Showing posts with label promo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label promo. Show all posts

Saturday, May 06, 2017

Book Blitz: Hard Rock Sin


Hard Rock Sin
Athena Wright
(Darkest Days, #3)
Publication date: May 2nd 2017
Genres: New Adult, Romance
Cameron Thorne has had a starring role in my fantasies for years.
But the sinfully hot rock star, known for his wild parties and lady killer reputation, is the bassist in my brother’s band. And I know my brother. He’ll kill Cameron if he looks at me twice.
Which means the two of us will never be more than friends.
Only… Cameron keeps staring at me like he wants to throw me on his bed. He keeps licking his lips like he’s thinking of tasting me.
Cameron wants me too.
We know there will be hell to pay. I’m his bandmate’s little sister. But neither of us can fight it.
This rock star god will do anything to keep me.
EXCERPT:
“Lily…” His voice was pained. “You don’t know how much I…” His eyes fell to my mouth. “…how much I wish you just were just a normal girl.”
All the air left the room.
“But this?” he continued. “This can’t happen.”
My heart sunk. I looked down, not meeting his eyes.
“I get it. I’m Noah’s baby sister. You can’t betray his trust.”
“It’s not just that,” he muttered. “I can’t fucking do this to you.”
“Do what to me, exactly?”
“You go speechless whenever you see me without a shirt,” he said with utter patience.
I flushed, understanding his meaning. “Oh. You mean, because I’ve never…?”
He gave me an almost wry smile. “Don’t you know your first time is supposed to be special?”
“Are you saying it wouldn’t be special with you?” I gave him my best teasing smile, trying not to waver. “And here I thought you prided yourself on pleasing the ladies.”
He shot me a look. “That’s different.”
I shifted closer, until I was practically pressed against him. “How is it different?”
“I’ve never—” He snapped his jaw closed, looking frustrated.
Understanding dawned on me. “Have you never been someone’s first before?”
“No.” He ran a hand through his sweat-dampened hair, looking exhausted. “At least, I don’t think I have.” He glanced down at where my hand rested on his chest. He traced the back of my hand with the tip of his finger. Heat radiated from that single point of contact, sending nervous excitement flooding through me. “And I’ve never…”
I leaned closer, bringing our faces closer together. “Never what?”
His eyes dropped to my lips again. I wet them unconsciously. He shut his eyes with a groan. When he opened them, they were full of fire.
“I’ve never wanted to be someone’s first before.” His eyes were still focused on my mouth.
“I want you to be mine,” I said softly. “I don’t want anyone else. I want it to be you.”
I mustered all the bravery I could. I wrapped my arms around his neck, until my breasts were pressed to his chest.
“I want you to teach me. I want you to teach me everything.”
“Fuck.” His eyes blazed. “I told you. Don’t say shit like that to me.”
“Or what?” I challenged. “What are you going to do?”
He placed his hands on my hips, thumbs rubbing the sensitive skin exposed between my tank top and skirt. A spike of heat hit my gut like a blow, nearly taking my breath away.
“This is such a bad fucking idea,” he murmured.
Pushing his hair away from his face with both hands, I met his blue eyes. They were burning with need. I stood on my tiptoes and leaned forward, until we were inches away.
“I want you, Cameron.”
I could practically sense the moment he snapped. The pupils of his eyes dilated, blowing wide open. Cameron let out a low grunt.
“Fuck it,” he growled.
He closed the gap and pressed his lips to mine.
Fireworks exploded across my vision.


Author Bio:
Athena Wright is a USA Today Bestselling author of New Adult Romance. She has a fondness for rock stars and the girls who tame their wild hearts. Athena loves to write characters who are not always what they seem.
Want a free taste of Athena's writing? You can receive two exclusive Newsletter-Only side stories for free. Just subscribe and tell Athena where to send them. You'll also be notified of new book releases. http://athenawright.com/sign-up/

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Friday, May 05, 2017

Book Blitz: The Bodyguard


The Bodyguard
Wende Dikec
(Legacies of the Amazons, #1)
Published by: Inkspell Publishing
Publication date: May 2nd 2017
Genres: Fantasy, Mythology, Young Adult
Descended from a secret race of Amazon Warriors, Ana Thermadosa is not like other girls. As a student at Artemis Academy, the training grounds for a mysterious company called Cerberus Enterprises, Ana has spent her life learning what is important. How to fight, how to win, how to kill, and, mostly importantly, how to follow orders and live up to the expectations of her powerful family.
Trained in the art of warfare since birth, now her skills are being put to the test. She’s been hired to defend Jordan Banks, the wealthy son of a nefarious businessman, from kidnappers.
She despises Jordan and all he stands for, but soon comes to realize that many things in the outside word aren’t as she’s been led to believe. She also discovers Jordan isn’t what she expected, and, against her better judgment, finds herself starting to care for him.
When disaster strikes, Ana is put in a difficult predicament. Keeping Jordan safe would mean betraying her own people and everything she believes in, but letting him die would mean betraying something even more important.
Her own heart.
EXCERPT:
“If you’d like a demonstration, I am willing to provide it.”
“A demonstration?” Roman asked with a snort, but Ana could tell he was intrigued. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Philip suppress a grin.
“Me against them.” She looked at the three hulking bodyguards standing behind him. One of them actually had the nerve to giggle. She decided he would be the first to learn a lesson. Bodyguards should never giggle.
Melani had to bite her lip to keep from smiling. “You don’t have to do this, Ana.”
“Yes, I do.” She removed her black jacket, part of the standard issue uniform worn by everyone at the company, and placed it over the back of her chair. Beneath it, she wore a snug, black t-shirt, and comfortable pants. “There’s a sparring room next door.”
“Would you like them to come in one at a time?” Roman asked, trying to sound like a gentleman. Ana knew he thought she was going to get beat up, and she also knew he kind of looked forward to seeing it. He wouldn’t be so lucky today.
She studied the bodyguards, sizing them up from head to toe. All three of them grinned at her. She opened a door that connected to the sparring room ushered them in, leaving everyone else in the conference room.
“No. I can handle them all at once,” she said, shutting the door behind her.


Author Bio:
Wende Dikec has spent her life traveling the world, collecting stories wherever she visited. She majored in Japanese and International Economics in college and worked in import/export and as an ESL teacher before she committed herself full time to writing. She writes in several romance genres, and her books are quirky and fun. Wende is a Trekkie, a book hoarder, the master of the Nespresso machine, and the mother of three boys (probably the main reason for her caffeine addiction). A puppy named Capone is the most recent addition to her family, and she blogs about him as a way of maintaining what little sanity she has left. She is the author of TIGER LILY and STARR VALENTINE, and writes adult romance under the name Abigail Drake. She can be found on the web at www.wendedikec.com.

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Thursday, May 04, 2017

Book Blitz: Lux and Lies


Lux and Lies
Meg Collett
(Whitebird, #1)
Publication date: May 2nd 2017
Genres: Science Fiction, Thriller, Young Adult
Mr. Robot meets UnReal in a story of celebrities and anarchists, reality shows and evil corporations, romance and self-discovery.
Nineteen-year-old Wren Iver is nothing more than a dying girl with cancer, but when megastar Sloan Lux dies right before filming starts on the year’s most anticipated reality show, producers scramble to secretly replace her—with Wren. She’s swept into Hollywood and promised a cure by VidaCorp, the nation’s richest bioengineering corporation, for simply replacing Lux. It’s a deal Wren can’t refuse.
The decision could get her killed, because she isn’t the only cast member with ulterior motives
The Whitebirds, a social anarchist group, has infiltrated the show, and they’ll stop at nothing to use Sloane Lux’s fame to derail VidaCorp’s efforts to legalize their controversial, life-changing drug—a drug that might kill more people than it saves. Caught in the middle of a game between a powerful corporation and ruthless anarchist group, Wren will do anything to survive.
Will Wren secure the drug she needs to survive, or will she become another casualty in the anarchists’ fight against VidaCorp?
Are you a book reviewer?
Request a review copy here!


Author Bio:
Meg Collett is from the hills of Tennessee where the cell phone service is a blessing and functioning internet is a myth of epic proportions. She and her husband live in a tiny house with three dogs and not enough couches. She’s the author of the bestselling Fear University series, the End of Days trilogy, and the Canaan Island novels. Find out more at her website www.megcollett.com.

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Wednesday, May 03, 2017

Book Blitz: Empty Threat


Empty Threat
Danny Bell
(The Black Pages, #1)
Publication date: May 2nd 2017
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Book one of The Black Pages
Elana Black has the power to make herself fictional. But when she decides to start saving all the people in books and TV shows who die just for the sake of advancing the plot, she quickly learns that she’s not the only one with her powers.
All Elana wants to do is save people. But these others don’t want the stories to change, and they’ll do everything they can to stop her.
If you had the power to change fate… to create a happy ending where there wasn’t one before… would you do it if it meant risking your own?
EXCERPT:
My fears, by comparison, had always been irrational. The fear that someone will think my nose is weird. The fear that I’d hid in the bathroom too long or too many times and everyone at the party will notice. The fear that even my closest friends would one day leave or decide I wasn’t cool enough anymore. The fear that a group of strangers won’t like me, but then will only pretend to be nice to me, and I’ll never know it. They’d say something awful behind my back, and one of them would tell a lie about me, which would make someone else believe that lie, so they’d repeat it. Then two people would tell the same story, and the third and fourth people would also repeat it and then it would become something different, and soon entire groups of people I’d never met would be poisoned against me before we ever even had the chance to meet, before anyone knew I wasn’t some huge jerk, and—
My heart was pounding just thinking about that scenario. My breaths were hard and shallow, my fingers hurt from where I’d been clutching the steering wheel. At least I’d stopped crying.
My point is, that for as terrifying as my fears were to me, I’d always found a way to get past them and function. Even when I was so afraid that I almost couldn’t move, I could fake bravado. In a bit of irony, the fear of being seen as afraid made me move on as if I wasn’t. To do otherwise would mean to just stop, and I’ve lived that life before. Sometimes days, sometimes weeks, sometimes months at a time… and you don’t get that time back. So ultimately, you were afraid for nothing. If I could impart a piece of advice onto the world, it is that more than the crowds, more than fake smiles and unheard whispers, even more than our own base, loathsome selves, what we should really fear is stasis. Life will always move forward, whether we move forward or not. Even stumbling and flailing about, unable to find your balance and rolling down a hill head over heels is still moving forward. It might not be graceful, but at least you’re not stuck with whatever you were trying to move past.


Author Bio:
My name is Danny Bell. I want to tell stories and avoid writing author profiles. I read—when I should be interacting with people, I named my cat after a cat I liked in a book, I’m pretty sure I saw a ghost one time—though I’ll never admit it publicly, I’m too tall for the earth, and I’ve never eaten a vegetable. I lied about the vegetable part. Wait… is someone going to read this?

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Book Blitz: Cake: A Love Story


Cake: A Love Story
J. Bengtsson
(Cake #1)
Publication date: May 14th 2016
Genres: New Adult, Romance
Jake McKallister might have been a rock star, but he was no ordinary one. Surviving an unspeakable crime as a young teen had shaped him into a guarded workaholic, and he now lived his life trying to forget. If it hadn’t been for music and the redemption he found through it, he might not have survived. Career success came easily for him. Personal connections did not.
When outspoken, vivacious college student Casey Caldwell was paired with the famously reserved rockstar for a friend’s wedding, she was prepared for the worst. What could they possibly have in common? She was a bubbly talker; he was a reclusive loner. His life was filled with music; she couldn’t carry a tune. She’d enjoyed a happy childhood; his was a well-publicized nightmare.
Yet despite their obvious differences, Jake and Casey found each other, and her light balanced out his darkness. Would their love be strong enough to survive the weight of his tragic past?
AUTHOR’S NOTE: This is a *full-length* standalone romance. Cake is a love story at heart but does deal with a sensitive topic and may not be for all.
Due to strong language and sexual content, this book is not intended for readers under the age of eighteen.
*This novel was professionally re-edited on June 28th, 2016*
EXCERPT:
-Banter-
I gave an apologetic look. “I know. Sorry. You intimidate me. I mean, it would take no effort on your part to get with pretty much any girl at this wedding.”
Jake didn’t refute my claim – probably because he knew it was true. In fact, he was actually giving what I said quite a bit of thought. What was I getting myself into?
Finally, he sighed, and said, “Sometimes having sex just isn’t worth the consequences.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that with sex comes expectations.”
I waited for him to explain his comment, and when he didn’t I said, “And?”
Jake exhaled dramatically, as if he were expected to explain himself to a child. “If I’m going to have meaningless sex with someone, I need a quick exit strategy; otherwise she’s going to want to follow me around – or worse, talk. In a setting like this, there’s no way to disappear after getting it on, so sex wouldn’t be worth the consequences… get it?”
“Wow, you’ve really given this a lot of thought.”
He nodded in agreement. “I’ve learned from experience.”
“I’m sure you have. So, then, I guess it’s a good thing we aren’t going to have meaningless sex tonight.” I laughed. “Because I would definitely be following you around trying to talk to you.”
“I know. You’d be the worst.”


Author Bio:
J. Bengtsson lives in Southern California with her husband and three children. Her favorite things to do are laugh, go for walks, and hang out with family. 'Cake' is her debut novel.



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Tuesday, May 02, 2017

Book Blitz: Ransom


Ransom
Nana Malone
(The Player, #5)
Publication date: May 2nd 2017
Genres: New Adult, Romance, Sports
Money, power, prestige…reject. Ransom Cox is —The Player.
His whole life, hockey player, Ransom Cox, has watched the people he loves the most reject and leave him. He’s learned it’s better to be on his own. After the scandal of his wife walking out on him right before the championships, citing his bedroom “over” prowess as the reason, he can’t seem to escape the spotlight. The last thing he wants is to be stranded in a cabin with the one girl he’s always wanted. The one girl who could destroy him.
EXCERPT:
Lexa coughed on the sip of water she’d taken. “Let’s get one thing clear. Ransom Cox has never noticed me. I lack the requisite equipment for him to pay appropriate attention. I’m not blonde. My rack isn’t overly endowed. Oh, and all he ever saw in high school was hockey. I was nerdy, and paid zero attention to anything other than great stories.”
“I have it on good authority that you paid attention to more than just your great stories and books. I know for a fact that you used to practice kissing on your hand and pretend it was Ransom.”
Lexa flushed. “Oh, my God. If you ever tell another living soul that, I will kill you. Kill you, dead. Forever.”
Her sister snorted and laughed even as she scooted out of the way of Lexa’s swats. “Think of your great story. I’m telling you. The man, the myth—”
Ella’s voice dropped away, and Lexa looked up, wondering what happened to her sister.
Oh, God. She gulped in a breath. The man, the myth, the penis legend. The hockey God. All six feet, five inches of ripped muscle, the movie-star face, and badass attitude. Standing in the doorway.
Lexa jumped up out of her seat. Too bad her foot was corded around her bag that she’d tucked under the desk, and she couldn’t get proper placement. And so down she went.
Ella ran in behind Ransom. “Oh, my God, Lex.”
Faceplant in front of the guy you always had a crush on, check. Total lack of career direction, check. Yes, her humiliation was complete. Next to her, Ransom’s deep baritone rumbled. “Are you okay?”
Lexa pushed herself to a sitting position. “Yeah, the only thing hurt is my pride, and my forehead. Pretty sure I scraped my hand, too.”
Behind Ransom, Ella’s jaw hung open. She held her arms about a foot apart, as if to indicate a certain…measurement, then cleared her throat as he picked up her wrist and examined it.
“I’m okay.”
Ransom studied her hand. “Are you sure? There’s no pain when I move it?”
Behind him, Ella grinned widely, a mischievous gleam in her eye.
Lexa wanted to die. Matter of fact, if the ground could just open up and swallow her now, that would be awesome. Come on ground. Any moment now. Nothing? Okay, then. “No. It doesn’t hurt.”
“Are you sure about that?” His voice was husky. Low. She’d seen him interviewed enough times in recent years to know that that was just his voice. He didn’t usually say much. But when he did, he always sounded like that. Like he’d just woken up from a long night of sex. Which was the last thing she needed to think about when dealing with Ransom.
Her sister, traitor that she was, called out. “Well, if you’re okay, I’m going to head back to the café. I’m sure the two of you have lots to catch up on. Lex, I’ll send someone over with a sandwich. And that recipe. Though, you might not want to use it for a while. All that garlic. Good to see you, Ransom.”
Lexa groaned. With one faceplant, she’d earned enough humiliation points with her sister for her to hand over that garlic aïoli recipe. Awesome.


Author Bio:
USA Today Best Seller, Nana Malone's love of all things romance and adventure started with a tattered romantic suspense she "borrowed" from her cousin.
It was a sultry summer afternoon in Ghana, and Nana was a precocious thirteen. She's been in love with kick butt heroines ever since. With her overactive imagination, and channeling her inner Buffy, it was only a matter a time before she started creating her own characters.
While she waits for her chance at a job as a ninja assassin, in the meantime Nana works out her drama, passion and sass with fictional characters every bit as sassy and kick butt as she thinks she is.
Want to know when the next book is coming? Hit up her Newsletter here. You'll only get updated when there is a new release or a special promotion for her Sexy, Sassy Readers. http://eepurl.com/2PeXb

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Book Blitz: Ensnared


Ensnared
Rita Stradling
Publication date: May 23rd 2017
Genres: New Adult, Science Fiction
A Near Future Retelling of Beauty and the Beast
Alainn’s father is not a bad man. He’s a genius and an inventor. When he’s hired to create the robot Rose, Alainn knows taking the money is a mistake.
Rose acts like a human. She looks exactly like Alainn. But, something in her comes out wrong.
To save her father from a five year prison sentence, Alainn takes Rose’s place. She says goodbye to the sun and goes to live in a tower no human is allowed to enter. She becomes the prisoner of a man no human is allowed to see.
Believing that a life of servitude lies ahead, Alainn finds a very different fate awaits her in the company of the strange, scarred recluse.
EXCERPT:
December 2, 2026
Alainn woke knowing someone was in her room.
Whoever it was sat behind her. Quiet, even breaths rasped through the air. Alainn’s eyelids peeked open. Moonlight cast a grayish glow, cutting deep shadows into the space around her bed.
“Good morning, Alainn,” Rose said in a quiet voice. When Alainn didn’t respond, Rose said, “I can tell from the change in your breathing pattern that you are awake.”
“Rose?” she whispered, not quite ready to let out a sigh of relief. Alainn twisted to look at her. “What are you doing here? Did you break my lock?”
“I picked it,” she said. “It is now locked again.”
“Oh, uh—” Her heart pounded in her chest; she sat up and faced the robot. “Why—why would you do that?”
The moonlight lit half of Rose’s face as she watched Alainn, expressionless. “Do not be alarmed. You are obviously having a fear reaction, but I was simply waiting for you to wake up.”
“Don’t you need to sleep—recharge?”
Now that Alainn faced Rose, she smelled the faint odor of her exhaust. Rose continuously exhaled the lightest tang of something sweet and acidic. The air in the room felt used, like a plane cabin after a cross-country flight.
“I was not completely forthcoming with you today. While what I said was true, I have for a time now believed that having Father imprisoned would impede my potential. While I have far surpassed his skills in software, there are times when I need assistance. I am limited by my need to stay near my charging station. Your brother is often absent for days at a time—and you, months.”
“Okay, wait—you’re going to go tomorrow?” Alainn scooted forward on the bed. A dormant hope resurged through her. Alainn would do anything—she’d worship at the robot’s feet if Rose agreed to go.
“No, you are going to go tomorrow.”
Alainn froze, staring at Rose. “What?” she whispered.
“I have calculated one way in which all parties can achieve their desires.”
“I’m sorry—I’m not understanding.” Alainn shook her head. A hard knot formed in her stomach.
“I am not surprised.” Rose reached out to pat Alainn’s hand. “You are not as intelligent as the rest of your family.”
“Spell it out in really simple terms, then.” She just managed to not growl the words at Rose.
Slowly, Rose looked up to the ceiling, moonlight slashing up the curve of her neck, her chin, and the line of her nose. “Earlier tonight, I arranged for you to be picked up by Mr. Garbhan through e-mail, writing as if I was Father. In one hour, a car will arrive outside to take you to his building. I have designed and created hardware for your body. If you are scanned, a chip in the hardware will communicate to the scanners that you have an organic circuitry system rather than a human brain.”
Alainn shook her head, hoping to dislodge some of the grogginess there. “I’m still not following—you’re saying you want me to pretend to be you and turn myself over? That you already arranged it?”
“Yes, you are following. That is exactly what I am saying.”
“I—I—” Alainn shook her head again. The air thinned around her.
“I have a working plan for the transplanting. You can assimilate easily into a life of servitude as you are already accustomed to the labor you will be asked to perform.” Rose lifted a hand, ghostly gray in the low light, and ticked off the chores on her fingers. “Cooking, housekeeping, and bookkeeping. Unless . . . is your concern that he might use you for sexual gratification?”
“What? No.”
“I believe that this would be a particular concern of yours.”
“I never even considered that he would do that to you—I, of all people, would never have tried to push you into going if I thought you’d be used that way.” Alainn blinked furiously. “Rose, do you really think that I would have let myself be the model when my dad printed your face and body if I thought Mr. Garbhan was going to do that to you?”
“It is highly unlikely that I was designed for this function. I have also been assured that there were documents signed to that effect addressed to Father.”
Alainn held out her palms to Rose. “Rose, it’s not just that. I can’t take your place. There’s no way that would work . . . and I can’t live in that tower for the rest of my life. I’m a human. I know that probably sounds callous to you, but you were created to not need sunshine and fresh air. And you don’t need exercise. Humans need those things, me especially. Everything I am,” she touched her chest, “is centered on being in the outdoors.”
“The duration will be seven to fourteen days, no longer.” Her head swung down, causing shadows to swallow her eyes. Two black hollows focused on Alainn. “When Mr. Garbhan pays Father, he and I will make the Rosette model; this process should only take a week, unless there are complications. And then I will devise a way to switch you with the new model.”


Author Bio:
Rita Stradling is the author of The Deception Dance series, the Dakota Kekoa series and The Fourteen Day Soul Detox Novella Serial. She has a BA in Art History and a particular love for modern and medieval art.
Rita lives with her husband and son in Northern California.
She has an insatiable novel addiction and mostly reads young adult and adult: romance, paranormal, urban fantasy and high fantasy.

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Monday, May 01, 2017

Book Blitz: July Lightning


July Lightning
Shannon A. Thompson
(Bad Bloods #4)
Published by: Clean Teen Publishing
Publication date: May 1st 2017
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
From best-selling author Shannon A. Thompson comes an exciting new duology in the Bad Bloods universe.
Sixteen-year-old Caleb has been called many things: a patient, a musician, even a prostitute…now he has a new name—son. After his identity is uncovered, Caleb bands together with the family he once rejected in order to save the city of Vendona. But it won’t be easy. Enemies wait around every corner—and so do harsh realities. With Violet and Kuthun by his side though, nothing seems impossible. As Vendona sits on the verge of an economic collapse and a massive hurricane threatens the city, Violet and Caleb must show its citizens how to overcome decades of hostility and division to save themselves.
Standing or not, a sea will rage, a wall may fall, and all will depend on immortal pain and sacrifice.
EXCERPT:
Everyone in the Pits called the fifteen-year-old Skeleton, for obvious reasons. Supposedly, the bad blood had been born a normal, healthy baby boy, but, over time, his skin unraveled and revealed pieces of bone. Somehow, defying all science, the boy continued to live. The last time I’d seen him, his right arm and chin showed bone, but now, half his face and all his fingers had contorted to the haunting shape. Even Adam cringed.
“You here to fight?” Skeleton asked, eyeing both Adam and me.
I attempted to answer, but Adam shouted over me. “You work here?”
The betrayal Adam felt was one I would never comprehend, even if I wanted to. Adam was a bad blood. To see a fellow bad blood protect the Pits that killed his kind went beyond my human pain. I volunteered to fight. Bad bloods often didn’t. Moments like this reminded me why Kuthun slapped me when I told him I wished I was a bad blood. Just because I sympathized with them and loved them, lived with them and listened to them, did not mean I would ever be one. I could never feel the same emotions Adam did, and Adam couldn’t comprehend mine.
“The humans aren’t the only ones who see value in bad blood.” Skeleton egged Adam on, and Adam fell for it.
“You mean, your blood.”
The boy’s bony fingers rattled against the door. “Of course,” he said, then smiled. The addition of teeth only made the bony boy look worse.
“You’re one of us,” Adam snapped. “How could you—”
I stepped in front of my cousin. Thankfully, my actions stopped him. “We’re here to talk to Connelly,” I said.
The lanky, crass kid looked me over and stepped aside, but as we passed, he gave in to temptation. “If you need a tag for the bad blood, let me know.”
Adam knocked the boy out cold before I could stop him. That was how fast his powers worked. And, for once, I didn’t feel the need to reprimand him.
“You know you have to fight if you hurt the workers,” I said.
“No one will know,” Adam said as he strode past me. “You’re good at keeping secrets, right?”


Author Bio:
Shannon A. Thompson is a young adult author, avid reader, and a habitual chatterbox.
As a novelist, poet, and blogger, Thompson spends her free time writing and sharing ideas with her black cat, Bogart, named after her favorite actor, Humphrey Bogart. Her other two cats bring her coffee. Between writing and befriending cats, Thompson graduated from the University of Kansas with a bachelor’s degree in English with an emphasis on creative writing, and her work has appeared in numerous poetry collections and anthologies. Represented by Clean Teen Publishing, Thompson is the best-selling author of The Timely Death Trilogy and the Bad Bloods duology. When she is not writing, she is climbing rooftops, baking cookies, or watching murder shows in the middle of the night, often done with her cats by her side.
Visit her blog for writers and readers at www.ShannonAThompson.com.

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Sunday, April 30, 2017

Cover Reveal: Colorless


Colorless
Rita Stradling
Publication date: August 2017
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
In Domengrad, there are rules all must live by: Fear the Gods. Worship the Magicians. Forsake the Iconoclasts.
To Annabelle Klein, the rules laid down by the Magicians are the mere ramblings of stuffy old men. As far as she’s concerned, the historic Iconoclasts, heretics who nearly destroyed the Magicians so long ago, are nothing but myth. She has much more important matters to worry about.
Heiress to a manor mortgaged down to its candlesticks and betrothed to her loathsome, lecherous cousin, sixteen-year-old Annabelle doubts the gods could forsake her more.
Then Annabelle is informed of her parents’ sudden and simultaneous deaths, and all of the pigment drips out of her skin and hair, leaving her colorless. Within moments, Annabelle is invisible and forgotten by all who know her.
Living like a wraith in her own home, Annabelle discovers that to regain her color she must solve the mystery behind her parents’ murders and her strange transformation.
Meanwhile, hundreds of the Magicians’ monks, with their all-black eyes and conjoined minds, have usurped control of Annabelle’s family manor. An Iconoclast is rumored to be about—a person who they claim goes unseen, unheard, and lost to memory, yet is the greatest threat to all of Domengrad. For the first time in a hundred years, the monks plan to unleash the dire wolves of old.
Their only target: Annabelle.


Author Bio:
Rita Stradling is the author of The Deception Dance series, the Dakota Kekoa series and The Fourteen Day Soul Detox Novella Serial. She has a BA in Art History and a particular love for modern and medieval art.
Rita lives with her husband and son in Northern California.
She has an insatiable novel addiction and mostly reads young adult and adult: romance, paranormal, urban fantasy and high fantasy.

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Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Book Blitz: Painting Sky


Painting Sky
Rita Branches
(Painting Sky #1)
Publication date: April 25th 2016
Genres: New Adult, Romance
Nobody ever said life was easy…
People pleaser, Jane Skylar wants nothing more than to earn her art degree, start her life, and bask in the bliss of living with her boyfriend.
But things don’t always go as planned…
Struggling with her creative side, Jane finds herself in turmoil, often confiding in her roommate – another, more talented art student, Keith Hale. Keith just so happens to be her boyfriend’s older, brooding brother. After a devastating breakup, Jane turns to Keith for comfort. But when the lines blur between roommate and lover, Jane’s life becomes more complicated than ever before.
When Keith’s past comes back to haunt him, their lives all get turned upside down, forcing the truth to surface. Now Jane must fight for what she wants–even if it hurts everyone she loves.
*It’s a Stand-alone*
EXCERPT:
The next towels were easier. I was getting colder and so tired that my eyes started to shut and I dozed off. When the towel on my stomach was removed, the breeze on my skin made me shiver and woke me up.
“Just one more time, and then we’ll check if the fever has lowered.” He changed the towels again. I had stopped feeling awkward about the lack of clothes a long time ago: maybe between the cold towel or the scared look on Keith’s face.
My shivering never stopped. After Keith took all the towels from my body, I just wanted to curl up and sleep. The sheets were wet, though, as well as my clothes. Keith left for a minute and I opened one eye to see him standing at the door, frowning.
“What is it now?”
“I can’t find any clean sheets,” he answered. I wasn’t feeling good enough today to do laundry, so the other set was dirty.
“Come on. Try sitting up.” Keith opened one of my drawers.
“What are you doing?” It was where I kept my underwear. He ignored my protests and took some black cotton panties and a matching tank top and placed them on the bed.
“I’ll be in the hallway. Call me when you’re done—unless you want my help.” His smirk was weak, but I knew he was trying to make me smile. I shooed him out of my room with a wave of my hand and took my time changing out of my clothes. My body hurt, especially my ribs.
“I’m coming in,” Keith warned, as soon as I pulled the tank top down. “Can you get up?” I obeyed him, unsure of why he wanted me to get up if I didn’t have any clean sheets to change the bed with. My bedroom swung around me and I had to sit back down again. I was too weak to stand. Keith sighed and put his arms under me. I stiffened instantly, not just at the gesture, but also at my lack of clothing. He picked me up and left my room.
“What are you doing?”
“What do you think? I’m taking you to my room. The sheets are clean, I haven’t slept there this week, and they are dry, at least.” He winked while pushing open his bedroom door with his shoulder. I had been in his room once or twice to bring him his clean clothes, but I’d never taken the time to look around. I wouldn’t do so this time, either, as the only light on was from the lamp on his bedside table.
The space was clean and tidy. I imagined all his clutter was in the attic, where he spent most of his time.
I whimpered against his cold sheets. “Come on, scoot over,” he said, as soon as he laid me down. I did what he asked and the next thing I felt was his warm body against mine. I gasped at the contact, but scooted back against his chest. I tried to ignore the chuckle that came from him, which shook my body slightly.
His hand came to rest on my stomach for a second before he pulled my tank top up. I was prepared to turn and punch him in the face when I realized what he was trying to do. He lifted his own shirt and hugged my bare back. I sighed, trying not to moan. For the second time tonight, I wasn’t cold, as his body was warmer than mine.
“Just so we’re clear, in the morning, we go back to not caring much for the other, right?” I asked, more to try and clear the air. I felt him tense before answering me with a weird shrug.
“I guess,” he mumbled.
“Why do you hate me?” I whispered.


Author Bio:
Rita Branches is an independent YA (young adult) author who enjoys spending every free moment (when she´s not reading) writing emotional stories. Visit: http://ritabranches.wordpress.com/

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Monday, April 24, 2017

Book Blitz: Redeeming Ryker


Redeeming Ryker
Kelly Collins
(Boys Of Fury #1)
Publication date: April 24th 2017
Genres: New Adult, Romance
Imagine finding out that everything about your life is a lie.
Imagine falling for the man who thinks he killed you.
Imagine having to remain dead so you can keep him.
Twenty-four-year-old Ana Barrett knows who she is. She’s a struggling artist, a loyal friend, an orphan raised by loving grandparents. After a string of unlucky events leaves her homeless, broke, and alone, she receives a timely gift from her deceased grandmother—a house in Fury, Colorado. It’s a gift guaranteed to change her life in ways she can’t imagine.
Ryker Savage has always known who he is. He’s a brother, a friend, an orphan, and a murderer. One decision made twenty years ago altered the future of an entire town. At twenty-eight, he’s done his time, paid his dues, and wants to be left to his misery.
When Ana arrives in Fury, she changes everything he thought he knew. His light becomes dark, his dark becomes light, and his truth becomes the lie he’s lived forever.
Ana’s future hangs in the balance. Ryker’s future is carved from his past. Destined to have the two collide, can there be a chance for a future together?
EXCERPT:
I opened the door and stepped onto the porch. A soft wind swirled around me, bringing the scent of him. That was Ryker, clean and fresh and strong. A tinge of smoke wafted in on the breeze, and I scrunched my nose. That wasn’t Ryker, or at least I didn’t think it was. “You smoke?”
He pushed off the trunk of the enormous oak tree and tossed his cigarette to the ground, smashing it with the toe of his boot. Out of the shadows, he stepped in front of me. “Generally no. But when I’m stressed, yes.” He dropped his head as if shamed.
I don’t know what compelled me to touch him, but I couldn’t resist laying my hand on his chest. I felt his heart thumping under my fingertips. “What stresses you?”
“Everything stresses me. Sheriff Stuart. This damn house. This damn town. It all stresses me the fuck out.” He kicked at the dead grass under his boot. “You stress me out.”
“Me?” I gripped the edge of his jacket. “Me? Why?”
His gaze lasered into me. “When you dropped me off, I went upstairs and tried to sleep, but I couldn’t. I’m fighting with myself.” He reached for my cheek. His fingers sure and able. His touch soft. “I want you.” He threaded his hand through my hair. “I know if I have you, I’ll destroy you. I destroy everything I touch.”
He leaned closer and then stepped back, but didn’t drop his gaze. Didn’t drop his hold.
I leaned in. I wanted him closer. I wanted the kiss he was denying me.
“Fuck it, I’m weak when it comes to you.” He pulled me into his arms, and his lips crushed mine with a ferocity I’d never experienced. I tried to throttle back the dizzying current that raced through me, but it was no use. If Ryker was intent on destroying me, I was a willing victim.


Author Bio:
Kelly Collins writes with the intention of keeping the love alive. Always a romantic, she is inspired by real-time events mixed with a dose of fiction. She encourages her readers to reach the happily ever after but bask in the afterglow of the perfectly imperfect love.
Kelly lives in Colorado at the base of the Rocky Mountains with her husband of twenty-five years, their two dogs, and a bird that hates her.
In her spare time, she enjoys walking the trails and visiting the mining towns like Cripple Creek. She likes to think it's the ambience that brings her there and not the amazing slot machine in the back of the casino.
In the winter, you'll find her tucked into herseat at The World Arena cheering her beloved Colorado College Tigers Hockey Team. After several losing seasons she knows there's a win coming soon. Kelly is no fair weather fan.
She has three amazing children, and she wonders how they all turned out to be engineers when only the creative side of her brain seems to work. She just chalks it up to the engineering genes her husband contributed to the mix.
Creative minds need an outlet and writing books is where she focuses her excess energy.

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