Today S. N. Jones, GenZ Publishing, & Rockstar Book
Tours are revealing the GORGEOUS cover for her YA Historical fantasy, EXORDIUM
which will release in early 2020! Check out the awesome cover and enter the
giveaway!
This is the
motto of the clan Kongeorn. In their world of harsh battles and harsher winters
our story begins.
Exordium is
a historical fantasy novel that follows the story of Vita, who is thrust into a
position of power and forced to deal with the aftermath of a family
tragedy–and an act of war. Along the way, she must confront her own demons and
learn that everyone is fighting their own war, their own obstacles. She must
learn how to overcome them, to rise higher than ever before. Exordium and its
author, S. N. Jones, were awarded with the 2018 National Civic Expression Award
from the Scholastic Art and Writing Competition, funded by the Alliance for
Young Artists and Writers.
One woman.
One name.
One
forgotten legacy.
Excerpt:
“The forest seemed still, as if no creature dared to
move or cry out in my presence. The trees remained static, their branches rigid
and frozen in the cool night air. In the stillness, a burden began to weigh
down upon me, cloaking me like the furs on my shoulders. It sobered me, taking
my attention away from the visions and cynical thoughts, and plopped me right
where I would stay. I could not hide from it, nor—I found—did I want to. My
duty to my people, to my name, bore down on me, and I refused to shake it.”
Sophie wants one thing for Christmas-a little freedom from her overprotective parents. So when they decide to spend Christmas in South Louisiana with her very pregnant older sister, Sophie is looking forward to some much needed private (read: make-out) time with her long-term boyfriend, Griffin. Except it turns out that Griffin wants a little freedom from their relationship.
Heartbroken, Sophie flees to her grandparents’ house, where the rest of her boisterous extended family is gathered for the holiday. That’s when her nonna devises a (not so) brilliant plan: Over the next ten days, Sophie will be set up on ten different blind dates by different family members. Like her sweet cousin Sara, who sets her up with a hot guy at an exclusive underground party. Or her crazy aunt Patrice, who signs Sophie up for a lead role in a living nativity. With a boy who barely reaches her shoulder. And a screaming baby.
When Griffin turns up unexpectedly and begs for a second chance, Sophie feels more confused than ever. Because maybe, just maybe, she’s started to have feelings for someone else . . . Someone who is definitely not available.
This is going to be the worst Christmas break ever . . . or is it?
“This
piece-by-piece romance doesn’t need its Christmas theme to sell, but it makes
it glitter all the more.”—Booklist
“In a funny
holiday romance that has Sophie dog-sitting in a hockey rink, watching porn at
a drive-in theater, and playing the Virgin Mary in a middle school Nativity,
Elston cleverly reflects the family members’ personalities through their
choices of dates for Sophie.”—Publishers Weekly
Review
The cover is perfect. Festive, beautiful photography and design. I enjoyed 10 Blind Dates because of the bond Sophie has with her family. They are a large Italian bunch jammed into one home for Christmas, and taking bets on Sophie’s dating life. There were so many healthy dynamics illustrated, including post partum recovery, cousin love and close bonds with parents, grandparents and extended relatives.
Her neighbor Wes is kind, considerate, and takes good care of the main character as she braves a break up as well as a few sketchy blind date situations. A well rounded plot and endearing characters make this a heart warming, light read. I didn’t enjoy her evil cousins or their date activity. I wish the love interest hadn’t been all but settled until a little further into the book, to build suspense. My only two small complaints. Overall, a fun read!
Parental content: underage drinking, mention of pornography and nudity.
I received a copy from the publisher free as part of a blog tour.
About Ashley:
Ashley Elston is the author of several
novels, including THE RULES FOR DISAPPEARING (a finalist in the Best Young
Adult Novel category of the International Thriller Awards) and THIS IS OUR
STORY. She graduated with a Liberal Arts degree from Louisiana State University
in Shreveport. Ashley worked for many years as a wedding photographer before
turning her hand to writing. Ashley lives in Louisiana with her husband and
three sons.
Ashley is represented by Sarah Davies at The
Greenhouse Literary Agency.
