertram finds himself part of world he never knew existed. Where he is the Caretaker, and Mellissa the Soul Guide. Where doors appear out of nowhere and he’s the only one who can see them. 
Together they must face a strange new world hidden just beneath the surface. A world which contains the pure of soul and malevolent creatures that lurk in the dark. 
But Mellissa holds secrets within her, secrets that hurt her heart. With a past that she’s unwilling to share with a man who is falling in love with her, can they put their feelings aside and fulfil their roles or will her secrets tear them apart? 
Apart they are weak, together they are stronger, and the Mephisto are always watching.

**FREE on Amazon!**
Goodreads* Amazon

The Soul GuideThe Soul Guide Series Book 1
When university student Sybil is stung by a bee in the middle of a winter snowstorm, she finds herself chosen as the latest Soul Guide. With only a few days to reach the Veil; the place of souls, and complete the Passing Over ceremony, she begins to question everything she ever believed to be true. But dark forces will stop at nothing to prevent Sybil from fulfilling her destiny. Struggling with such a huge responsibility, and afraid for her life, Sybil has no choice but to put her trust in two complete strangers. 


Meet Bertram, the Caretaker. Despite his anguish at losing the love of his life, he has a job to do. Sybil is his responsibility now. He must guide her to the Veil - no matter the cost.
Then there’s Alec, who’s drawn to Sybil the moment he lays eyes on her. Overcome by the sudden need to protect her, Alec will risk his life to ensure her safety. Or does he have darker designs...?
Can the reluctant Soul Guide, the grieving Caretaker, and the obsessive stranger work together? Only one thing is certain: the future of both Earth and the Veil hang in the balance, and the dark are rising.

Goodreads * Amazon



Reviews:
“I've just finished the soul guide and I'm feeling very impatient for book 2! This is a great fantasy read, intriguing, with characters you really want to know more about! It's hard to believe this is the author’s first novel, there's so much detail and depth to the characters and story. Well worth a read.”

“Wow! I could not put this book down. The way Kelly writes encaptures you and takes you to another place. Her vivid imagination and the way she describes every detail enables you to picture in your mind being there with Sybil on this spiritual journey. It only took me two days to read and I can't wait for the next instalment to see what happens next.”
“This book, well written and with a great story line, had me hooked from the start and I can't wait for the next one in the series.”
“The Soul Guide is a unique, fast-paced, beautifully-written book. Immediately it sucked me in, and it was hard to put down. Kelly Stock has woven together a story with interesting characters and a truly imaginative plot. In a way, reading this felt like gazing upon beautiful artwork. Every chapter revealed a new layer of the story, intriguing me further and making me even more curious about what was to come. What a treat this book was to read!”


Tortured SoulsThe Soul Guide Series Book 2Releases October 21st!
Still reeling from the secrets revealed within the Veil, Sybil finds herself getting more than she'd ever bargained for. Having to manage her new gifts is hard enough let alone having to cope with the barrage of memories that aren't even her own. 

Could becoming the Soul Guide be the biggest mistake of Sybil's life or her bravest decision yet? She couldn't tell you, to busy dealing with the responsibility that her new role brings and avoiding the growing residents of Clayhill to find out. 

And yet, hiding away isn't an option. 

With the arrival of terrified young Estelle, Sybil is forced to face reality and become the warrior she was destined to be. There are far worst things happening beyond the safety of Clayhill and she doesn't have the option of turning a blind eye, especially when the 'worst things' involve her own beloved dad. 

With Estelle's revelations, action must be taken. Can the unlikely group work together to save the children locked away in the depths of the Masters home or will the Mephisto succeed in tearing them apart? Read book two of The Soul Guide series to find out.

In Tortured Souls, alliances are made, friendships are forged, hearts are broken and the battle of light versus dark has truly begun.
Goodreads* Amazon

Born and bred in London, UK, Kelly is a 38 year-old multitasking mum, wife, colleague, friend, daughter, sister and lastly, but by no means least, writer. 
Her love of writing started when she began her Creative Writing degree at North London University in 1999. She hasn’t always wanted to be a writer, her first job of choice was a Vet, but that dream died when she realized she was allergic to most, small, furry animals. But, she has always loved to read, and that’s where her passion for writing began. 
After finishing her degree in 2002, she didn’t put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard, until thirteen years later. Life, in all its wonderful glory got in the way. Then when her youngest went to school full-time she had precious time on her hands. It was during this time that Bertram, Sybil, and Alec were conceived and her first novel, The Soul Guide was born.
In her spare time you can find Kelly, reading, bringing up her kids the best way she knows how, and trying desperately not to make a fool of herself on social media. 
Website* Newsletter* Facebook* Twitter * Instagram* Amazon* Goodreads

Follow the tour HEREfor exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Winner of the $200 Creeptacular Giveaway Announced!

The $200 Winner is...James R.!

Check out more info about this giveaway HERE: https://www.facebook.com/groups/349731191773598/permalink/1522009241212448/

GIVEAWAY: MENTAL DAMNATION: DREAM by Konn Lavery

* Join GO READ.COM! and start earning LitCoins towards free books!
 ______________________________


DreamMental Damnation Part 2by Konn LaveryGenre: Epic Dark Fantasy
Thought to be banished to the underworld by the humans, Krista mysteriously finds herself as the first of her kind to walk on the surface in centuries. This was caused by one of the underworld’s corrupt leaders, Danil, who uses her in an unholy ritual to set their people free. Danil’s infectious touch gives Krista the nightmarish disease known as Mental Damnation.


She becomes the key interest of two men, Paladin and Dr. Alsroc, who struggle to make sense of her sudden appearance and how it relates to Mental Damnation. Her friend back in the underworld, Darkwing, abandons his gang to begin his search for her.


Krista finds herself torn between two worlds, gaining acceptance among the humans while experiencing inner turmoil from hallucinations caused by her disease. These visions paint a hellish dream world known as Dreadweave Pass where the realm’s ruler, a corrupt god known as the Weaver, is on the hunt for her. Krista’s blood is believed to be a key component for the Weaver’s retribution against the Heavenly Kingdoms that once banished him!


Add to Goodreads Amazon* Google* Kobo



RealityMental Damnation Part 1
Having her family murdered by the humans during her people’s banishment from the surface world, Krista and her only friend, Darkwing, struggle to remain alive. The pair of reptilian street scum live in their newfound home, the City of Renasence, dictated by a fascist military known as the Renasence Guard. The two find themselves at odds when Krista puts her faith in the Five Guardians’ goal of unification, while Darkwing chooses to stand with a notorious gang, the Blood Hounds, who are known for their anarchist views
This divide in their friendship forces Krista to persist on her own as the Five Guardians become crazed from an unknown disease - Mental Damnation. After their infection, the Guardians develop a bizarre interest in her, claiming they must reap her innocence for their newfound master, the Weaver.
With a military dictatorship, politically-driven gangs and their guardians infected and on a hunt for her, Krista has limited options for survival: Does she fend for her life in the City of Renascence, against menacing forces, or risk leaving everything behind and enter the uncharted realm of the underworld?


Add to Goodreads Amazon * Google* Kobo


Konn Lavery is a Canadian horror and dark fantasy writer who is known for his Mental Damnation series. The second book, Dream, reached the Edmonton Journal’s top five selling fictional books list. He started writing fantasy stories at a very young age while being home schooled. It wasn’t until graduating college that he began professionally pursuing his work with his first release, Reality. Since then he has continued to write works of fiction ranging from fantasy to horror.


His literary work is done in the long hours of the night. By day, Konn runs his own graphic design and website development business under the title Reveal Design. These skills have been transcribed into the formatting and artwork found within his publications supporting his fascination of transmedia storytelling.
Website* Facebook * Twitter * Instagram* Goodreads* Amazon
Follow the tour HEREfor exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

BLOG TOUR: EIGHT DAY ON PLANET EARTH by Cat Jordan

* Join GO READ.COM! and start earning LitCoins towards free books!
 ______________________________

 ________________________________
EIGHT DAYS ON PLANET EARTH
by Cat Jordan
Genre: YA Contemporary Fiction
Release date: November 7th 2017
HarperTeen

Summary from Goodreads:

A heart-wrenching romance full of twists that are sure to bring tears to readers’ eyes, from Cat Jordan, author of The Leaving Season.

How long does it take to travel twenty light years to Earth?

How long does it take to fall in love?

To the universe, eight days is a mere blip, but to Matty Jones, it may be just enough time to change his life.

On the hot summer day Matty’s dad leaves for good, a strange girl suddenly appears in the empty field next to the Jones farm—the very field in rural Pennsylvania where a spaceship supposedly landed fifty years ago. She is uniquely beautiful, sweet, and smart, and she tells Matty she’s waiting for herspaceship to pick her up and return her to her home planet. Of course she is.

Matty has heard a million impossible UFO stories for each of his seventeen years: the conspiracy theories, the wild rumors, the crazy belief in life beyond the stars. When he was a kid, he and his dad searched the skies and studied the constellations. But all of that is behind him. Dad’s gone—but now there’s Priya. She must be crazy…right?

As Matty unravels the mystery of the girl in the field, he realizes there is far more to her than he first imagined. And if he can learn to believe in what he can’t see: the universe, aliens…love…then maybe the impossible is possible, after all.
Add to Goodreads
About the AuthorWhen I was a teenager, the very first book I ever tried to write was pretentious and stilted and set in a future where there was no paper. Obviously, I fancied myself another Ray Bradbury (who I was thrilled to meet not once but twice!). The book had an awesome title and no plot but I had the most fun creating the characters and the world they lived in. That to me is the most enjoyable part of writing a novel: envisioning a world and populating it with all kinds of people and dogs. Gotta have a dog.

The worlds I create now as an adult are based on my travels from coast to coast in the US, to Europe and Mexico and Canada, and on the people I have met and loved and admired and feared. And dogs.

Currently I live in Los Angeles. With my dog.
Author Links:Website│Goodreads│Twitter│Facebook
EXCERPT



If I were Priya…8 Days of Data Collecting
When Matty meets Priya in the field, she tells him she’s a visitor from another planet, here to collect data. Her notebook, he discovers, is filled with her data, from what a dog is to what a railroad crossing looks like.
If I were visiting this planet, I wonder what I might want to collect data on:
1. Food
Naturally! In Eight Days on Planet Earth, Priya samples mostly pizza because that’s what Matty loves to eat. Plus he’s not really a gourmet! But for me, I think I would want to try lots of kinds of foods, both items that are grown and which represent the earth (vegetables, fruits, legumes) and meals that are created by people because they represent the creativity of the human race. Everything from homemade cheesy casseroles to Michelin-starred entrees and gooey, sugary desserts.
2. Entertainment
We know that Priya has watched television since she knows about the different incarnations of Star Trek. If I were new to this planet, I would spend at least a full day watching television and going to the movies. It’s impossible to sample all of the kinds of movies and TV series out there so maybe I would just get myself a Netflix subscription so I could check out what was trending in all the different genres of movies and television.
3. Music
In the movie, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the scientists use music to communicate with the aliens. The organization SETI (Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) describes Europeans in the 17thCentury as conceiving of interpreting language with musical notes in order to contact life beyond our planet. So it’s possible that aliens could know about our music, although it’s probably classical compositions rather than today’s pop. However, I think I would want to know as much as possible about rock music too, and hip hop, jazz, electronica, and so on, in order to fully grasp what moves humans musically.
4. Sports
While Priya doesn’t seem to know much about traditional sports like swimming, she can walk on her hands, which makes me think she knows about gymnastics. I think I would want to learn about popular sports among kids and adults in as many countries as I could. Rugby and cricket and ice fishing in addition to baseball and tennis and volleyball. If I were really lucky, I’d be on this planet during the Olympics so I could sample a variety of sports.
5. Language
Currently there are nearly 7000 languages in the world; I have to believe there is at least one that would resonate with alien life. Of course finding the one that would be most like my own could take a really long time. Still I think it would be worth it in order to find the connection between our species.
6. Animals
Much to Matty’s surprise, Priya asks if Ginger, Matty’s Labrador retriever, is a dog. So it’s clear that she doesn’t have canines on her planet. I personally can’t imagine a planet without dogs! A life without puppies sounds horrible to me! That being said, there must be thousands of species I don’t know about on earth. It’s not just the obvious ones like cats and mice and elephants and giraffes. There are species of fish that most people have never seen other than in photographs yet they have been on this planet for eons. Learning about them and bringing knowledge of them back to my planet could be critical to understanding how earth functions as an ecosystem.
7. Art & Architecture
I imagine that creative expression on other planets might be radically different from what we have here on earth. Perhaps there is no art? While writers and dancers and painters might argue that art is a necessary component to humanity, that we all need to express ourselves and to experience the art of others in order to understand each other, there are some people who think it’s a luxury. Since art can be found in all walks of life, all cultures and among all demographics, I think if I were an alien and maybe unused to creative expression, I would want to know how humans view their world in abstract or non-linear forms. That could be movement or sound or the written word; it could be painting or sculpture, formally presented in a museum or street art like Banksy. I would probably start in Italy at the Uffizi. Just because it’s Italy and I would like to believe aliens would appreciate Italy.
8.  Relationships
Priya tells Matty that on her planet, families don’t exist the same way they do on earth. I think it’s important to note that families are different from one culture to the next all over this planet. Not everyone lives in the same nuclear family situation that Americans might be familiar with. Then there are the relationships between friends, extended families, co-workers, and so on. Similarly love relationships vary as well: dating, marriage, parenting – all have different parameters. And, um, yeah, kissing would definitely be on my list of experiences to collect data on.




a Rafflecopter giveaway  Blog Tour Organized by:YA Bound Book Tours

GIVEAWAY: GOLDEN FLEECE by Robert J. Sawyer

* Join GO READ.COM! and start earning LitCoins towards free books!  ______________________________


Golden Fleeceby Robert J. SawyerGenre: SciFi Mystery
Winner of the Aurora Award for best novel of the year. Named best novel of the year by The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.


MURDER IN SPACE


Starcology Argo. A superstarship on a mission to a distant world. Controlled by a monumental computer named JASON, the Argo proceeds flawlessly . . . until death strikes its sleek decks with sudden and mysterious precision.
Astrophysicist Diana Chandler is dead of radiation. Her body lies in the Argo's ramfield — where hydrogen ions are funneled into the engines. Chandler's death has been deemed suicide. But her ex-husband, Aaron Rossman, isn't so sure. As he probes further, he becomes certain that Diana's death is a matter of murder — and that the murderer is JASON!
Now Rossman must face the unthinkable: why would an artificial intelligence conceive and execute that most heinous of human crimes? And if so, can a mortal mind take on a cunning computer . . . and survive?



Add to Goodreads Amazon* B&N* Kobo
**Read an excerpt HERE!**

End of an Era by Robert J. SawyerGenre: SciFi Fantasy
Paleontologist Brandon Thackeray is eager to find out what killed the dinosaurs. With a newly developed, still-experimental timeship, he will be able to do what no human being has ever done: stand face-to-face with a living, breathing dinosaur. But he and his partner (and rival) Miles "Klicks" Jordan discover that they are not the only intelligent creatures on Earth at the end of the Cretaceous. There's a war going on and the dinosaurs are right in the middle of it.


Please note that this book is not part of The Quintaglio Ascension Trilogy. It is a stand-alone novel set on Earth.

Add to Goodreads Amazon* B&N* Kobo
**Read an excerpt HERE!**

Starplexby Robert J. SawyerGenre: SciFi Adventure
The only novel of its year to be nominated for both the Hugo and Nebula Awards. Starplex won Canada's Aurora Award for best novel of the year.


For nearly twenty years Earth's space exploration had exploded outward, thanks to a series of mysterious, artificial wormholes. No one knows who created these interstellar passages, yet they have brought the far reaches of space immediately close. For Starplex Director Keith Lansing, too close.


Discovery is superseding understanding. And when an unknown vessel — with no windows, no seams, and no visible means of propulsion — arrives through a new wormhole, an already battle-scarred Starplex could be the starting point of a new interstellar war . . .
Add to Goodreads Amazon* B&N * Kobo
**Read an excerpt HERE!**

Frameshiftby Robert J. SawyerGenre: SciFi Thriller
Frameshift won Japan's Seiun Award and was a finalist for the Hugo Award.


Pierre Tardivel is a scientist working on the Human Genome Project with the Nobel Prize winner, Dr. Burian Klimus. A driven man, Pierre works with the awareness that he may not have long to live: he has a fifty-fifty chance of dying from Huntington's disease, an incurable hereditary disorder of the central nervous system. While he still has his health, Pierre and his wife decide to have a child, and they search for a sperm donor. When Pierre informs Dr. Klimus of their plan, Klimus makes an odd but generous offer: to be the sperm donor as well as to pay for the expensive in vitro fertilization. Shortly thereafter it transpires that Klimus might be hiding a grim past: he may be Ivan Marchenko, the notorious Treblinka death-camp guard known as Ivan the Terrible.


While digging into Klimus's past with the help of Nazi hunter Avi Meyer, Pierre and his wife discover that Pierre's insurance company has been illegally screening clients for genetic defects. The two lines of investigation begin to coverage in a sinister manner, while they worry about the possibility of bearing the child of an evil, sadistic killer . . .
Add to Goodreads Amazon* B&N* Kobo
**Read an excerpt HERE!**

Factoring Humanityby Robert J. SawyerGenre: SciFi
In 2007, a signal is detected coming from the Alpha Centauri system. Mysterious, unintelligible data streams in for ten years. Heather Davis a professor in the University of Toronto psychology department, has devoted her career to deciphering the message. Her estranged husband, Kyle, is working on the development of artificial intelligence systems and new computer technology utilizing quantum effects to produce a near-infinite number of calculations simultaneously.


When Heather achieves a breakthrough, the message reveals a startling new technology that rips the barriers of space and time, holding the promise of a new stage of human evolution. In concert with Kyle's discoveries of the nature of consciousness, the key to limitless exploration — or the end of the human race — appears close at hand.


This edition includes a reading group guide.
Add to Goodreads Amazon* B&N* Kobo
**Read an excerpt HERE!**


Robert J. Sawyer — called "the dean of Canadian science fiction" by  The Ottawa Citizen  and "just about the best science-fiction writer out there these days" by  The Denver Rocky Mountain News  — is one of only eight writers in history (and the only Canadian) to win all three of the science-fiction field's top honors for best novel of the year:the World Science Fiction Society's Hugo Award, which he won in 2003 for his novel  Hominids ;the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America's Nebula Award, which he won in 1996 for his novel  The Terminal Experiment ;and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, which he won in 2006 for his novel  Mindscan .According to the US trade journal  Locus , Rob is the #1 all-time worldwide leader in number of award wins as a science fiction or fantasy novelist. Recent honors include the first-ever Humanism in the Arts Award from Humanist Canada, the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal from the Governor General of Canada, the Hal Clement Award for Best Young Adult Novel of the Year (for  Watch ), and a Lifetime Achievement Aurora Award from the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association — the first such award given to an author in thirty years, and only the fourth such ever bestowed.The 2009-2010 ABC TV series  FlashForward  was based on his novel of the same name, and Rob was a scriptwriter for that series. Maclean's: Canada's Weekly Newsmagazine  says, "By any reckoning, Sawyer is among the most successful Canadian authors ever," and  The New York Times  calls him "a writer of boundless confidence and bold scientific extrapolation." The Canadian publishing trade journal  Quill & Quire  named Rob one of "the thirty most influential, innovative, and just plain powerful people in Canadian publishing" (the only other authors making the list were Margaret Atwood and Douglas Coupland).Rob's novels are top-ten national mainstream bestsellers in Canada, appearing on the  Globe and Mail  and  Maclean's bestsellers' lists, and they've hit #1 on the science-fiction bestsellers' lists published by  Locus , Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.uk, and Audible.com. His twenty-three novels include  Red Planet Blues ,  Triggers ,  Calculating God , and the "WWW" trilogy of  Wake ,  Watch , and  Wonder , each volume of which separately won the  Aurora Award  — Canada's top honor in science fiction — for Best Novel of the Year.Rob — who holds honorary doctorates from the  University of Winnipeg  and  Laurentian University  — has taught writing at the University of Toronto, Ryerson University, Humber College, and The Banff Centre. He has been Writer-in-Residence at the Richmond Hill (Ontario) Public Library, the Kitchener (Ontario) Public Library, the Toronto Public Library's  Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation and Fantasy , Berton House in Dawson City, the Canadian Light Sourcesynchrotron, and the Odyssey Workshop.Rob has given talks at hundreds of venues including the  Library of Congress  and the National Library of Canada, and beenkeynote speaker at dozens of events in places as diverse as Los Angeles, Boston, Tokyo, Beijing, and Barcelona. He was born in Ottawa in 1960, and now lives just west of Toronto.

Website* Blog * Facebook* Twitter * Amazon* Goodreads

Follow the tour HEREfor exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

ANNOUNCING WINNERS!

So many giveaways in October! Here are the winners of the giveaways I hosted on my blog.


a Rafflecopter giveaway  
a Rafflecopter giveaway 
 a Rafflecopter giveaway 

GIVEAWAY: FIELD OF INNOCENCE by Lainy Lane

Title: Field of InnocenceAuthor: Lainy LaneGenre: Fantasy – Paranormal Romance – Faerie TalesPublisher: CHBBCover Designer: Aurelia Fray - Pretty AF DesignsHosted by: Lady Amber's Reviews & PR Blurb: Not all Faerie tales start with once upon a time or end with happily ever after. Calandra thought she lived a normal life. She constantly fought with her dad, had a boyfriend who she knew was "it" for her, school was coming to an end, and her father would be out of town for the summer. Then a stranger comes to her in a dream, and life takes an unexpected turn. Calandra is thrown into a whirlwind, where she unearths the heritage her father has been hiding from her. She discovers a whole new world and finds that destiny doesn't always hand you the life you dreamed of.As she watches the pieces of her life fall, shatter, and settle, she must decide whether to piece them back together, or start over and attempt building a new one. Somewhere in-between those options, she might find who she is meant to be. The person strong enough to take her destiny face on, no matter how impossible it seems.Tagline - Sometimes Destiny is far too dark to give us a normal Faerie tale. Lainy Lane is a girl that loves to keep her head in the clouds and attempts to still keep her feet on the ground. She has a severe addiction to coffee, tea, and Harry Potter and is completely awe-stricken with dragonflies. She spends her days chasing around her two crazy kids and getting in as much reading and writing as she can fit into the hectic mom life!Lainy writes Fantasy and loves main characters that don't accept their "given" destiny and instead decide to make their own way!Author Links: Amazon: http://amzn.to/2zhfERIWebsite - http://www.lainylane.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/authorlainylaneGoodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6568395.Lainy_LaneFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLainyLane/Buy Links: Equinoctial Sacrifice (Prequel): http://amzn.to/2zhciOzField of Innocence: http://amzn.to/2idkepa “Calandra,” he said, his voice was deep and intimidating.“Where is Tristan?” she asked, she was far too worried to care exactly how he knew her name.“That’s your first question, my dear?” he asked nonchalantly.“Yes,” she replied simply.He closed the gap between them faster than he should have been able to. His eyes didn’t leave hers as he walked, he didn’t even slightly falter in any way.“Shouldn’t your first question be about this?” He placed his hand on her left shoulder, slowly running his hand across her skin. His touch sent chills through her, though they were quite different than those Jarreth’s touch had.Calandra gasped once his hand was gone, and she saw the dragonfly. It wasn’t a real dragonfly perched on her shoulder like she had been growing somewhat accustomed to of late. This was a mark, some sort of a tattoo that had never been there before. It was stunning. It sat at an angle, its head facing toward her. Its wings were a breathtaking mixture of pinks and purples. On the left wing was a swirl of a beautiful baby blue through the center, and on the right wing, a matching swirl of lavender. Its eyes were a breathtaking shade of turquoise. It appeared to be three dimensional as if there was actually a dragonfly perched on her shoulder looking at her, watching over her, much like the few dragonflies had done for her in her last few visits to the woods.“What is it?” she asked, unable to peel her eyes from it.Not only did it look like a tattoo that had been there forever, but it seemed as if it belonged on her shoulder. How had she randomly received a tattoo without knowing it? Without pain? Without healing? Was it somehow the effects of the trip there? The questions clouded her mind making it hard to focus on the task at hand.“That, I am not willing to answer for you,” he replied. His smile looked quite wicked, yet he seemed to be averting his eyes from her. “However, I am sure once Jarreth arrives he will fill you in on a few things, though not as many as he should I’m sure.”“Jarreth? Where am I? And who are you?” Calandra’s head spun from all the questions surging through her.“You, dear, are in Faerie of course. That’s what happens when someone of your— stature— steps into the ring. And I, you will do well to remember, am Drake.”The memory of stepping into the ring flashed through her mind and reminded her of what she was there for. Tristan was there somewhere, he had to be. She had accidentally sent him through to Faerie after he’d stepped into the ring.“Where is Tristan?” she asked again. “And why did he come here?” She knew it hadn’t been of his own will. Something had been controlling him, something had forced him to come here. He couldn’t have even possibly known where the ring was on his own to be able to come to it. He had looked so frightened for the split second between him stepping into the ring and being taken to Faerie, the split second when he had fully been there.“He came here because I asked him to, and he is safe for now, that much you have my word on.” Drake’s eyes remained on her shoulder as he spoke.Calandra had to wonder if that response was supposed to have been comforting somehow. “Why would you ask him to and why would he listen?” The fear was evident in her voice though she tried to keep it at bay, but everything was just a bit too much for her to be able to control it.“Drake.” Jarreth’s voice came from somewhere behind her.Calandra turned around and saw that Jarreth looked identical to the way he had in the dream that started everything. Suddenly her fear and all of the emotions that had been welling up inside her disappeared.“Jareth,” Drake said with a laugh undertone. “I have just finished explaining to the girl that you would explain some things to her. She does seem a bit confused.” He was still staring at her shoulder.Jarreth’s hand touched her shoulder where the new mark was and sent the oddest sensation through her body. It was nothing like when Drake touched her before, or like anything that she had ever felt before from anyone. His fingers had traced along the body of the dragonfly before he traced down her arm and he dropped his arm back to his side. His face was twisted into a mix of emotion, his eyes were somewhat sad, but there was also a trace of a smile.“I told you,” Drake said as he finally took his gaze from Calandra’s shoulder and looked up at Jarreth.Jarreth just nodded. “I’ll take it from here, Drake. You’ve done enough damage I’m sure,” he said coldly.Drake nodded back. “As will you,” he said before he turned on his heels and walked away from them.   a Rafflecopter giveaway

GIVEAWAY: FAR-SEER by Robert J. Sawyer

* Join GO READ.COM! and start earning LitCoins towards free books! * $200 CASH CREEPTACULAR GIVEAWAY - Ends 10/31  * SPOOKTACULAR GIVEAWAY HOP - Lots of Prizes! - Ends 10/31 * Win a copy of SWING VOTE by Donna K. Weaver - Ends 10/31 * Myths, Mischief & Magic - FREE FANTASY E-BOOKS! - Ends 10/31  ______________________________


Far-SeerThe Quintaglio Ascension Book 1by Robert J. SawyerGenre: SciFi Fantasy 
Sixty-five million years ago, aliens transplanted Earth's dinosaurs to another world. Now, intelligent saurians -- the Quintaglios -- have emerged. Afsan, the Quintaglio counterpart of Galileo, must convince his people of the truth about their place in the universe before astronomical forces rip the dinosaurs' new home apart.
The Face of God is what every young saurian learns to call the immense, glowing object which fills the night sky on the far side of the world. Young Afsan is privileged, called to the distant Capital City to apprentice with Saleed the court astrologer. But when the time comes for Afsan to make his coming-of-age pilgrimage, to gaze upon the Face of God, his world is changed forever- for what he sees will test his faith... and may save his world from disaster!
Add to Goodreads Amazon* B&N* Kobo
**Read an excerpt HERE!**

Fossil HunterThe Quintaglio Ascension Book 2
Toroca, a Quintaglio geologist, is under attack for his controversial new theory of evolution. But the origins of his people turn out to be more complex than even he imagined, for he soon discovers the wreckage of an ancient starship -- a relic of the aliens who transplanted Earth's dinosaurs to this solar system. Now Toroca must convince Emperor Dybo that evolution is true; otherwise, the territorial violence the Quintaglios inherited from their tyrannosaur ancestors will destroy the last survivors of Earth's prehistoric past.

Add to Goodreads Amazon* B&N* Kobo
**Read an excerpt HERE!**

Foreigner The Quintaglio Ascension Book 3
In Far-Seer and Fossil Hunter, we met the Quintaglios, a race of intelligent dinosaurs (evolved descendants of dinosaurs rescued in prehistory from Earth), and learned of the threat to their very existence. Now they must quickly advance from a culture equivalent to our Renaissance to the point where they can leave their planet.


While the Quintaglios rush to develop space travel, the discovery of a second species of intelligent dinosaurs rocks their most fundamental beliefs. Meanwhile, blind Afsan -- the Quintaglio Galileo -- undergoes the newfangled treatment of psychoanalysis, throwing everything he thought he knew about his violent people into a startling new light.

Add to Goodreads Amazon* B&N* Kobo
**Read an excerpt HERE!**


Robert J. Sawyer — called "the dean of Canadian science fiction" by  The Ottawa Citizen  and "just about the best science-fiction writer out there these days" by  The Denver Rocky Mountain News  — is one of only eight writers in history (and the only Canadian) to win all three of the science-fiction field's top honors for best novel of the year: the World Science Fiction Society's Hugo Award, which he won in 2003 for his novel  Hominids ;the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America's Nebula Award, which he won in 1996 for his novel  The Terminal Experiment ;and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, which he won in 2006 for his novel  Mindscan .According to the US trade journal  Locus , Rob is the #1 all-time worldwide leader in number of award wins as a science fiction or fantasy novelist. Recent honors include the first-ever Humanism in the Arts Award from Humanist Canada, the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal from the Governor General of Canada, the Hal Clement Award for Best Young Adult Novel of the Year (for  Watch ), and a Lifetime Achievement Aurora Award from the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association — the first such award given to an author in thirty years, and only the fourth such ever bestowed.The 2009-2010 ABC TV series  FlashForward  was based on his novel of the same name, and Rob was a scriptwriter for that series. Maclean's: Canada's Weekly Newsmagazine  says, "By any reckoning, Sawyer is among the most successful Canadian authors ever," and  The New York Times  calls him "a writer of boundless confidence and bold scientific extrapolation." The Canadian publishing trade journal  Quill & Quire  named Rob one of "the thirty most influential, innovative, and just plain powerful people in Canadian publishing" (the only other authors making the list were Margaret Atwood and Douglas Coupland).Rob's novels are top-ten national mainstream bestsellers in Canada, appearing on the  Globe and Mail  and  Maclean's bestsellers' lists, and they've hit #1 on the science-fiction bestsellers' lists published by  Locus , Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.uk, and Audible.com. His twenty-three novels include  Red Planet Blues ,  Triggers ,  Calculating God , and the "WWW" trilogy of  Wake ,  Watch , and  Wonder , each volume of which separately won the  Aurora Award  — Canada's top honor in science fiction — for Best Novel of the Year.Rob — who holds honorary doctorates from the  University of Winnipeg  and  Laurentian University  — has taught writing at the University of Toronto, Ryerson University, Humber College, and The Banff Centre. He has been Writer-in-Residence at the Richmond Hill (Ontario) Public Library, the Kitchener (Ontario) Public Library, the Toronto Public Library's  Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation and Fantasy , Berton House in Dawson City, the Canadian Light Sourcesynchrotron, and the Odyssey Workshop.Rob has given talks at hundreds of venues including the  Library of Congress  and the National Library of Canada, and beenkeynote speaker at dozens of events in places as diverse as Los Angeles, Boston, Tokyo, Beijing, and Barcelona. He was born in Ottawa in 1960, and now lives just west of Toronto.

Website* Blog * Facebook* Twitter * Amazon* Goodreads

Follow the tour HEREfor exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

BOOK REVIEW: DEVIL'S POCKET by John Dixon

DEVIL'S POCKET
John Dixon
Gallery Books
Ages 14+


With a chip in his head and hundreds more throughout his body, sixteen-year-old Carl Freeman was turned from an orphan with impulse control issues into a super-soldier. Forced into the mercenary Phoenix Force group, he begins to fear he’ll never escape. Sent to a volcanic island to fight for them, he’ll compete in a combat tournament that awards teens with survival for merciless brutality. But just when all looks lost, he spies a friendly face…and possibly a way out.

MY REVIEW:

I read DEVIL'S POCKET for my book club. It was selected because it won the Bram Stoker Award (young adult division). I didn't realize it was the sequel to Dixon's PHOENIX ISLAND, which also won the award. But that was fine because the book stood solidly on its own.

The protagonist, Carl, has been altered to become a killing machine. But he doesn't want to kill. So when he's sent with a team of three other experiences fighters to compete in the Funeral Games, a secretive extreme MMA match funded by the mysterious Few, Carl is determined to win without taking a single life.

But then he runs into an old friend, Octavia, who has been sent to the games as a spy using her own superhuman abilities to uncover the Few's identities, Carl soon gets swept into a mission broader and more dangerous than he could imagine.

I got hooked into this story right from the start. Dixon's writing is bold, the plot an edgy mix of grit and technology. Definitely a page-turner with plenty of surprises. Dixon was a boxer, and his descriptions of the fighting is so realistic that you could feel the skin splitting, the bones breaking. And yet I would not say the violence is graphic. He describes what is necessary to the story and nothing more.

My favorite thing about DEVIL'S POCKET is that it is a clean read. No profanity. No sex. I would feel comfortable giving this to my own teens to read. This is just top notch entertainment here, a fully satisfying read.



CONTENT RATING:

Profanity: None
Sexuality: None
Violence: High

GIVEAWAY: TAINTED CURE by Ashley Fontainne

* Join GO READ.COM! and start earning LitCoins towards free books! _________________________

Tainted CureThe Rememdium Series Book 1by Ashley FontainneGenre: Post-apocalyptic, SciFi
Scientists attempted to find a cure for addiction. They failed.


Dr. Everett Berning, a leading researcher into the causes of addiction in the brain, spent ten years of his life dedicated to one thing: finding the cure. Recruited after a strange encounter with the enigmatic Dr. Roberta Flint, Director of Research on Code Name: Rememdium, Dr. Berning is sent to work in a secret lab as part of the research team.

When the moment the scientists waited on for years arrives, Dr. Flint and her team are ecstatic. 
Unfortunately, not everyone in the world feels the same way.
Benito San Nicholas isn't ready to give up his lucrative business. When the news of a cure arrives on his doorstep from a crooked informant, Benito enlists the help of other drug lords from around the world to stop the cure from hitting the streets and destroying their livelihoods.
What happens next ends up uniting the globe--just not the way society ever intended or hoped.

“Tainted Cure is a huge success on different levels. First, the story is original, well thought-out, and brilliantly accomplished. It’s not unusual to read books with dangerous products falling into the wrong hands, but what happens when a good product falls into the wrong hands? The characters are lovely and engaging, and readers will feel inclined to connect with Dr. Everett Berning and the enigmatic Roberta Flint. Benito is the epitome of evil, a greedy character that readers will hate. Third, the pace is fast and there are so many surprises and twists to keep readers turning the pages. Ashley Fontainne has crafted an intriguing story that starts with a bang and ends on a very high note. You can’t help but fall for this author’s beautiful prose, her complex characters, and the oh-so-entertaining read.” - Romuald Dzemo for Readers’ Favorite
Add to GoodreadsAmazon* B&N* Apple * Kobo* Audible



Tainted RealityThe Rememdium Series Book 2
DR. EVERETT BERNING achieved his life’s work by discovering a cure for drug addiction. Unfortunately, the formula was stolen and fell into the hands of the enemy.


DRUG LORDS from around the world unknowingly released the altered, deadly formula into their supply, affecting millions across the globe.

WITHIN FORTY-EIGHT HOURS, the entire planet is thrown into chaos as the disease spreads.
REGINA PARKER, Chief of Police of the tiny town of Rockport, Arkansas, isn’t willing to let the military kill thousands of innocent people in a rush to contain the outbreak. She leads a small contingent of survivors on a dangerous quest to keep her town safe from the soldiers and the dead.
WILL DR. BERNING be able to isolate the contagion and find a way to reverse it, or is it too late to save humanity from the tainted cure? How far will Chief Parker go to save the lives of others as the world collapses around them?

Add to GoodreadsAmazon* B&N* Apple * Kobo* Audible

Tainted FutureThe Rememdium Series Book 3
Everything they know is gone. The old world obliterated in less than forty-eight hours. They soon discover they aren’t alone, and other dangers besides the undead lurk in the forests. The new law of the land: kill or be killed


Dr. Everett Berning and his team seek refuge in the underground lab in the Ozark Mountains. The first week after the collapse of civilization, those who made it out alive struggle against the odds to survive.

Only a handful escaped the devastation in their hometown of Malvern, Arkansas, and they grapple with the new reality. Tired, frightened, and mourning the loss of loved ones, they attempt to regroup and cope with the life-altering changes.
When one suffers a debilitating injury, they are thrust into a tenuous relationship with Dr. Berning’s group. Other survivors battle the odds as they flee treacherous cities destroyed by the government and crawling with reanimated corpses.
Unfortunately, they all are about to discover the roaming dead aren’t the only threat they face. As the world plummets into darkness, things will never be the same. Ever.

Add to GoodreadsAmazon* B&N * Apple* Kobo * Audible


Award-winning and International bestselling author Ashley Fontainne enjoys stories that immerse the reader deep into the human psyche and the monsters lurking within each of us. She writes in numerous genres including mystery, suspense, horror, sci-fi and sometimes poetry.


Ashley lives in Arkansas with her husband and is the proud mother of one son and three daughters.

Website* Facebook * Twitter * Google+* Instagram * Pinterest * Amazon* Goodreads

Follow the tour HEREfor exclusive content and a giveaway!
a Rafflecopter giveaway