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Friday, October 31, 2014

EMBERS by Karen Ann Hopkins - Tour Stop and Giveaway


I'm really thrilled to be able to share Karen Ann Hopkins's newest book with you, EMBERS, the first book of The Wings of War series. Karen writes fantastic stories with complex characters and this one is sure to be a hit. I've started reading Embers and let me just say, the opening is filled with so much tension and suspense, that I can't read it fast enough. I'll have my review posted very soon.



EMBERS
(The Wings of War #1)
by Karen Ann Hopkins
Publication Date: October 21, 2014
Pages: 357
Purchase: Amazon 


Synopsis

There are descendants of angels walking among us. Ember is one of them. And she may be the only hope mankind has as the rapture approaches and evils rises.

Embers is an epic paranormal adventure about a seventeen year old girl who discovers that she's immune to fire and any other injury when she’s in a horrific car crash that kills her parents. Following a violent episode with her aunt's boyfriend, Ember flees Ohio to live with an old relative in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. Ember's exuberance at escaping a bad home life soon turns to trepidation when she finds out that she's a Watcher, a descendant of angels. While Ember learns about her heritage, and the powers that go along with it, she strikes up friendships with two teenagers who live in a frightening walled compound in the forest. Inexplicitly drawn to one of the young men in particular, an impossible romance develops. But it is cut short when Ember discovers that her new friends are fighting on the opposite side of a war, one that’s been raging between two factions of Watchers for thousands of years. When the compound’s inhabitants threaten the townspeople, Ember takes action, sealing her fate in the ancient battle of good versus evil, and the grayness in between. Ember is up to the challenge, until she realizes that she isn’t only fighting for the lives of the locals and the souls of her new friends. She also might be one of the few champions who will make a stand for all of mankind as the rapture approaches and the end of days begin.

Embers is a dark and gritty YA novel that’s the first book in the series, The Wings of War.

 
About Karen Ann Hopkins:

A native of New York State, Karen Ann Hopkins now lives with her family on a farm in northern Kentucky, where her neighbors in all directions are members of a strict Amish community. Her unique perspective became the inspiration for the story of star-crossed lovers Rose and Noah. When she’s not homeschooling her kids, giving riding lessons or tending to a menagerie of horses, goats, peacocks, chickens, ducks, rabbits, dogs and cats, she is dreaming up her next romantic novel.


 Enter for a chance to win Karen's books!!

There are several giveaways accompanying this tour. One winner will receive a $100 gift card, another will receive a signed Temptation Series book set, including Temptation, Belonging & Forever, and ten lucky winners will receive an eCopy of EMBERS!

Please enter via the Rafflecopter form. Giveaway is open internationally for the gift card and eCopies and US/Canada for the book set! 


Complete Tour
hosted by Kismet Book Touring
Make sure to stop by and find out what other readers are saying about EMBERS  
Monday, October 20th Unabridged Bookshelf & Book Briefs 
Wednesday, October 22nd Sweet Southern Home & Tween 2 Teen Book Reviews 
Friday, October 24th A Dream Within A Dream & Becoming Books 

Monday, October 27th The Avid Reader & Lost in Ever After 
Tuesday, October 28th Lose Time Reading & So Bookalicious 
Wednesday, October 29th Such a Novel Idea & Reading Addict 
Thursday, October 30th Curling Up With A Good Book & Coming at YA 

Monday, November 3rd GenGen's Book Blog & A Bookish Escape 
Tuesday, November 4th Sassy Book Lovers & Bittersweet Enchantment 
Wednesday, November 5th Nay's Pink Bookshelf & The Nocturnal Library 
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Thursday, October 30, 2014

CAMP FORGET-ME-NOT by J.K. Rock: Excerpt and Giveaway


Camp Forget-Me-Not
(Camp Boyfriend #3)

by J.K. Rock

Young Adult Contemporary Romance

Released October 7, 2014

Published by Spencer Hill  Press
About the Book:

Playing it safe and fitting in may have rocketed Kayla West into the In crowd at Camp Juniper Point, but it's left her lonely. The only person she's ever been herself with was her former best friend, Nick, an outsider that pushed her to join the most popular girls cabin two years ago. Too bad being a Diva meant pressure to break up with Nick. Of course, Kayla had her reasons, but Nick can never know the real one. She always thought she'd forget him one day and move on. Until he returns to camp a super-hot Olympian snowboarder. Now, every girl wants him and Nick seems determined to show her what a mistake she made. Or at least, she thought that's what he wanted. But when Nick starts sending her private notes--just like he used to--she wonders what kind of game he's playing. Nick's attention is making it tougher to stay in the background and play in safe, forcing Kayla to make a decision--stay on the sidelines and get overlooked? Or take a chance on trusting Nick and, maybe... herself.
Amazon | Barnes and Noble


EXCERPT

“I’m so sorry, Nick. I never meant for you to—”
His lips captured mine, cutting off the rest of what I needed to say with a tender, breathless kiss that left me lightheaded. The world around me seemed to sway, and I clung to him, needing the reassurance of his firm arms to tell me that this was real. Happening. Not a dream I’d wake up from when the alarm buzzed. No. The hard muscles beneath my fingertips responded to my touch, tightening as I traced the curve of his biceps.
“You’re so beautiful,” he murmured when he pulled away and gazed into my eyes, his pupils large and rimmed by hazel.
“So are you,” I whispered and pushed aside the dark hair that had fallen across his brow.
He captured my hand in his own and pressed a fierce kiss against my palm, his gaze never leaving mine. “I’ve wanted to kiss you. Since that night in the kitchen.” He laughed and looked down self-consciously. “Since we came here three years ago.”
“Me too.”
With a groan, he pulled me across his lap and kissed me again, and I’d never been so lost so fast. Pleasure at making up with Nick combined with all the years I’d missed him. It felt like I couldn’t kiss or pull him close enough.
His lips parted mine, the increased pressure delicious and frenzied. Tremors skimmed across my nerves, my body awash with sensation after sensation, each more incredible than the last. I stroked the side of his lean jaw and kissed him back. Every emotion I’d held back poured out of me, and I twisted closer to him, restless for more of him. We’d waited so long and now, after all this time, here we were—our bodies, minds, and hearts in perfect sync. Joy flooded me. We’d found our way back to each other at last.
“Kayla! Nick!”
Nick stopped at the sudden noise, his eyes meeting mine.
“It’s Josh.” In one swift motion, Nick had me off his lap and back beside him on the log.
“What?” It was the best I could manage. How the hell was Nick suddenly so in control? Thinking straight? Had he been as affected by our kiss as I was?
“It’s Josh. He’s coming to make sure we’re all right.” Nick pulled down my T-shirt so that it no longer revealed my stomach.
I shook my head to clear it. “And are we? All right?” Suddenly I had my doubts, given the way he’d shoved me aside the minute someone else could see us. My heart pounded so loud I could hardly hear anything else, but then, a crashing noise sounded nearby and I caught a glimpse of Josh’s blue shirt as he approached.
“You two okay?” called Josh.
Nick helped me to my feet, his touch feeling too light. Casual. The quick side-to-side and up-and down movement he gave my ankle, too impersonal. When I didn’t wince, he called, “We’re all right.”
And with that, he bounded into the forest, intercepting Josh before we were caught together. Or so I hoped. But a second later, laughter boomed and I cringed, imagining Nick joking with Josh about me. Bragging even. Had I been the object of Nick’s competitive side today? A challenge to win? 


J. K. Rock is the pseudonym for YA writing partners - and sisters-in-law - Joanne & Karen Rock. Although they started out sharing an annual shopping trip, they ended up discussing their favorite films and books, joining the same book club and talking about writing... a lot. Their debut novel, Camp Boyfriend, is the first in a three-book series plotted during family pool parties. Their creative partnership is unique in that they enjoy passing a book back and forth, each adding a chapter and fine-tuning the chapter before. Years of friendship has yielded a shared voice and vision for their work that makes writing a pleasure.



Find J.K. Rock online:
Goodreads / Author Website / Series Website  




GIVEAWAY
(hosted by authors)

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Tuesday, October 28, 2014

MORE THAN EXES by Elizabeth Briggs: Teasers and Giveaway



More Than Exes
by Elizabeth Briggs
(Chasing The Dream #0.5)
Publication date: October 28th 2014
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult
 
Synopsis:
 
Keyboardist Kyle Cross may look like a bad boy with his tattoos and piercings, but he’s really the good guy who’s always stuck fixing his band’s problems and never gets the girl. His band is competing in a college Battle of the Bands, but when their bassist doesn’t show, Kyle must track her down with the help of the person he least expects: his ex-girlfriend Alexis Monroe.

Kyle hasn’t seen Alexis since she dumped him in high school, and she’s dropped her preppy image for fiery red hair and a bold new attitude to match. With only hours before his band goes on stage, Kyle has to be a little bad if he wants to win both the Battle and the girl he’s never gotten over. But when their old problems resurface, the good guy might just get his heart broken all over again.
 

Purchase

TEASERS!!



Follow Elizabeth Briggs
 
 
 AUTHOR BIO
 
Elizabeth Briggs is a full-time geek who writes books for teens and adults. She plays the guitar, mentors at-risk teens, and volunteers with a dog rescue group. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and a pack of small, fluffy dogs.




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Thursday, October 23, 2014

FORBIDDEN: Trailer and HUGE Pre-Order Giveaway


On November 4th, HarperCollins unveils Forbidden, a seductive YA debut from award-winning middle grade author Kimberley Griffiths Little. Forbidden transports readers back in time to the deadly deserts and sweltering heat of Ancient Mesopotamia for a tale of danger, duty, and forbidden love. Jayden is on the brink of womanhood and betrothed to her tribe’s prince, cold-hearted Horeb. But when tragedy strikes, Jayden meets Kadesh, a mysterious visitor from the south who makes Jayden doubt everything she knows. Torn between loyalty to her tribe and the chance to escape her fate, Jayden must make a choice that will change her life forever.

Kimberley is also offering a HUGE preorder giveaway from October 6th to November 4th (release day!) to celebrate. 

See below for full details on how to enter.

TO ENTER:
  • You must preorder Forbidden through an online retailer or your local bookstore, then email a photo of your receipt to forbiddengiveaway@gmail.com.
  • Fill out the rafflecopter below
  • US/Canada Only
  • Ends at midnight EST on November 3, 2014
  • Optional entries: share the trailer on your own site or social media, follow Kimberley on twitter, and tweet about the giveaway (can be repeated daily for extra entries!)
  • Winners will be announced and contacted November 4th (release day!)
  • If the winner does not respond with their mailing address within one week, a new winner will be chosen.
PRIZES:


(1) GRAND PRIZE WINNER: 1. NEWLY RELEASED Kindle Fire HD6 Tablet with 6" HD Display, Wi-Fi, Front and Rear Cameras, 8 GB -- choose your color! (Black, Magenta, White, Citron, or Cobalt) 2. GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS by Rae Carson 3. CHAOS OF STARS by Kiersten White 4. Satin Belly Dance Skirt 5. Belly Dance 150-Coin Hip Scarf 6. Red Silk Veil (not pictured) 7. Red Middle Eastern Earrings 8. Belly dance DVD: Sensual Belly Dance with Blanca, a professional dancer (technique, choreography, and performances) 9. "Will YOU risk it all?" button (not pictured) 10. Set of 10 Book Club Cards 11. Jeweled bookmark (not pictured)


(1) SECOND PLACE WINNER:
1. GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS by Rae Carson
2. Red Middle Eastern Earrings
3. Red Silk Veil (not pictured)
4. Belly dance DVD: Sensual Belly Dance with Blanca, a professional dancer (technique, choreography, and performances)
5. "Will YOU risk it all?" button (not pictured)
6. Set of 10 Book Club Cards
7. Jeweled bookmark (not pictured)


(13) RUNNERS-UP WINNERS:
1. Red Middle Eastern Earrings
2. "Will YOU risk it all?" button (not pictured)
3. Set of 10 Book Club Cards
4. Jeweled bookmark (not pictured)
Good luck!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
a Rafflecopter giveaway
 
About Forbidden: In the unforgiving Mesopotamian desert where Jayden’s tribe lives, betrothal celebrations abound, and tonight it is Jayden’s turn to be honored. But while this union with Horeb, the son of her tribe’s leader, will bring a life of riches and restore her family’s position within the tribe, it will come at the price of Jayden’s heart.
Then a shadowy boy from the Southern Lands appears. Handsome and mysterious, Kadesh fills Jayden’s heart with a passion she never knew possible. But with Horeb’s increasingly violent threats haunting Jayden’s every move, she knows she must find a way to escape—or die trying.
With a forbidden romance blossoming in her heart and her family’s survival on the line, Jayden must embark on a deadly journey to save the ones she loves—and find a true love for herself.
Set against the brilliant backdrop of the sprawling desert, the story of Jayden and Kadesh will leave readers absolutely breathless as they defy the odds and risk it all to be together.

Follow Kimberley:
About Kimberley: Award-winning author Kimberley Griffiths Little was born in San Francisco, but now lives in New Mexico on the banks of the Rio Grande with her husband and their three sons. Her middle-grade novels, When the Butterflies Came, The Last Snake Runner, The Healing Spell, and Circle of Secrets, have been praised as “fast-paced and dramatic,” with “beautifully realized settings.” Kimberley adores anything old and musty with a secret story to tell. She’s stayed in the haunted tower room at Borthwick Castle in Scotland; sailed the Seine in Paris; ridden a camel in Petra, Jordan; shopped the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul; and spent the night in an old Communist hotel in Bulgaria. You can visit her online at www.kimberleygriffithslittle.com.



Share your thoughts on the trailer in the comments!
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Wednesday, October 22, 2014

GET HAPPY by Mary Amato: Review and Giveaway





Get Happy
by Mary Amato
Publication Date: October 28, 2014
Published by EgmontUSA
Pages: 256
Source: Publisher via Netgalley
Purchase Amazon / B&N / Indiebound









from Goodreads


In this poignant, realistic, contemporary YA by a state master list star, perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen and Gayle Forman, a young songwriter builds a substitute family with her friends in place of the broken family she grew up with.

A hip high school girl who loves music, writes songs, and is desperate for a ukelele, learns to her shock that her father did not abandon her years ago and has been trying to keep in touch. She begins to investigate him, only to discover that he has a new life with a new family, including the perfect stepdaughter, a girl who Minerva despises.

My Thoughts

 Get Happy is the first book that I have read by Mary Amato. The cover and title immediately caught my attention (I just noticed the sea horse on the cover as I am typing this, LOL, and it is very significant to the story), but it is the story that kept my attention. Amato gives readers an imperfect character who has a strained relationship with her mother, an absent father, but tries to make her own way the best that she can.

Minerva is a far from perfect character and she has a lot of family issues that permeates almost every aspect of who she is, but I want to get to know her. I want to see how she deals with her struggles. Amato shows versatility on how Minerva expresses herself - sometimes through humor, sometimes through song, and on occasion, by throwing a complete tantrum.

The friendships that Minerva has are strong and that is what I loved most about Get Happy. Reading the interactions between Fin and Minerva were hilarious - with their inside jokes, making the mundane humorous and their adoration for each other - it was obvious that they were best friends. I also like the introduction of Hayes to their friendship and reading how he began to fit into their lives becoming a trio. He is a bit of a mystery, and it was fun to get to know more about him.

 I loved to read all of the scenes with the Get Happy crew and how the Minerva, Fin, Hayes, and Cassie interacted with all of the families. And it was funny to find out what Get Happy was really meant. I'll leave that to readers to discover for themselves.

There were so many times that I identified with Minerva and her feelings of neglect and her animosity toward her mother and even some of her peers. Sixteen year old me would have picked this book up in a heartbeat. Amato balances the serious and the silly in Get Happy and lets readers know that they are not alone. After finishing the book, there were some questions that I had that remained unanswered, but I genuinely liked reading this story and am excited to read more books by Mary Amato.


Disclaimer:  I received this e-ARC from EgmontUSA in exchange for my honest review.  I was not compensated in any way other than the e-ARC provided. Thoughts and opinions are my own.


 Mary Amato is an award-winning children's book author, songwriter, musician, puppeteer, and poet. She writes for children of all ages, and is beginning to focus on YA. Her first YA novel was Guitar Notes. Mary lives with her family outside Washington, DC, where she also performs regularly, singing and playing her own songs. Mary is a popular speaker and runs numerous workshops for teachers and students, including many on all aspects of creative writing, even songwriting. The author lives in Silver Spring, MD. You can visit her online at www.maryamato.com. 


Tomorrow's Stops


The publisher has generously donated a copy of Get Happy to giveaway here on my blog. Enter by Rafflecopter below. 

 Giveaway Details 
Prize donated by Publisher
Must be 16 years or Older to enter
U.S. addresses only
To enter, fill out Rafflecopter below
Giveaway ends October 31, 2014 

If I cannot verify an entry, that entry will not count.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
 
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Tuesday, October 21, 2014

DAMAGED by Amy Reed: Guest Post and Giveaway

I'm feeling pretty lucky today because I have Amy Reed here on the blog. Her fifth novel DAMAGED released earlier this month. She is here to share the books that made her fall in love with reading in writing. Find out what books inspired her to become a writer and then enter for a chance to win a copy of DAMAGED.
 
Welcome Amy!!!
 
I’ve been thinking about what made me want to be a writer, particularly what books I read that that made me fall in love with writing. The first book on this list would definitely be The Complete Poems: Anne Sexton, which I discovered at age thirteen, and the timing couldn’t have been better. Though I did not end up being a poet (trust me, you’re lucky—my poetry was horrible), Sexton’s poetry was the first time I saw myself in something I was reading. She was a sensitive and deeply wounded woman, and I immediately related. I think before that, I had only really read things by men that were about men. Or the things I read by women, particularly books for people my age, were so wholesome and squeaky clean I couldn’t relate. Sexton’s poetry was dark and confessional, perfect for a troubled kid like me. In reading her writing, I realized I could write too, that there was a place for my voice on the page, that writing could be a way to work through pain. During a very lonely time in my life, her words helped me feel less alone and inspired me to start writing my own.
            Another book that inspired me to write was Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen. I read this for the first time as a teenager and, like the work of Anne Sexton, I felt like it gave me permission to write, to tell my own story. It is Kaysen’s memoir of her commitment to a psychiatric hospital as a young woman, and I was blown away by how vulnerable the book was and how much I related to her feelings of being lost and trapped. The book taught me that it is brave to be vulnerable in writing, that giving yourself fully to the page is the purest form of truth. I realized that what I wanted was to write stories that move people; I wanted to make people feel.
            Other books that affected me in similar ways when I was young are The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold, and Bastard Out of Carolina, by Dorothy Allison.
All these books are about young women in trouble, women who are hurting and are yearning for ways to heal. I guess that’s the kind of thing I needed to read during a certain time in my life, and it turned out to be the kind of thing I write about now. Who knows what would have happened to this lost kid if I hadn’t found those books when I needed them. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be a writer now. Maybe worse. Books have the power to change lives, and they definitely changed mine. I am honored and humbled by the opportunity to write books that hopefully do the same.


 
DAMAGED
by Amy Reed
Published by Simon Pulse
October 14, 2014
  384 Pages

 
About DAMAGED

Two teens must come to terms with their friend’s death—and her afterlife—in this gritty and realistic novel from the author of Beautiful, Clean, Crazy, and Over You.

When Kinsey’s best friend Camille dies in a car accident while she was behind the wheel, she shuts down completely, deciding that numbness is far better than mourning. She wants to be left alone during the last few weeks of high school, but Camille’s mysterious boyfriend Hunter, who was also in the car that night, has a different idea.

Despite all of Kinsey’s efforts, she can’t shake Camille, who begins haunting her in dreams. Sleep deprived and on the verge of losing it, she agrees to run away with Hunter to San Francisco. As the pair tries to escape both the ghost of Camille and their own deep fears, Kinsey questions how real her perception of her friendship with Camille was, and whether her former friend’s ghost is actually now haunting her. Hunter, meanwhile, falls into a spiral of alcoholism, anger, and self-loathing.

Ultimately, Kinsey and Hunter must come to terms with what they’ve lost and accept that they can’t outrun pain.
 

Amy Reed is the author of the edgy, contemporary YA novels BEAUTIFUL, CLEAN, CRAZY, and OVER YOU. Her new book DAMAGED released October 14, 2014. Find out more at www.amyreedfiction.com.

Follow Amy online:
twitter: @amyreedfiction
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Amy-Reed/276325095746385


 Giveaway Details 
Prize donated by Author
Must be 16 years or Older to enter
U.S. addresses only
To enter, fill out Rafflecopter below
Giveaway ends October 30, 2014 

If I cannot verify an entry, that entry will not count.

 a Rafflecopter giveaway
at 5 comments: