Posts Categorized: rockstar book tours

TILLBRIDGE STABLES SCAVENGER HUNT-Nina Crespo Tour

29 Jan, 2021 by in rockstar book tours 2 comments

 

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the TILLBRIDGE STABLES SCAVENGER HUNT by Nina Crespo Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post to find the secret word (it’s purple) and make sure to enter the giveaway! Make sure to follow the tour schedule at the bottom of this post for all the stops! Each word you enter is another entry for the giveaway!

 

About the Books:

Title: THE COWGIRL’S SURPRISE MATCH (Tillbridge Stables #3)

Author: Nina Crespo

Pub. Date: Paperback: January 26, 2021. eBook: February 1, 2021

Publisher: Harlequin Special Edition

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Pages: 288

Find it: GoodreadsAmazon, Kindle, B&NiBooksKobo, TBD, Google Play, Bookshop.org

Free preview: https://preview.aer.io/9781488075322

Grab the paperback on January 26th before the eBook! It’s only $4.99!

A sweet charade takes an unexpected turn!

Dearly beloved, we are (not) gathered together…

Maid of honor Zurie Tillbridge has been working secretly with best man Mace Calderone to plan her cousin Tristan’s wedding to a well-known actress. To keep their wedding plans from leaking to the press, Zurie and Mace must pretend they are the ones getting married. Cake tasting and flower arranging seem like harmless fun…until wary workaholic Zurie realizes she’s feeling something real for her fake fiancé…  

 


Title: HER SWEET TEMPTATION (Tillbridge Stables #2)

Author: Nina Crespo

Pub. Date:  October 1, 2020

Publisher: Harlequin Special Edition

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Pages: 207

Find it: GoodreadsAmazon, Kindle, B&NiBooksKobo, TBD, Google Play, Bookshop.org

Free Preview: https://preview.aer.io/9781488070143

When good things come in bad-boy packages.

She vows to find the right kind of guy but a tempting stranger challenges everything…

“Bad Choices” should have been Rina Tillbridge’s middle name and it’s time to turn over a new leaf. But when stuntman Scott Halsey struts onto her property for his latest film, her impulsive alter ego threatens to make a comeback. The quintessential thrill-seeking stuntman has no designs on commitment. So why are all his red flags igniting white-hot passion…and inspiring dreams of a Hollywood ending?

REVIEWS:

“Rina and Scott’s slow burn romance is emotional, lighthearted, cute, is very entertaining and addictively different.” Shaka, BookBub

“Fun flirty and super cute.” Joelle, Goodreads

If you need an escape, a distraction or if you want to have a good time, pick this romance between a cafe owner/baker and a movie stuntman.” Aly, Goodreads

 

 

Title: THE COWBOY’S CLAIM (Tillbridge Stables #1)

Author: Nina Crespo

Pub. Date: February 1, 2021

Publisher: Harlequin Special Edition

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Pages: 209

Find it: GoodreadsAmazon, Kindle, B&NiBooksKobo, TBD, Google Play, Bookshop.org

Free Preview: https://preview.aer.io/The_Cowboys_Claim-MjUzMTg3-1921

He’s discovered his leading lady.

The role of her dreams: in his arms. 

Chloe Daniels is determined to land the role of a lifetime. Even if she’s terrified to get on a horse! And the last thing her reluctant teacher, Tristan Tillbridge, wants is to entertain a pampered actress. But the enigmatic cowboy soon discovers that Chloe is as genuine as she is gorgeous, and he’s determined to make her his. Will this unlikely pair discover that the sparks between them are anything but an act?

REVIEWS:

Smooth pacing, likable characters (along with Chloe and Tristan, there is Rina and Mace), and a compelling plot make THE COWBOY’S CLAIM a solid read.” Romance In Color

I loved these two together. I cannot wait to read more in this series!” Crystal, Goodreads

“If you love a series about tight-knit families, family-run businesses with lots of drama, and an opposites attract type of romance, you’ll love this new series by Nina Crespo!” Katie, Goodreads

“Watching the budding romance that happened in this story was that perfect combination of the slow burn and steaminess you could equate with a romance that will keep you reading…” Danaburk, BookBub

 

 

About Nina:

Nina Crespo lives in Florida where she indulges in her favorite passions — the beach, a good glass of wine, date night with her own real-life hero and dancing.

Her lifelong addiction to romance began in her teens while on a “borrowing spree” in her older sister’s bedroom where she discovered her first romance novel.

Let Nina’s sensual contemporary stories and steamy paranormal tales feed your own addiction for love, romance, and happily ever after.

Stay connected with Nina on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest or through her newsletter.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest | Instagram | Amazon | BookBub

 

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will win a $10 Amazon Gift Card, INTERNATIONAL.

1 winner will receive  a signed print copy of a book from the Tillbridge Stables series (reader’s choice), US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Scavenger Hunt Tour Schedule:

Week One:

1/25/2021

Rockstar Book Tours

Kickoff Post/Scavenger Hunt Clue 1

1/25/2021

Lisa Loves Literature

Scavenger Hunt Clue 2

1/26/2021

BookHounds

Scavenger Hunt Clue 3

1/26/2021

A Dream Within A Dream

Scavenger Hunt Clue 4

1/27/2021

Becky on Books

Scavenger Hunt Clue 5

1/27/2021

Pass Me That Book

Scavenger Hunt Clue 6

1/28/2021

Pine Enshrined Reviews

Scavenger Hunt Clue 7

1/28/2021

The Obsessed Reader

Scavenger Hunt Clue 8

1/29/2021

Books A-Brewin’

Scavenger Hunt Clue 9

1/29/2021

Fire and Ice

Scavenger Hunt Clue 10


Week Two:

2/1/2021

Two Chicks on Books

Scavenger Hunt Clue 11

2/1/2021

Wonder Struck

Scavenger Hunt Clue 12

2/2/2021

Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers

Scavenger Hunt Clue 13

2/2/2021

The Momma Spot

Scavenger Hunt Clue 14

2/3/2021

Jaime’s World

Scavenger Hunt Clue 15

2/3/2021

The Phantom Paragrapher

Scavenger Hunt Clue 16

2/4/2021

Three gals and plenty of books

Scavenger Hunt Clue 17

2/4/2021

Westveil Publishing

Scavenger Hunt Clue 18

2/5/2021

Books a Plenty Book Reviews

Scavenger Hunt Clue 19

2/5/2021

I’m Shelf-ish

Scavenger Hunt Clue 20


</

Scavenger Hunt Clue 10

A few short months ago, Chloe Daniels, an actress, had come to Tillbridge to research life at a horse stable for an audition. They’d fallen for each other. She’d since won the part in Shadow Valley, and now Chloe and Tristan were both excited about spending more time together while she worked on the film.

“If you don’t want to bother Tristan, there is another way.” From the look in Philippa’s eyes, Rina already knew what she was going to say.

“Ask Zurie instead of Tristan for help? That’s a huge nope. First, I’d get the judgy look, then I’d get a lecture from her on what I should have done to prevent Dennis from leaving and after that, she’d try to micromanage whoever she sent over to my cafe to help out. It’s not worth the headache.”

Philippa held her hands up in surrender. “It was just a suggestion.

She is the co-manager of the entire operation along with Tristan.”

It wasn’t a bad idea, but these days, Rina didn’t have energy for the smile, ignore, deflect game she usual y played with Zurie whenever she talked to her. “Someone cal ed the cafe today looking for a job. They could work out, and who knows, Dennis could change his mind and come back.”

“Maybe.”

Rina followed Philippa’s gaze that had shifted to the two men in front of the barn. “I didn’t know middle-aged guys were your thing.

Don’t be shy. Prance on over there and say hello to him.”

“I don’t prance. I walk graceful y. And if I were interested in saying hello to anyone, it would be the guy that ran into you. He’s Nash Moreland’s stunt double, and in my opinion, he’s a lot better looking than Nash.”

Thirtyish, dirty blond hair on the longish side, a five o’clock shadow covering his angled jawline, hazel green eyes with more than a hint of mischief to match his easy smile. It did al fit together for an appealing package. “He’s okay.”

“Just okay? You wouldn’t say that if you saw him without the jacket. He had it off earlier when he came over here to ask for some water. Girl…” Philippa fanned her face. “After seeing him up close, I needed water to cool off. Too bad this film isn’t about lifeguards.”

Rina’s own imagination wandered into Philippa’s daydream territory, rewinding to when he’d effortlessly held her up while keeping the tray of pies from falling to the ground. Then it morphed into him without the jacket, wrapping his strong arms around her while she leaned into his solid, muscular chest. Heat started to flush into her cheeks, and she swept the image aside. Now wasn’t the time for fantasies.

“Everyone will be here soon. Shouldn’t you bring out the rest of the food?”

“Probably.” Even though the two men had gone back inside the barn, Philippa still stared in that direction. “He looked intense when he came over here. I wonder what he’s like when he’s not working?”

The teasing, sexy, oh-so-confidant smile he’d flashed after “saving the pies” came into Rina’s mind.

Nash Moreland’s double sailed out of the barn, and in one fluid movement, he rolled to a crouching position with the prop pistol in his hand.

The way he performed that stunt so easily and mindlessly told Rina al she needed to know. Just like Xavier, he viewed himself as invincible.

“Almost ran you over. And like I said. It was my greatest stunt ever.”

“You’re still sticking with that, huh?”

“Yep. And it will always be the greatest.” His smile lit up the love in his eyes and touched her heart. “Because it gave me you.”

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The Secrets We Keep by Nikki Lee Taylor Release Day Blitz and Giveaway

11 Jan, 2021 by in rockstar book tours Leave a comment

 

I am so excited that THE SECRETS WE KEEP by Nikki Lee Taylor is available now and that I get to share the news!

If you haven’t yet heard about this wonderful book, be sure to check out all the details below.

This blitz also includes a giveaway for a $10 Amazon GC courtesy of Rockstar Book Tours & Nikki. So if you’d like a chance to win, check out the giveaway info below.

 

About The Book:

Title: THE SECRETS WE KEEP

Author: Nikki Lee Taylor

Pub. Date: January 11, 2021

Publisher: Magpie Creative Media

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Pages: 288

Find it: GoodreadsAmazon, Kindle, B&N,

Read for FREE with a Kindle Unlimited Membership!

Not all mothers are created equal… Some are better at hiding the truth.

Crippled with anxiety, Sophie is desperate to overcome the pain of losing her husband and only child in a freak car accident. Living and working in isolation with only the company of her dog Miss Molly, Sophie agrees to take on a job reviewing the manuscript of an up-and-coming writer. But this isn’t any story. It is one that unearths old secrets and to discover the truth, Sophie must find the courage to embark on a search that will change her life forever.

​On the outside, Love Mommy blogging queen Madelyn-May has it all. To her online community she is the perfect mother. She has a successful husband, perfect twins, and an idyllic life. What they don’t know is Madelyn-May also has a secret. When her past collides with the present, Madelyn-May is forced to make a choice that could destroy everything she loves.

​Would you risk destroying a family, if it meant healing your own heart? Would you tell the truth, if it meant losing everything you love?

​The Secrets We Keep is a confronting look at the complexities of family and lengths a mother will go to for her child.

 

Excerpt

The blinds are drawn because I need them to be. There are days the light is welcome, but not today. Today I need the darkness. It is the best way I know to pull them in close, here in the dark, in the empty spaces where they no longer exist and yet still take up every particle of air.

My life. My love. My family. James and Josh. My husband and son, stolen while I was sleeping, peacefully unaware at that very moment that the entire world was shattering.

It’s the small things that hurt the most. An unexpected letter with his name on it. A television commercial for Linvilla Orchards – where we picked peaches every July, just the two of us at first, and then with Josh. His familiar scent trailing behind a stranger, its ghostly arms wrapping around my lungs and squeezing. The crisp sting of empty sheets as autumn turns to winter.

Worst of all: the sudden ring of a child’s laughter breaking the silence and tearing my heart into a thousand tiny pieces.

I stroke the fur on Miss Molly’s golden head and close my eyes. “I’m sorry,” I whisper, even though dogs don’t understand apologies. “It’s this day, it’s….”

I let the words trail off, unable to say out loud that five years ago my husband and son took their last breath, trapped in a car wreck, and I hadn’t been there. Unable to say that while they were dying, I lay peacefully in bed, useless and selfish, taking an afternoon nap. It hadn’t even woken me. I hadn’t sat up, my instincts kicking into overdrive. I hadn’t experienced so much as a bad dream.

At the time friends told me I should try to forgive myself, that it wasn’t my fault. They brought soup, and sent messages. They held me and promised things would get better. They stood on my stoop and reminded me, “There’s nothing you could have done.”  

Therapists call my depression and anxiety a form of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Survivor’s guilt, they say, although that’s not the official term. Apparently it’s natural for parents who outlive their children to experience a sense of blame, but I have struggled to believe there is anything natural about it. Could there be anything more unnatural than for a mother to bury her son?

Then there were the people who told me to have faith. I’ve never been a religious person, but I have stood alone on a rainy afternoon and heard the hollow thump of dirt shoveled onto a tiny white casket. I’ve heard the mournful cry of a loon as people, not knowing what else to say, turned and made the sad walk back to their cars. I have stood as day turned to night, staring at two holes in the ground, hoping my husband and son wouldn’t be cold on the first night away from their beds. Away from me. Having faith would mean believing James and Josh were taken for a reason, that there was some divinity to their absence. There is not. There is only pain and empty spaces.

I get up from the couch and pull the curtains further across. But no matter how dark I make the room, there are always slivers of light that keep me in the place I don’t want to be.

Slivers that never let me bury the one question I still have no answer for.

How do I ever find the strength to step into the light when they are forever lost in the dark?

 

About Nikki:

Nikki Lee Taylor is a long-time newspaper journalist turned fiction writer. She is also a dreamer, a doer, a storyteller, a coffee lover, and fur mum to two golden retrievers Max and Sam.

She spends most of her time staring into space, walking between worlds, and creating out-loud character dialogue that sounds a lot like talking to herself in the shower. She stays up late plotting and planning the lives of characters yet to be created and starts every day embraced by the warmth of a good coffee.

She is a courageous booktrovert who lives life with her right foot in NSW, Australia and the left in a world that exists only in her head.

She reads books out loud to anyone who’ll listen and drives her husband mad spending all her free time with friends who exist only on the page.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Amazon | Goodreads

 

Giveaway Details:

1 lucky winner will win a $10 Amazon Gift Card, International.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Librarian Blog Tour and Giveaway

14 Jun, 2017 by in blog tour, rockstar, rockstar book tours Leave a comment

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unnamed (2)Title: THE LIBRARIAN

Author: Christy Sloat

Pub. Date: June 17, 2017

Publisher: CHBB Publishing

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Pages: 230

Find it: Amazon, B&N, Goodreads

He’s from 1892 England, she’s in a small library in 2017. And that’s just the start of their troubles.

Emme never meant to stay in Maine. She’d come only to find a librarian for her Gram’s library, a custodian for the collection of mysterious books she’d promised to protect. On a dark, wintery night, alone in the library, she takes her first glance into one of the antique novels and finds herself transported to 1892 England staring into the eyes of handsome and dashing hero Jack Ridgewell. As each chapter passes she learns you can truly fall in love with a character in a book, that book boyfriends are real and Emme must choose between the real world, and his.

When the last page is read he’s gone and Emme feels the cold loneliness of lost love. Will she find Jack again, or will their love be forever lost? The answer lies within the pages…

 

The Librarian Excerpt
© Christy Sloat

I bent down on my hands and knees and felt along the floor hoping not to touch anything gross. My hands grazed something odd. I felt along its edges. It was hard and didn’t seem to belong there. Now my curiosity had me crouching in the dark trying to figure out what this was. Finally I found the flashlight and clicked it on. Focusing the light, I saw the odd thing sticking up like a broken piano key. It was a floorboard upended. I pushed it to get it back into place, but all that did was make it fly up further and then completely out of the floor.
“Well, that’s just great,” I told myself.
I was here in the dark talking to myself. I dared to take a look into the floor, hoping not to find a rat family living inside or a web housing a large spider. I did find something, but it wasn’t sinister; it was a set of books in a case covered in plastic wrap. Reaching in, I pulled them out. The dust on it was at least three inches thick. This must be the special book collection Gram told me to read and to keep safe. Anything that was precious to her, she hid—like the money I found pinned to her clothing in her closet, or the other jewelry she had taped to the back of her dresser.
I brushed the dust off and opened the plastic to find four books inside. They were pretty good in size and looked to be in great condition. They didn’t have traditional covers that you’d see in a bookstore. Instead they were covered in a thick material to keep the books clean and the binding solid. I pulled the first book from the case and placed the others back into the hole. Covering it back with the loose board was easier than taking it out. I held the book close, and instead of going upstairs I went to my book nook. I had just washed the blankets the day before. Cozied up in the nook, I stared out the window one last time before opening the book. I decided I would only read for a little while before going up to bed. Gram did want me to read them after all.
I opened the first page to the title page; it was blank. I flipped the page and snuggled deeper into the blankets preparing to read the first chapter and that’s when things changed.

About Christy unnamed (1)

I am Southern California native, now living in New Jersey! How did that happen? I am married and have  two beautiful little girls who love to read just like Mommy. I have had a passion for books since I was a little girl and an imagination for just as long. I hope my books can inspire others to read and to write too.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

 

Giveaway Details

1 winner will win a THE LIBRARIAN Tote bag and swag , US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

unnamed (3)

Tour Schedule

Week One:

6/12/2017- Lost in Ever After– Interview

6/13/2017- Melissa’s Eclectic Bookshelf– Review

6/14/2017- Fire and Ice– Excerpt

6/15/2017- MEREADALOT– Review

6/16/2017- YA and Wine Interview

 

Week Two:

6/19/2017- Nerdophiles – Review

6/20/2017- BookHounds YA– Guest Post

6/21/2017- Kindle and Me– Review

6/22/2017- Two Chicks on Books– Interview

6/23/2017- Page Turners Blog– Review

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When Planets Fall Release Day Blitz

10 May, 2017 by in rockstar book tours, when planets fall Leave a comment

 

WHEN PLANETS FALL by Abby J. Reed is available  today!
If you haven’t yet heard about this wonderful book by Author Abby J. Reed, be sure to check out all the details below.
This blitz also includes a giveaway for a finished copy of the book and swag, US Only, courtesy of Abby and Rockstar Book Tours. Enter in the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post.

About the Book

Title: WHEN PLANETS FALL (Stars Fall Circle #1)
Author: Abby J.
Reed
Pub. Date: May 10, 2017
Publisher: Soul Mate Publishing
Pages: 420
Formats: Paperback, eBook
On a planet where the only difference between three tribes is their blood color, war is on the horizon.
Breaker, an amputee, wants peace for his family and home. Malani, a kidnapped POW, wants to return home. Luka wants justice for his home. All three teens come together when Breaker is given seven days to fix a wrecked enemy starship
or their home, and peace, is forfeit..
 “In this richly imagined start to a new sci-fi series, Reed brings optimism to the goal of solving entrenched violence in a galaxy far, far away . . . A propulsive, sharply crafted tale about a planetary war.” –Kirkus Reviews

Excerpt

I cupped my hands around my
mouth. “Brody! Brody!”
Nobody was allowed to break
boundary unless you were on hunting rounds and wanted a shot at the
deercorns—three-horns, good meat—or on boundary duty. The land between here and
the Heron Mountains in the west was technically neutral territory and belonged
to no one. Too many good game trails passed through and everyone needed good
protein. You’d think this meant a peace card for any who marched through the
area. Then a handful of cycles back, attacks started becoming more frequent.
Now, neutral territory meant open hunting season on everyone.
And if you were in trouble .
. . the compound wouldn’t help.
I couldn’t leave him out
there. I had to go over the fence. Beyond the compound’s boundary.

About the Author

Abby J. Reed writes young adult science fiction and fantasy novels that ask what if. She has a degree in English Writing and is drawn to characters with physical limitations due to her own neurological disorder called Chronic Migraine. Her debut novel, WHEN PLANETS FALL, will be published in April 2017 by Soul Mate Publishing.
Abby lives in Colorado with her husband and two fluffy pups. If her hands aren’t on the keyboard, they are stained purple and blue with paint.

Giveaway Details

1 winner will receive a finished copy of WHEN PLANETS FALL & Swag, US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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This Raging Light Blog Tour, Guest Post and Giveaway

06 Jan, 2016 by in estelle laure, HMH books for young readers, rockstar book tours, this raging light 1 comment

 

THIS RAGING LIGHT

by Estelle Laure

Published December 22nd, 2015

288 pages

by HMH Books for Young Readers

Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook

 

Find it: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks

 

“A funny, poetic, big-hearted reminder that life can—and will—take us all by surprise.” —Jennifer E. Smith, The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

Can the best thing happen at the worst time?

Her dad went crazy. Her mom left town. She has bills to pay and a little sister to look after. Now is not the time for level-headed seventeen-year-old Lucille to fall in love. But love—messy, inconvenient love—is what she’s about to experience when she falls for Digby Jones, her best friend’s brother. With blazing longing that builds to a fever pitch, Estelle Laure’s soulful debut will keep readers hooked and hoping until the very last page.

littleredgpost

Shine on, you crazy overexposed growing-up-too-fast-diamond or Five Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me
There was a moment when I realized my parents weren’t all-powerful, that they had possession of more days and months on earth and thereby knew more about the world than I did, but it became clear to me that they were basically winging it, doing their best to figure it out. They too were trying to find their way around a world filled with unknowables and obstacles, to understand their faith, to navigate the weaker parts of themselves. That’s the moment I wanted to write about in This Raging Light. Lucille’s experience is not my own, but she is standing on that precipice of understanding about adults and letting go of childhood.

I don’t feel like I had much of a childhood. I’m okay with that because I don’t think I liked being a kid all that much. I was exposed to a lot, if not by my parents, by circumstances (moving a lot/always being a minority/experiencing poverty and cruelty), by the political climate (Cold War/constant threat of nuclear attack), by my own powers of observation, my own curiosity and my parents’ divorce early on.
In spite of my worldliness and all my experience, I wish I had been slower with things, though. I wish when it had come time to make certain choices, that I had been gentler with myself. Here are a few things I wish someone had told me.
1. Wait to have sex. I was young, my boyfriend was nineteen and he broke my heart and made it impossible for me to trust anyone for a long time. I wish I had been stronger, more self-possessed. He told me he couldn’t be with me if I didn’t do it, and I was so afraid of being dumped and alone that I forced myself into it before I was ready. I didn’t want to be a tease when all my friends were doing it and it seemed like the natural order of things. I wish I had waited. I wish someone had told me I was worth waiting for.

2. Never get into a car with a drunk driver. This seems like an obvious one, right? You hear it all the time. But I did. I wish so much that I had had someone I could trust to call and take me home no matter where I was, but I didn’t. I lost a few friends in drunken car accidents and I am so grateful my life didn’t end that way. Now I tell my kids (who are too young to be anywhere by themselves) to call me, call my friends, bother all of us when the time comes. Never ever ever play with your life like that. It’s not worth it. Ever.

3. Don’t be careless with anyone’s heart. There’s this thing I remember. Once I had my heart broken I wasn’t going to let anyone in to have it done to me. I would strike first. So I did. I became a person who was walled up. Or at least I thought I was. Now I see the damage I did to others and myself, mostly to myself because I was actually so sensitive and was acting from damage instead of love.

Even if you’ve seen a lot, even if you understand that people don’t take each other seriously and use each other sometimes, always take responsibility for how you yourself are treating someone. Hold yourself to a higher standard. Really. That doesn’t mean making an idiot of yourself, only being conscious of your actions and making the kindest choice (which can mean breaking up with someone or having an unpleasant conversation sometimes).

4. Don’t let bit*%*es control you. Because my home life was shaky, I turned to my friends for shelter. That was fine. In the end, I’m still friends with most of those people. But in high school there were some funky dynamics at play. Not all that different from the relationship I had with my first boyfriend, I found myself dependent on my friends for rides, for sleepovers, for school lunches sometimes. The result was that I was totally disempowered and easily controlled, that I dimmed myself down so as not to be a threat, and allowed for some things I wish I could take back or undo, because I wasn’t strong enough to stand up for myself, and sometimes for others. I wish someone had reminded me that I would eventually have to go into the world and live my own life and it’s never worth it to hand your fate over to anyone else.

5. Remember what’s good. There were times when the world seemed black. People flew off roads, planes crashed, people cheated and lied and were cruel because they could be, and the world at large…forget it. I wish I had taken more of a stand for the light back then, that I had decided as I have now, that no matter what darkness there is in the world, no matter how hopeless everything looks, I am an agent for the light.

That doesn’t mean I’m in denial about the world, that I won’t hurt people or that I won’t mess up, that I won’t have to deal with shame or difficulty. It just means that how I define my standards and my behavior on a moral level, internally, between me and me, is important. I will listen to music and read books and educate myself. I will care for the people in my life to the best of my abilities and do random nice things for them. I’ll do what I can all the time to bring brightness and truth into a foggy, messed up world.

I wish I had done that sooner. I wish I had been more helpful, more aware, instead of delving into darkness and allowing myself to be in ways that were false and disingenuous.

Remember, you define what’s good and right for yourself. If you develop a good relationship with your intuition, which most streetwise kids have in spades, you will always know when you aren’t being true to yourself. Remember when the world sullies you, when you behave as less than your best self, when things are hard and everything is a mess and you screwed up again, that you are made of light, that you are good, and that you have the power, in moments if not all the time, to shine out into the world and make it better.

About the Author

Estelle Laure is a Vonnegut worshipper who believes in love and magic and the power of facing hard truths. She has a BA in Theater Arts from New Mexico State University and an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts, and thinks everyone should have to wait tables or work in a kitchen at least once in their lives. She lives in Taos, New Mexico with her children.

Website | Twitter |Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram

 

The Giveaway

3 winners will receive a hardcover of THIS RAGING LIGHT and a bottle of Essie Nail Polish that matched the book cover. US Only.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Tour Schedule

Week One:

1/4/2016- The Cover Contessa– Interview

1/5/2016– Just Commonly Review

1/6/2016– Fire and Ice– Guest Post

1/7/2016– Adventures in Reading– Spotlight

1/8/2016– Once Upon A Twilight– Review

 

Week Two:

1/11/2016– Curling Up With A Good Book Interview

1/12/2016– The Candid Cover Review

1/13/2016– BookHounds YA– Guest Post

1/14/2016– Book Briefs– Review

1/15/2016– Such a Novel Idea– Interview

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Silver Eve Blog Tour, Excerpt and Giveaway

24 Sep, 2015 by in blog tour, book giveaway, rockstar book tours, silver eve Leave a comment

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Fire and Ice is thrilled to be today’s stop on the official Silver Eve Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. We have an ewclusive excerpt as well as three giveaways!

 

silver eveTitle & Series: SILVER EVE (Guardians of Tarnec #2)

Author: Sandra Waugh

Release date: September 22, 2015

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers

Pages: 384

Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Find it: AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | iTUNES | THE BOOK DEPOSITORY | INDIEBOUND | GOODREADS

Read an Excerpt: http://sandrawaugh.com/silver-eve1.php

A Healer without home or purpose, seventeen-year-old Evie Carew has found the perfect place to disappear: Rood Marsh. She can easily fade into its vast wilderness of towering reeds; leave behind the growing violence that is claiming her innocent world. Leave behind the tragedy that broke her heart and sent her far from her grandmother, cousin Lark and all she once loved.

But Evie is not alone in the marsh. A seer, a Rider, and Breeders of Chaos all hunt her—for though opposed in objective, her seekers share knowledge she does not: Evie is one of the four Guardians of Tarnec, one who can help save the world from the coming destruction if she can reclaim the stolen amulet of Death. But whether she meets true love or a brutal end on such a journey is a matter of who finds her first.

 

About Sandra Waughauthor sandra

Sandra grew up in an old house full of crowded bookshelves, in walking distance of an old library that allowed her to drag home a sack of six books at a time. It goes without saying, then, that she fell in love with the old house in Litchfield County, CT, because of its many bookshelves, and she lives there now with her husband, two sons, and a dog who snores. Loudly.

LARK RISING is her first novel and the first in the GUARDIANS OF TARNEC series. SILVER EVE follows in 2015.

WEBSITE | BLOG | TWITTER | TUMBLR | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST | GOODREADS

 

Excerpt

Somewhere it occurred to me that these scattered questions were at last the beginnings of true fear, that this was what fear felt like: worry becoming dread becoming terror. And yet they kept my mind from caving to Healer concerns—that I was parched, and starving, and exhausted—and maybe that was a good thing.
It was nearly dark. The soldiers in their black armor had disappeared into dusk and distance, but I saw six pale streaks coursing over the land. I faced forward again, hissing at myself to stop gauging my chances, and scrambled up a ridge—
It ended abruptly, the ridge. With two stumbling steps and an impromptu leap I hit the other side hard, falling from its edge, grabbing for anything to hold, then dangling with breath knocked out, arms scratched raw. I’d caught an edge of stone, barely. I grabbed at crevices, grunting, tearing skin and nails, worked my way up onto solid ground and huddled at the brim to find my breath, soften the pain. The dogs howled closer. Think, Evie! I had to do something; I had to protect the shell.
The dogs . . . The dogs . . . Brutally loud as they closed in. The only defense I had was that deadly gap. I lifted my head, grim but resolute. I’d lure them, I would. Self-preservation trumped killing, didn’t it? This was defense.
I crawled to my feet, sick with intent, forced myself to wait on the edge of the ridge. A moment later the dogs arrived in a ferocious tangle. Shaking, sore, repulsed, I dragged in a breath and raised my hands above my head to lure their focus so they wouldn’t see the drop. And then they were there, running fast, coming straight at me with double rows of teeth and fangs as long as my fingers, and—
A dissonance of howls and snarls. Some went over the edge, most not, and a failure, all of it. My stomach pitched. I turned and scrambled up a ledge of boulder, hearing the remaining dogs leap the gap. I lunged for the next little ridge, crying out against the pain, anger, and yes, fear—
Then my cry was cut short as a hand covered my mouth and hauled me up hard. A voice against my cheek breathed, “Hush.” Then: “Don’t look.”

unnamed (10)About Lark Rising 

Title & Series: LARK RISING (Guardians of Tarnec #1)

Release date: September 23, 2014

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers

Pages: 384

Formats: Hardcover, paperback, eBook

Links: AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | iTUNES | THE BOOK DEPOSITORY | INDIEBOUND | GOODREADS

 

Read an Excerpt: http://sandrawaugh.com/lark-rising1.php

Lark has foreseen two things—she will fall for a young man with sage green eyes,and he will kill her.

Sixteen-year-old Lark Carew is happiest close to home, tending her garden and gathering herbs for medicines. But when her Sight warns her that monsters called Troths will soon invade her village, Lark is summoned on a journey to seek help from the legendary Riders of Tarnec. Little does she suspect that one of the Riders, Gharain, is the very man who has haunted her visions. Or that the people of Tarnec have called her there for another reason: Lark is the Guardian of Life, the first of four Guardians who must awaken their powers to recover four stolen amulets. Together, the amulets—Life, Death, Dark, and Light—keep the world in Balance. To take back the Life amulet, Lark will have to discover her true inner strength and give in to a love that she swears will be her downfall.

 

unnamed (3)Giveaway Detailsunnamed (6)

1 winner will receive Eve’s necklace and signed hardcovers of LARK RISING & SILVER EVE and bookmarks. US Only.

1 winner will receive a necklace a glass sphere & dandelion thread and signed hardcovers of LARK RISING & SILVER EVE and bookmarks. US Only.

1 winner will receive rain cologne, temporary tattoos, a bookmark, and a signed paperback of LARK RISING and a signed ARC of SILVER EVE. US Only.

 

Giveaway

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Tour Schedule
WEEK ONE

Sept. 14th | Such a Novel Idea – Interview

Sept. 15th | Kindle and Me – Excerpt

Sept. 16th | Two Chicks on Books – Interview

Sept. 17th | History from a Woman’s Perspective – Review

Sept. 18th | Book Swoon – Review

 

WEEK TWO

Sept. 21st | The Eater of Books – Interview

Sept. 22nd | Paranormal Book Club – Guest Post

Sept. 23rd | Taking It One Book at a Time – Review

Sept. 24th | Fire and Ice – Excerpt

Sept. 25th | Please Feed the Bookworm – Review

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Invaded by Melissa Landers ~ Blitz and Giveaway

02 Feb, 2015 by in giveaway, invaded, melissa landers, rockstar, rockstar book tours Leave a comment

 

 

I am so thrilled to help Melissa Landers with her release week launch party for INVADED! See a note from Melissa below and make sure to enter the giveaway!
Hey, fiction lovers. I’m Melissa Landers, author of the Alienated series (YA sci-fi from Disney-Hyperion), and today I’m bouncing with excitement because THE SEQUEL IS FINALLY HERE!
It’s been a year since we left Aelyx and Cara onboard the intergalactic transport, and INVADED begins with an emotional goodbye as they part ways—Aelyx returning to Earth to salvage the alliance, and Cara continuing to L’eihr to serve out her part of the student exchange. While they’re apart, our star-crossed lovers will face assassination attempts, betrayal, crippling self-doubt, and a sadistic alien Phys Ed class. (Because there’s no escaping PE, even in another galaxy.) When Aelyx and Cara finally reunite…well, let’s just say it’s combustive. 😉
What do reviewers think? I’m glad you asked!

“Readers will love the seamless blend of suspense, humor, and romance set against an interstellar landscape. Dual narratives and a tightly plotted mystery keep the suspense running high, and the chemistry between Aelyx and Cara smolders.” –Booklist

“Excellent character development and integration between modern reality and science fiction. Teens will be rooting for the galactic couple while enjoying the action and suspense that runs through the two volumes.” –School Library Journal
“The protagonists’ forced separation gives greater depth to their romance. Each learns to turn a critical eye upon the flaws of their native societies while confronting genuine obstacles to a future together. These complications only
underscore the growing sense of menace that propels the narrative to an action-packed climax.” –Kirkus

I hope you’ll make tracks to the nearest bookstore and pick up a copy of INVADED! If you’re snowed in, here are some easy links to bring the sequel right to you:

 unnamedBio: Melissa Landers is a former teacher who left the classroom to pursue other worlds. A proud sci-fi geek, she isn’t
afraid to wear her Princess Leia costume in public—just ask her husband and three kids. She lives outside Cincinnati in the small town of Loveland, “Sweetheart of Ohio.” For more information, or just to say hello, visit www.melissa-landers.com.

The Giveaway

To celebrate my book birthday, I’m offering one lucky winner a $25 gift card to Barnes & Noble and an autographed swag pack, complete with mini posters of BOTH books! This giveaway is open internationally, and due to sweepstakes laws, entrants must be 18 years or older to participate.
Best of luck, and happy reading!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Love, Lucy by April Linder~ Blast and Giveaway

28 Jan, 2015 by in love lucy, poppy, rockstar book tours Leave a comment

I am so excited that LOVE, LUCY by April Lindner releases today and that I get to share the news, along with an awesome guest post from the author in which she shares “Some Rules of the Road” for traveling abroad, as Lucy did in the book.

If you haven’t yet heard about this wonderful new book by Author April Linder, be sure to check out all the details below.

This blast also includes a giveaway for a copy of the book courtesy of Rockstar Book Tours and 3 signed JANE posters courtesy of the author. So if you’d like a chance to win, enter in the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post.

About LOVE, LUCY

Title: LOVE, LUCY
Author: April Lindner
Release date: January 27, 2015
Publisher: Poppy
Pages: 304
Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Description:

While backpacking through Florence, Italy, during the summer before she heads off to college, Lucy Sommersworth finds herself falling in love with the culture, the architecture, the food…and Jesse Palladino, a handsome street musician. After a whirlwind romance, Lucy returns home, determined to move on from her “vacation flirtation.” But just because summer is over doesn’t mean Lucy and Jesse are over, too.

In this coming-of-age romance, April Lindner perfectly captures the highs and lows of a summer love that might just be meant to last beyond the season.

Find it: AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | THE BOOK DEPOSITORY | INDIEBOUND | GOODREADS

About the Author

April Lindner is the author of three novels: Catherine, a modernization of Wuthering Heights; Jane, an update of Jane Eyre; and Love, Lucy, releasing January 27, 2015. She also has published two poetry collections, Skin and This Bed Our Bodies Shaped. She plays acoustic guitar badly, sees more rock concerts than she’d care to admit, travels whenever she can, cooks Italian food, and lavishes attention on her pets—two Labrador retriever mixes and two excitable guinea pigs. A professor of English at Saint Joseph’s University, April lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two sons.

 

Guest Post

SOME RULES OF THE ROAD

Like Lucy Sommersworth, the heroine of Love, Lucy, my parents gave me the gift of a lifetime: a backpacking trip to Europe. I was a bit older than Lucy—22, and just out of
college—but when I arrived in Milan, Italy with a Eurail pass, a copy of Let’s Go: Europe, and a seventy-pound backpack I could barely lift, I was a wee bit terrified. Like Lucy, I spoke only a little bit of Italian, just barely enough to get by, and I wasn’t particularly good at
reading maps or train schedules. Unlike Lucy, I was travelling solo.

Luckily, my journey began with training wheels. I’d just taken a college Italian class, and my professor had offered a safe crash pad for the first few days of my trip—in
her family home in the Alps. Less luckily, when I reached Malpensa airport, nobody was there to pick me up. Giddy with excitement and jet lag, I wandered around the airport, eavesdropping on Italians as they hugged each other hello and goodbye, and had noisy arguments. I’d never felt more alone in
my life. Where would I sleep that night if my ride didn’t show up?

Luckily, my professor’s brother arrived at last to whisk me away to the family home in Domodossola. The extended family welcomed and fed me, gave me tours of their city
with its charming medieval center, helped me practice my Italian, and, when the time was right, brought me to the train station where my solo travels began for
real. It was time to take off the training wheels.

If I’d felt alone back in the airport, I was even more so on that train to Verona, a city where I didn’t know a soul. In those pre-internet days, I could disappear
into thin air and nobody would even notice I was gone. The thought was chilling, but oddly exciting.

By nightfall, I’d made it to Verona. I’d figured out the public transportation, found a youth hostel, and booked myself a bed. Best of all, I had introduced myself to a handful of other backpackers. We hung out together in the hostel’s common area, sharing bread and cheese, exchanging stories, discussing the rules of the road—those bits of practical wisdom our travels were teaching us. Here are a few.

Time passes differently on the road.  Spend a few very intense hours seeing the sites with strangers and by the end of the day, those strangers have become a part of your story. Years later you’ll see their faces in your photo album and still remember stray details of the adventures you shared together, even if you can’t quite recall their names.

Spontaneity is key.  There are few things as magical as showing up at a train station with no idea where you’re headed next, picking a random
train, and hopping on.

Janis Joplin said it best: Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.  When you’re carrying all your possessions on
your back in a city where you don’t know a soul, you’re absolutely free. You can go anywhere, do anything. That freedom has its lonely moments—but it
can be the doorway to all kinds of adventures.

Embrace misadventure.  As carefully as you plan there will be crazy mistakes: wrong turns, slept-through train stops, multilingual misunderstandings, and all kinds of other blunders—and these will make the best stories. My misadventures are some of my favorite memories. The time I missed curfew and had to climb into my hostel through a second-story window. The morning when, hanging out my recently washed clothes to dry, I dropped my wet underthings out the window, onto a
stranger’s head. The night when, with no room to stay in, I slept on Venice’s train station steps with about a hundred other backpackers, the stars above us and the Grand Canal stretched out before us.

Would I trade that last memory for a safe, comfy night in an actual bed?  Not on your life.

The Giveaway

There is a blast-wide giveaway, ending February 6th at 11:59 p.m. Pacific, for:

  • 1 copy of LOVE, LUCY to be ordered from Amazon or The Book Depository – Int’l
  • 3 JANE posters (signed) – US only

Enter in the Rafflecopter below…

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A Cold Legacy by Megan Shepherd~ Book Blast and Giveaway

27 Jan, 2015 by in a cold legacy, balzer & bray, book blast, megan shepherd, rockstar book tours 4 comments

 

 

Fire and Ice is so excited that A COLD LEGACY by Megan Shepherd releases today and that we get to share the news, along with an excerpt
from the book!
 
If you haven’t yet heard about this wonderful book by Author Megan Shepherd, be sure to check out all the details below.

This blast also includes a giveaway for a signed copy of the book and swag courtesy of Megan and Rockstar Book Tours. So if you’d like a chance to win, enter in the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post.

a cold legacyTitle: A COLD LEGACY
Author: Megan Shepherd
Pub. Date: January 27, 2015
Publisher: Balzer+Bray/HarperCollins
Pages: 400
 
After killing the men who tried to steal her father’s research, Juliet—along with Montgomery, Lucy, Balthazar, and a deathly ill Edward—has escaped to a remote estate on the Scottish moors. Owned by the enigmatic Elizabeth von Stein, the mansion is full of mysteries and unexplained oddities: dead bodies in the basement, secret passages, and fortune-tellers who seem to know Juliet’s secrets. Though it appears to be a safe haven, Juliet fears new dangers may be present within the manor’s own walls.
Then Juliet uncovers the truth about the manor’s long history of scientific experimentation—and her own intended role in it—forcing her to determine where the line falls between right and wrong, life and death, magic and science, and promises and secrets. And she must decide if she’ll follow her father’s dark footsteps or her mother’s tragic ones, or whether she’ll make her own.
With inspiration from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, this breathless conclusion to the Madman’s Daughter trilogy is about the things we’ll sacrifice to save those we love—even our own humanity. 


Excerpt

p.21-24
Montgomery stopped the horses outside a tavern. He came to the carriage door, opening it just a crack to keep the rain from drenching us. “I’m going to ask directions. We can’t be far now.”
 
We watched him saunter over the muddy street as though he didn’t even feel the bite of freezing rain. A face appeared in the tavern window. The door opened and he spoke to a woman in a wool dress for a few moments, then stomped back through the mud. “This village is called Quick,” he told us. “The manor’s only five
miles from here.”
 
“Did you hear that?” Lucy murmured to Edward, still stroking his hair. “We’re almost there. Just hold on. Everything will be all right once we arrive.” 
 
Montgomery’s eyes shifted to me. Neither of us wanted to remind Lucy that the prospect of Edward’s fever breaking—and the Beast’s reappearance—was almost more frightening than the fever itself. Delirious, he was less of a threat.
 
“Let’s go then,” I whispered to Montgomery. “And quickly.”
 
He closed the door and in another moment we were moving again, passing through the rest of Quick. Then all too soon the village was nothing but fading lights. The storm grew and the road became rougher, and all the while Edward’s eyes rolled back and forth beneath shuttered lids.
 
Thunder struck close by, and Lucy shrieked. Montgomery whipped the horses harder,pulling us along the uneven road impossibly fast, trying to outrun the storm. I twisted in the seat to look out the back window at the pelting rain. A stone fence ran alongside us.
 
“We must be getting close,” I said.
 
“Not soon enough,” Lucy breathed. “We’re going to crash if he keeps driving like this!”
 
The road widened, straightening, letting us travel even faster. Lightning struck close by, blinding me. The horses bolted. Lucy screamed and covered her eyes, but I couldn’t tear mine away. The lightning had struck an enormous oak tree, twisted from centuries of wind. The oak took flame, blazing despite the rain. A smoking gash ran down the trunk—the lightning’s death mark. I watched until the rain put out most of the flames, but it still smoldered, billowing hot ash into the night.
 
The horses pawed the earth, and I grabbed the window to steady myself. At this wild speed, just hitting a single rock at the wrong angle would send the carriage
shattering to the ground. It was madness to go so fast. Couldn’t Montgomery calm the horses?
 
Just when I feared the carriage would careen out of control, it stopped short, throwing me against the opposite wall. I tangled in Lucy’s limbs as the chains around Edward’s body clinked. Balthazar grunted, jerking awake at last. We scrambled in the bottom of the carriage until the door flew open.
Montgomery stood in the pelting rain. I feared he’d say we’d broken another strut or the horses had gone lame or we’d have to spend the night in the harsh storm.
 
But then I saw the lights behind him, and the night took shape into a turreted stone manor with bright lamps blazing and gargoyles on the roof vomiting rain into a stone courtyard.
 
Montgomery’s eyes met mine beneath the low brim of his hat.
 
“We’ve arrived,” he said.
 

About the Author

megan shepherd
 
Hello! 
I’ve been many things, like a professional exchange student, park ranger in Montana, and LOST enthusiast, but
what I am now is a writer.
 
I think it’s fair to say I was born into it. I grew up in the mountains of North Carolina, raised behind the counter of my parents’ independent bookstore, Highland Books in Brevard. Ah, so many free books. But I never thought being a writer could be a real career. After college I thought I’d end up as a foreign service officer somewhere dashing and exotic, like Canada. I studied French, Spanish, German, and Russian and still speak a few of those. Then I joined the Peace Corps and spent two years in Senegal, where I learned a few more languages I’ll never speak again and lived in a mud hut with no electricity or running water. You can probably imagine how that experience went, but if you’re curious, here are the dirty details
 
It wasn’t until a chance aquaintance read something I wrote and said, “have you ever considered being a writer?” that something clicked and I realized it was possible. My husband encouraged me, and I quickly fell head-over-heels in love
with writing and children’s literature in particular. I started out writing articles, which have appeared in Faces, Appleseeds, and Calliope magazines, and stories for younger children. I soon realized I wasn’t sweet enough to write fiction for that age and found myself writing young adult literature instead, which doesn’t require nearly as many tender moments and includes a lot more cursing.
 
When I’m not writing, I can usually be found horseback riding, day dreaming at coffee shops, or hiking in the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina. I love to hear from readers, so please drop me a line!
 
I am represented by Josh Adams of Adams LiteraryAuthor Photo by Kristi Hedberg Photography
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The Giveaway

1 winner
will receive a signed copy of A COLD LEGACY and swag! US Only.
Ends on
February 6th at Midnight EST!

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Made For You by Melissa Marr ~ Blog Tour

10 Sep, 2014 by in blog tour, melissa marr, rockstar book tours 4 comments

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made_for_you_coverAbout the Book

Title: MADE FOR YOU
Author: Melissa Marr
Pub. Date:September 16, 2014
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages:368
Formats:Hardcover, audio, eBook

Find it: AmazonBarnes & NobleGoodreads

Bestselling author of the Wicked Lovely books Melissa Marr’s first contemporary YA novel is a twisted southern gothic tale of obsession, romance, and murder. A killer is obsessed with Eva Tilling. Can she stop him, or will he claim her?

When Eva Tilling wakes up in the hospital, she’s confused—who in her sleepy little North Carolina town could have hit her with their car? And why? But before she can consider the question, she finds that she’s awoken with a strange new skill: the ability to foresee people’s deaths when they touch her. While she is recovering from the hit-and-run, Nate, an old flame, reappears, and the two must traverse their rocky past as they figure out how to use Eva’s power to keep her friends—and themselves—alive. But while Eva and Nate grow closer, the killer grows increasingly frantic in his attempt to get to Eva.

For the first time, New York Times bestselling author Melissa Marr has applied her extraordinary talent to contemporary realism. Chilling twists, unrequited obsession, and high-stakes romance drive this Gothic, racy thriller—a story of small-town oppression and salvation. Melissa’s fans, and every YA reader, will find its wild ride enthralling.

Scavenger Hunt

“Excuse me a minute,” I say.
Robert and Reid are sitting with us, but I excuse myself to walk over to him. It’s been forever since we spoke. He hasn’t called or come to see me in weeks. I never catch him at school either. I miss him. Even after he stopped being around the rest of our friends, he was still my friend. I thought that would never change, but now, I think I might be wrong.
I’ve had a couple drinks, and it gives me the courage to ignore his dismissive glance and walk up to him.
“Nate,” I start.
I only want to talk, to go back to the way we were, but he looks right at me, his gaze roaming from my sandals up my jeans and over my blouse and ending on my face. “Not interested.”
Then he steps around me like we’re strangers. He just walks past me like I’m not there, like he doesn’t know me, like we haven’t been in one another’s lives since we were in preschool. I feel like everyone there is staring at us, but if they are, no one mentions it—not to me, at least. My last name protects me from that, and for a change, I’m glad to be a Cooper-Tilling.
Nate, on the other hand, has just sealed his pariah reputation. It was bad enough that his parents divorced, and he suddenly seemed to forget that there were clothes in colors other than black.
Now, he’s rude to me in front of everyone. If he was trying to make the rest of my friends declare him invisible, he just succeeded.
On Monday, I find out that he slept with Piper’s cousin, Julie, who was visiting. She’s three years older than us, a freshman at Duke. After that, it became a thing to talk about which girl he chose for the night when he turned up at parties. After that, I never tried to talk to him—or let him see me watching him—ever again.
Piper is waiting for her cue, for me to tell her what to think. It’s how things are in Jessup. She’s one of the elite, but I’m the one she follows. My parents are the top of the food pyramid here. It’s not a situation I cherish, and I pretend not to notice.
I simply play my part, fulfill their expectations and smile. It’s the best plan I have.
I know that Piper is hoping for permission to tear Nate down, but I’m not going there. “She’s no different than the last three. He’ll leave in the morning with her phone number, but he won’t use it.”
“What are you two whispering about?” Reid asks as he flops down next to Piper and drapes an arm around her shoulders. They’re not dating; he simply has no awareness of personal space.
Piper shrugs him off. “Losers.”
“I’ll protect you,” Reid promises.

 

About the Authormelissa-marr

Melissa grew up believing in faeries, ghosts, and various other creatures. After teaching college lit for a decade, she applied her fascination with folklore to writing.

Melissa writes fiction for adults, teens, and children. Her books have been translated into 28 languages to date and been bestsellers in the US (NY Times, LA Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal) as well as various countries overseas. She is best known for the Wicked Lovely series for teens and Graveminder for adults.

Wicked Lovely was her first novel; it was simultaneously released in the US and UK by HarperCollins in 2007 (with translation rights also sold in twenty-some countries). It debuted as a NY Times Bestseller and evolved into a multi-book series with myriad accolades and international bestseller lists.

Her debut adult book, Graveminder, released to strong critical reception in 2011.  Following that she has edited anthologies with Kelley Armstrong (Enthralled and Shards & Ashes) and with her friend Tim Pratt (Rags & Bones), and released a second adult novel (The Arrivals) in 2013.

With Kelley Armstrong, Melissa is the co-author of the Blackwell Pages trilogy (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers), a children’s series about the Norse myth of Ragnarök.

Her upcoming HarperCollins 2014 release, Made For You, utilizes both her graduate degree in Southern Literature and her personal experience with stalkers in a story about a killer who terrorizes a small North Carolina town.

Her first picture book (Bunny Roo) will be released in 2015.

Currently, Melissa resides in Virginia with her spouse, children, and many dogs.

To contact Melissa try:  
Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  | Goodreads

The Tour Schedule

Week One:

9/8/2014- Katie’s Book Blog– Scavenger Hunt

9/9/2014- Crossroad Reviews– Review

9/10/2014- Fire and Ice– Scavenger Hunt

9/11/2014- Reading with ABC– Review

9/12/2014- BookHounds YA– Scavenger Hunt

 

Week Two:

9/15/2014- Ticket to Anywhere– Review

9/16/2014- Fiktshun– Scavenger Hunt

9/17/2014- Seeing Night Reviews– Review

9/18/2014- Magical Urban Fantasy Reads– Scavenger Hunt

9/19/2014- Fictitious Delicious– Review

 

The Giveaway

1 winner will receive a full set of the 5 Wicked Lovely series and the Wicked Lovely companion book (all paperback) as well as a hardcover copy of Made For You. US Only

1 winner will receive a paperback of Graveminder & of Arrivals, as well as a hardcover copy of Made For You. US Only.

1 winner will receive a hardcover of Made For You. US ONLY.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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