Sarai Henderson's Blog, page 241

#Yalit #Giveaway

YALit Giveaway Event!A bunch of authors who got together to bring you a YOUNG ADULT Big Box of Paperbacks Giveaway! One lucky winner is going to win FIFTY (50) Young Adult Paperback Books! How’s that for an epic Book-Lover’s Prize?!THIS BOX OF BOOKS IS VALUED AT OVER $500! And this giveaway is open worldwide! Our first giveaway went to a winner in ROMANIA–and yes, we’re willing to pay the insane shipping on this oversized, overweight package to get the prize to WHOEVER wins!—Here's a sneak peek from a couple of the sponsors: Adrenaline Rush by Cindy M. Hogan As I hurtled toward my destination at 500 miles an hour, I pulled out a notebook, placed it on the shiny mahogany table in front of me, and scribbled a quick to-do list. Pick out an outfit. Get folders and notebooks. Switch into fourth period drama. I chewed on the end of my pen. Oh yeah—just one more thing. Get kidnapped.
According to my pre-mission briefing, kidnappings were up in the States by five percent over the last five years. The significance of which didn’t hit me until I found that the statistics for kidnappings had remained static for a good thirty years. The spike caught the attention of the FBI, and they put their best men on it. The problem? Right when they thought they’d discovered the pattern of the kidnappers, it seemed to change.
We hit some turbulence, and the force of it pulled me out of my reverie. I sucked in a deep breath, my hands resting on the soft leather side arms of my big comfortable seat as the Gulfstream jet jumped. I let the rollercoaster feeling wash over me like a wave, forcing myself to enjoy every last tingle. I only had this flight and a few hours tonight to assume my new thrill-seeking alias—the one that would lure the kidnappers and save the day before the pattern changed again. I might as well make the most of it.
 
Chosen Wolf (Curse of the Moon #2) ExcerptThe full moon inched higher in the night sky, growing bigger and brighter by the moment. One by one, the members of the pack ran behind the Moonhaven mansion to remove their clothes before they tore to shreds as their bodies turned from men to wolves. Howls sounded in the distance.
Toby squeezed my hand, holding my gaze. “Maybe this will be the month you can finally shift again, Victoria.”
Sharp pains ran through my body. My right hip cracked. I bit my tongue, trying not to cry out in pain. My skin felt on fire as fur tried to poke through, but couldn’t.
His face tensed, a pained look in his eyes. “Are you shifting?”
I shook my head. There was nothing normal about this, and it was proving to be more difficult and painful than my other months of un-shifts. Each one grew worse than the last.
Toby scooped me up, carried me inside, and helped me onto my bed. “I can’t keep my wolf inside any longer. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.” I fought to keep my voice steady. Tears threatened.
He brushed hair from my face and kissed my forehead. “Ziamara’s upstairs sleeping. She said to wake her if you need anything.”
“I’ll be fine.” I grimaced, the pain nearly choking me.
Toby cried out and the sound of ripping fabric tore through the room. He spun around and dashed out the door. The back of his shirt had ripped, and fur poked through the split material.
I gripped a pillow, squeezing it as hard as I could to distract myself from the pain. It didn’t work, and the pillow exploded, filling the air with white feathers.
A loud pop sounded and then a horrific pain shot through my shoulders. I slumped down and screamed, unable to take the pain.
 
ENTER THE GIVEAWAY HERE!

Moribund by Genevieve Iseult Eldridge #BlogTour @GirlyEngine @Xpressoreads

Moribund
Genevieve Iseult Eldredge
(Circuit Fae, #1)
Published by: Monster House Books
Publication date: September 12th 2017
Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult

High school sophomore Syl Skye is an ordinary girl. At least, she’s trying to be. School photographer and all-around geek, she introverts hard and keeps her crush on sexy-hot glam-Goth star Euphoria on the down-low. But when a freak accident Awakens her slumbering power, Syl is forced to accept a destiny she never wanted—as the last sleeper-princess of the fair Fae.
Suddenly hunted by the dark Fae, Syl’s pretty sure things can’t get any worse. Until she discovers her secret crush, Euphoria, is really a dark Circuit Fae able to harness the killing magic in technology. Even worse, she’s been sent to destroy Syl. With mean girls and magic and dark Fae trying to kill her, it’ll take more than just “clap if you believe in fairies” to save Syl’s bacon—not to mention, her heart.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

Author Bio:
Genevieve Iseult Eldredge writes LGBTQ YA because as a young adult, she never had any lesbian heroes like her.
Now she brings together her love of LGBTQ literature, urban fantasy, young adult fiction, and the secret world of the Fae in her lesbian YA series, Circuit Fae--so that young adults of the LGBTQ community can have heroes that understand, that think and act, live and love like them.
GIE is also an MFA grad, a martial artist, a self-rescuing princess, and all-around strong female character. She’s multi-published, and in her role as an editor has helped hundreds of authors make their dream of being published a reality.
GIE believes in fairies (in fact, she’s clapping right now), true love (not “to blave”), and championing the often-unheard female voice. She might be using D&D figures to plot out an epic fight scene right now.
Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

Hold Fast by Kate Carter #BlogTour @Xpressoreads

Holdfast
Kate Carter
Publication date: December 14th 2016
Genres: Science Fiction, Thriller, Young Adult

Once they’d do anything to keep her safe. Now they’ll do anything to kill her.
The discovery of a genetically twisted corpse on her latest stepfather’s ranch in the Badlands of Forsaken triggers a desperate and brutal race against time for eighteen-year-old con artist Ariel Tesla when her loving stepbrothers are turned into monstrous killers with a single purpose: to hunt Ariel down and destroy her.
Running for her life, the one person she can turn to for help is the last person in the galaxy she can trust, former mark Hale Carrow. She needs a ship to get off the planet, fast; he wants revenge on the girl who broke his heart.
To save the family she never thought she wanted, she’s going to have to gamble on the boy she betrayed, or no-one’s life will ever be the same.
And hers will be over.

Goodreads / Amazon—EXCERPT:The human body can only handle so much stress. Ariel knew how this went. If she stopped, she wouldn’t be able to start again. She’d crash, and then she’d be at the mercy of anyone or anything that came along. Despite the danger of stopping, she found her steps slowing. It wasn’t, however, the exhausted halt she battled with every step, nor the jagged, stumbling, end-of-the-line finish she yearned for. It was a graceful, taut arrest of movement, up on the balls of her feet, body quivering, nerves screaming.
The mech shed was in sight, a shade beyond comfortable sprinting distance, dead ahead. She was out in the open, visible from every angle. Flat land stretched around her, rising to bluffs ahead and to her left. She turned, poised and scanning, all exhaustion forgotten.
A full circle sweep. Nothing. She stared over at the bluffs and jumped with a punch of sudden shock when a group of ferrokirrim broke over the ridge and bounded down the slope, scattering scree. A mother and her almost full-grown cubs, she registered. Heading right for her.
They’d take her down in a second. She’d be dead a second after that. In half an hour, she’d be a memory. She wasn’t ready to be a memory. She wasn’t ready for any of this, damn it. She bent her knees as they thundered her way, all the while thinking, What, are you going to wrestle them? There was nothing on the planet of Forsaken fiercer than a mother looking out for her cubs. Ariel braced.
They ran past her.
They ran right past, giving her a wide berth. She felt the mother’s eyes flick over her, dismiss her, then urge her cubs on with a spine-ruffling grunt.
Ariel straightened slowly, staring after them. They were running away from something.
What in hell would scare off a mother ferrokirrim?
A rock bounced down the scree slope.
Ariel counted the strikes. Three, then silence again. She did not want to turn and see what had knocked it loose. She didn’t have a choice. She turned.

Author Bio:
Kate Carter writes science fiction and fantasy, and lives in the UK. You can stay up to date with Kate's books through her Amazon author page.
Website / Amazon

#WeeklyMenu Week 185

Its now been two weeks since I sent my newest manuscript off the my publisher. I probably only have like ten more weeks to go before I hear back from them...

In other news, I started another series and I'm already on chapter three. It seems to be going well. More about that later.

Enjoy this weeks menu!

Monday- Beef Burritos 
Tuesday- Chicken Teriyaki 
Wednesday- Loaded Nachos
Thursday- Fiesta Pork Chops
Friday- Chicken Burrito Bowls
Saturday- Doritos Taco Salad
Sunday
- Avacado Tuna Melt

#Review - The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

Title: The Underground RailroadBy: Colson WhiteheadGenre: Historical FictionRelease Date: August 2nd, 2016Publisher: Doubleday Books
Summary from Goodreads: Cora is a slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia. Life is hellish for all the slaves but especially bad for Cora; an outcast even among her fellow Africans, she is coming into womanhood - where even greater pain awaits. When Caesar, a recent arrival from Virginia, tells her about the Underground Railroad, they decide to take a terrifying risk and escape. Matters do not go as planned and, though they manage to find a station and head north, they are being hunted.

In Whitehead's ingenious conception, the Underground Railroad is no mere metaphor - engineers and conductors operate a secret network of tracks and tunnels beneath the Southern soil. Cora and Caesar's first stop is South Carolina, in a city that initially seems like a haven - but the city's placid surface masks an insidious scheme designed for its black denizens. Even worse: Ridgeway, the relentless slave catcher, is close on their heels. Forced to flee again, Cora embarks on a harrowing flight, state by state, seeking true freedom.

As Whitehead brilliantly re-creates the unique terrors for black people in the pre-Civil War era, his narrative seamlessly weaves the saga of America from the brutal importation of Africans to the unfulfilled promises of the present day. The Underground Railroad is at once a kinetic adventure tale of one woman's ferocious will to escape the horrors of bondage and a shattering, powerful meditation on the history we all share.
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Review: I think with all the hype around this book, my expectations were too high. There was a lot about this book that rubbed me the wrong way. The writing had no depth. It was all tell and no show. The story lacked substance. I felt like it could have ended halfway through and the second half was just fluff to make the book long enough. There were secondary character stories that didn't seem to do much for the story and were confusing. I wanted an amazing historical fiction and what I got was a badly written letter. I gave this book two stars.

#Review - Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick

Title: Scrappy Little NobodyBy: Anna KendrickGenre: Non-FictionRelease Date: November 15th, 2016Publisher: Touchstone
Summary from Goodreads: A collection of humorous autobiographical essays by the Academy Award-nominated actress and star of Up in the Air and Pitch Perfect.

Even before she made a name for herself on the silver screen starring in films like Pitch Perfect, Up in the Air, Twilight, and Into the Woods, Anna Kendrick was unusually small, weird, and “10 percent defiant.”

At the ripe age of thirteen, she had already resolved to “keep the crazy inside my head where it belonged. Forever. But here’s the thing about crazy: It. Wants. Out.” In Scrappy Little Nobody, she invites readers inside her brain, sharing extraordinary and charmingly ordinary stories with candor and winningly wry observations.

With her razor-sharp wit, Anna recounts the absurdities she’s experienced on her way to and from the heart of pop culture as only she can—from her unusual path to the performing arts (Vanilla Ice and baggy neon pants may have played a role) to her double life as a middle-school student who also starred on Broadway to her initial “dating experiments” (including only liking boys who didn’t like her back) to reviewing a binder full of butt doubles to her struggle to live like an adult woman instead of a perpetual “man-child.”

Enter Anna’s world and follow her rise from “scrappy little nobody” to somebody who dazzles on the stage, the screen, and now the page—with an electric, singular voice, at once familiar and surprising, sharp and sweet, funny and serious (well, not that serious). 
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Review: I absolutely loved reading this book. It was so funny. Anna Kendrick talks about her life before fame, what it was like during her first award show and snippets from when she was filming Into the Woods. That was my favorite part. I gave this review five stars.

#Review - The Falconer by Elizabeth May

Title: The FalconerBy: Elizabeth MayGenre: Fantasy /FairiesRelease Date: May 6th, 2014Publisher: Chronicle Books
Summary from Goodreads: She's a stunner.
Edinburgh, 1844. Eighteen-year-old Lady Aileana Kameron, the only daughter of the Marquess of Douglas, has everything a girl could dream of: brains, charm, wealth, a title—and drop-dead beauty.

She's a liar.
But Aileana only looks the part of an aristocratic young lady. she's leading a double life: She has a rare ability to sense the sìthíchean—the faery race obsessed with slaughtering humans—and, with the aid of a mysterious mentor, has spent the year since her mother died learning how to kill them.

She's a murderer.
Now Aileana is dedicated to slaying the fae before they take innocent lives. With her knack for inventing ingenious tools and weapons—from flying machines to detonators to lightning pistols—ruthless Aileana has one goal: Destroy the faery who destroyed her mother.

She's a Falconer.
The last in a line of female warriors born with a gift for hunting and killing the fae, Aileana is the sole hope of preventing a powerful faery population from massacring all of humanity. Suddenly, her quest is a lot more complicated. She still longs to avenge her mother's murder—but she'll have to save the world first.

The first volume of a trilogy from an exciting new voice in young adult fantasy, this electrifying thriller combines romance and action, steampunk technology and Scottish lore in a deliciously addictive read.
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Review: The book started off a little slow for me and I have to admit I was a little shocked when mechanical things were thrown into the mix. I wasn't expecting that. All together though, the writing was strong and the story was interesting once it got going. I love anything to do with the Fae so this was a good read. Three stars for The Falconer.

#Review - Obsidian Sky by Amy Braun

Title: Obsidian SkyBy: Amy BraunGenre: Steam Punk / DystopianRelease Date: February 7th, 2017Publisher: 
Summary from Goodreads: The final struggle against the Hellions has arrived. A trapped engineer and a desperate marauder scramble to fight an enemy with unspeakable power on its side. Time is running out, and one world will be destroyed…
After sacrificing herself to save the lives of her friends and family, Claire Abernathy struggles to outwit her Hellion captors. They torment and terrify her into working on a weapon with the sole purpose of obliterating the world, friends, and love she has struggled to save. If Claire has any chance of saving those she loves, she must delve deeper into the Hellion world, and witness nightmares she could never imagine.

In Westraven, Sawyer Kendric is desperate to find the woman he loves. To do so, he must finally embrace his family’s atrocious past and heal the wounds it has caused. He will be forced to make new allies, uncover secrets that change all he knows, and find the courage to lead a ragtag crew into the darkest, deadliest battle of their lives.

Claire and Sawyer fight to save their broken world in the final installment of the epic DARK SKY trilogy. 

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Review: Amy Braun has brought an explosive and fitting end to her Dark Sky series. I loved this ending, and though I'm sad to see it go, I will always be rooting for my favorite buccaneers of the skies.

This book mainly follows Claire and Sawyer as they learn to deal with their feelings for each other all while trying to save the world from the invading Hellions. Claire, who is being held captive on the Hellion ship, has a big undertaking, when she devises a plan to blow up their leader and the power that he uses to create his armies. Sawyer is desperate to save the woman that he loves, and face the brother that only has loathing for him. Its an epic battle of whits and excitement.

I'm so glad to be a part of this wonderful world. Five stars for Amy Braun's Obsidian Sky!

DARK SKY SERIES GIVEAWAYa Rafflecopter giveaway

Third Chronicles of Illumination by C.A. Pack #BlogTour #Playlist @CarolPack

Third Chronicles of Illumination
by C.A. Pack
Genre: YA Paranormal/Fantasy
Release date: February 7th 2017
Artiqua Press

Summary from Goodreads:

In book eight of the Library of Illumination where books literally come to life, a silent "Oops!" hangs in the air. Teenagers Johanna Charette and Jackson Roth have allowed a sneaky shapeshifter to slip right through their fingers. The good news is: he’s now trapped between the layers of time and space with their Terrorian nemesis, Nero 51. The bad news is: the Terrorian still wants to control all the Libraries of Illumination, while the shapeshifter wants to dominate everything else, and they’re doing everything possible to break free of their constraints.

Who knows how long the Illumini system will remain safe? It’s taking a toll on Johanna and Jackson, who are smack in the center of everything as they struggle to protect the libraries’ legacy. Can you spell s-t-r-e-s-s? The pressure is driving a stake between the teens, and their mercurial romance could be over before it has truly begun.

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Second Chronicles of Illumination on Goodreads

About the Author
C. A. Pack is the author of the Library of Illumination series of YA paranormal fantasy novelettes, along with Chronicles: The Library of Illumination (2014), The Second Chronicles of Illumination (2015) and The Third Chronicles of Illumination (2017).

Pack also writes for a general audience. Her first novel, Code Name: Evangeline—is an historical spy thriller which takes place in the 1930's. The author followed it up with Evangeline's Ghost—a fantasy about the death of that same spy. She recently completed work on Evangeline's Ghost: Houdini, and is currently working on Evangeline's Ghost: The Bridge.

Pack is an award winning journalist from New York who worked as an anchor/reporter and educator (she considers herself the fairy-godmother of telvision news reporters)—and has written for WNBC, LI News Tonight and News 12 Long Island. She also worked on PBS documentaries, radio and television commercials and created and produced a pilot for a news show focusing solely on marriage and wedding trends.

She's a past president of the Press Club of Long Island and a proud member of International Thriller Writers and Sisters in Crime. Pack has been a speaker or panelist for organizations such as Women in Communications, Fair Media Council, and the Society of Professional Journalists.

The author lives with her husband and two picky parrots “on” Long Island, New York.

Author Links:
Website│Goodreads│Twitter

Blog Tour Organized by:
YA Bound Book Tours



Third Chronicles of Illumination Playlist The Third Chronicles of Illumination is about a corrupt library curator on another world who wants to control knowledge in the universe by destroying all the books in the Libraries of Illumination on twelve different worlds. But it’s also a love story about teenagers Johanna Charette and Jackson Roth who love each other, but have let the responsibilities of their positions in the library and pressures from the outside world come between them. This is the playlist for the Third Chronicles of Illumination. Magic Coldplay Eve of Destruction Barry McGuire Listen Beyoncé Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves Eurythmics Tuesday Afternoon Moody Blues Sorry Justin Bieber Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright Bob Dylan Revolution The Beatles Bad Blood Taylor Swift When I Was Your Man Bruno Mars Fight Song Rachel Platten Send My Love (to your new lover) Adele Sounds of Silence Simon and Garfunkel Collide Howie Day Die for You Starset After the Fall Two Steps from Hell

Clan by Realm Lovejoy #BlogTour @realmlovejoy @Xpressoreads

Clan
Realm Lovejoy
Publication date: November 12th 2013
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult

“Highly enjoyable, thought-provoking sci-fi by an author with considerable talent and promise.”–Kirkus Reviews
____
Clans are Unity.
No variation. No deviation.
On Clades, to be a Clan is to be an exact copy. A perfect society cloning themselves to survive, even as the zombielike Frags threaten to overrun them on an unforgiving planet.
Clan 1672 (privately known as Twain) was never supposed to survive the Incubation Tank. But he did. Illegally. He is different from the other Clans.
A secret that could destroy him.

Goodreads / Amazon / Audible*Now available on audio!*—EXCERPT:A glitch. Being a glitch was somewhat bearable, but an intentional glitch was not. Twigg had told Father Krume and Brisbane that Twain had been an accident. Twain wanted to believe that he had been locked up because Twigg had wanted to protect him, not because Twigg had wanted to cage him like some sort of sick scientific experiment. All those years he had spent, hidden—agonized by solitude…
“Son.” His sponsor stood at the door. “Mandy reported to me that you’ve thrown away dinner two nights in a row. Don’t tell me you’ve got nausea again.”
Twain eyed his sponsor’s silhouette. “Father, are there other mutants besides us?”
“Why would you ask that?”
“We were wondering—someone mentioned that there were more.”
Twigg eyed him sharply. “Who told you this? I knew the Contribution Center was dangerous for you…”
“We didn’t catch his number.”
“I have never seen another mutant and neither have you. Are you sure you didn’t get the Clan’s number?”
Something about the tone of Twigg’s voice gave Twain the feeling that he shouldn’t talk about it anymore. “We honestly don’t know. We’re all the same after all.”

Author Bio:
Realm Lovejoy is an American writer and an artist. She grew up in both Washington State and the Japanese Alps of Nagano, Japan. Currently she lives in Seattle and works as an artist in the video game industry. CLAN is her first book. You can find out more about her and her book at realmlovejoy.com
Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

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