Saturday, November 30, 2013

The Twelve Days of New Adult Giveaway Hop

Welcome to the Twelve Days of New Adult Giveaway Hop hosted by StuckInBooks!
I am a new fan of New Adult books, and I wanted to share my new love of them and the authors that write them by offering the chance to win on of my favorite New Adult ebooks!

One winner will win their choice of one of the eBooks listed below!
This Giveaway is open Internationally as long as you can accept a gifted ebook from Amazon

The Choices
(covers take you to Goodreads)
Flight (The Crescent Chronicles, #1)Focus (The Crescent Chronicles, #2)Found (The Crescent Chronicles, #3)
Derailed (Clayton Falls, #1)Veer (Clayton Falls, #2)Wrecked (Clayton Falls, #3)
The Hazards of Skinny DippingSoar (The Empire Chronicles, #1)The Camp
Beyond Control (Beyond Love, #1)Beyond Doubt (Beyond Love, #2)
I have read almost all of these, and they all top my must read recommendation list! So I thought I would share my love of them for this hop!


Soar Blog Tour: Review and Giveaway

 Welcome to the Soar Blog Tour! I am so excited to be hosting one of my all time favorite authors again! Soar is the first book in the new Empire Chronicles series which is a spinoff from the Crescent Chronicles! I have a review of Soar and there is also a giveaway!

Without further adieu

About the Book

Title: Soar
Author: Alyssa Rose Ivy
Series: The Empire Chronicles #1
Publication Date: November 19, 2013
Genres: New Adult, Paranormal Romance
In the city that never sleeps the Chronicles continue…

Serving coffee is temporary, just like Casey's year off from school. She’s going to come up with a plan to stay in New York City and go back to college, and that plan does not involve dating a paranormal creature—let alone two.

Running the supernatural society of New York is not as fun as it sounds, especially when you still have to answer to your ex-girlfriend’s fiancĂ©. Toby doesn’t mean to bring Casey into the chaos of his life, but he can't resist the girl who makes him smile when he thought no one else ever could.

Jared's in New York checking out a security risk for his best friend, the king. He plans to return to New Orleans quickly, but not if it means losing his chance with the brunette who pretends she wants nothing to do with him.

In over her head with a bunch of winged creatures who most definitely are not angels, Casey has to figure out who to trust with her life and maybe her heart.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18857024-soar


About the Author
  Alyssa Rose Ivy is a New Adult and Young Adult author who loves to weave stories with romance
and a southern setting. Although raised in the New York area, she fell in love with the South after moving to New Orleans for college. After years as a perpetual student, she turned back to her creative side and decided to write. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and two young children, and she can usually be found with a cup of coffee in her hand.
http://www.alyssaroseivy.com/ https://www.facebook.com/AlyssaRoseIvy?fref=ts https://twitter.com/AlyssaRoseIvy http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5047249.Alyssa_Rose_Ivyhttps:/www.facebook.com/AlyssaRoseIvy http://pinterest.com/alyssaroseivy/
My Review of Soar
Soar is a new series with a familiar feel, and a few familiar faces. As a fan of not only the Crescent Chronicles but of everything Alyssa Rose Ivy has written, I was dying to read Soar. I was so sad to see the Crescent Chronicles come to an end, but the Empire Chronicles fills the void with a new and surprising story. Even for someone who has not read any of the Crescent Chronicles, Soar is still thoroughly enjoyable and its very own story.  

Both Toby and Jared take part in Soar’s story, but this story is really Casey’s story. Casey is just a young woman living her dream of living in New York City, even if this means working as a barista and living in the room the size of a closet. Suddenly she becomes involved in a world she never knew existed. Toby has been coming into Casey’s coffee shop for months, but with a romance blooming, Toby begins to think he may actually be able to move on from Allie. Casey is starting to fall for Toby, but she is continually being drawn to Jared. While I am sure the love triangle is going to play out over the series, I am just so torn as to whom Casey should be with, and the ending is only going complicate things even more. 

While Casey is the sweet girl next-door type, she does have a darker history that is just touched upon in Soar. Her past does come up in a few parts of Soar, but I think it is defiantly going to have a bigger impact on the next book, Search. Which cannot come soon enough with the ending Soar had, I am desperate to see where the story goes from here. I think Casey would be a great influence on whichever love interest she chooses. 

While I did not even like Toby in the Crescent Chronicles, Soar had me seeing Toby in a completely new light. I started to root for Toby, but I also loved Jared in the Crescent Chronicles. Soar makes it even harder for me to pick a team, because Soar is told from not only Casey’s viewpoint, but also Toby and Jared’s so the reader gets a complete picture for the story and insight to all the character. Seeing how both Toby and Jared feel about Casey does not make it any easier. All I can do now is impatiently wait for Search to come out.  

**Unabridged Bookshelf received this book from the author, in exchange for an honest review**


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Friday, November 29, 2013

Black Friday Blitz: The Last Bastion on the Living


I hope everyone who celebrates Thanksgiving enjoyed a wonderful day full of turkey and family. Now it is that special day, Black Friday where there are amazing deals everywhere. To celebrate Black Friday, The Last Bastion of the Living by Rhiannon Frater is currently only $0.99! If you have not grabbed your copy yet, today is the day to do it. I also have an excerpt from The Last Bastion of the Living and a giveaway!

About the Book

Title: The Last Bastion of the Living: A Futuristic Zombie Novel
Author: Rhiannon Frater
Publication Date: June 12, 2012
Genres: Adult, Horror, Science Fiction
The Bastion was humanity’s last hope against the fearsome undead creatures known as the Inferi Scourge. A fortified city with a high wall, surrounded by lush land rich with all the resources needed to survive, protected by high mountain summits, and a massive gate to secure the only pass into the valley, the Bastion became the last stronghold of the living on earth. But one fateful day, the gate failed and the Inferi Scourge destroyed the human settlements outside the walls and trapped the survivors inside the city. Now decades later, the last remaining humans are struggling to survive in a dying city as resources and hope dwindle.
Vanguard Maria Martinez has lived her whole life within the towering walls of steel. She yearns for a life away from the overcrowded streets, rolling blackouts, and food shortages, but there is no hope for anyone as long as the Inferi Scourge howl outside the high walls. Her only refuge from the daily grind is in the arms of her lover, Dwayne Reichardt, an officer in the Bastion Constabulary. Both are highly-decorated veterans of the last disastrous push against the Inferi Scourge. Their secret affair is her only happiness.
Then one day Maria is summoned to meet with a mysterious representative from the Science Warfare Division and is offered the opportunity to finally destroy the Inferi Scourge in the valley and close the gate. The rewards of success are great, but she will have to sacrifice everything, possibly even her life, to accomplish the ultimate goal of securing the future of humanity and saving it from extinction.
About the Author
Rhiannon Frater is the award-winning author of over a dozen books, including the As the World Dies zombie trilogy (Tor), as well as independent works such as The Last Bastion of the Living (declared the #1 Zombie Release of 2012 by Explorations Fantasy Blog and the #1 Zombie Novel of the Decade by B&N Book Blog), and other horror novels. Her next novel for Tor, Dead Spots, will be published in 2014. She was born and raised a Texan and presently lives in Austin, Texas with her husband and furry children (a.k.a pets). She loves scary movies, sci-fi and horror shows, playing video games, cooking, dyeing her hair weird colors, and shopping for Betsey Johnson purses and shoes.
     
Excerpt from The Last Bastion of the Living
by 
Rhiannon Frater
Excerpt from Prologue

A massive shockwave rippled through the perimeter wall, tossing soldiers off their feet and onto the catwalk, or over the wall into the Scourge horde below as one of the mobile units twisted around in one of the deeper craters and wrenched another unit completely about. The torsion between the two units sent another shudder through the perimeter wall and Maria clung to the catwalk as Ryan fell on top of her. Together, they rode the catwalk to the ground, tumbling into the mud. Maria immediately scrambled to her feet and gasped.
The steel mesh had torn free of one of the units and the Scourge were shoving their bodies through the frayed opening. The squads closest to the breach opened fire. The mesh wall shimmered as it wavered under the onslaught of the undead. The mobile units continued on their designated course to their next position, ripping another hole in the mesh wall.
“Fall back!” someone ordered as the Inferi Scourge shoved through the widening openings.
Ryan grabbed Maria’s shoulder and dragged her toward a section where the fallen catwalks formed a barrier along with some of the unpacked supply units. Lindsey scrambled to follow. The squads formed a line, shooting at the Scourge coming through the gap. For several agonizing minutes, they were successful at holding the howling creatures back.
“Tiltrotors are en route!” a voice intoned in her helmet.
Sweat poured down Maria’s face as she reloaded. Ryan lobbed several grenades toward the breach as Lindsey fired over Maria’s head.
“About that date…” Ryan said, grinning despite the fear in his eyes.
Maria slid around him into a better position and aimed at a Scourge trying to scale the fallen edge of the wall. “You’re supposed to give me a reason to live, dumb ass,” she groused.
Another soldier landed in the mud beside her and helped her obliterate the Scourge trying to scramble through another widening tear in the wall.
“This was a stupid plan!” she shouted.
“It seemed like a good one when we planned it,” the soldier answered.
It took her a full second to realize it was Chief Defender Dwayne Reichardt.
“Sorry, sir,” she said quickly.
He shook his head, still firing. “Let’s just live through this!”
The Scourge pushed further into the perimeter. Maria knew now it was only a matter of minutes before they were all dead. She tried not to hear the screams of the soldiers overcome by the Inferi Scourge. The Scourge tore at them, ripping at their body armor, trying to reach flesh so they could bite and infect. One soldier was pulled free of a group of Scourge, his armor still intact as his comrades gunned down the creatures that had attacked him.
Vanguard Stillson lobbed a grenade at a catwalk’s treads and the explosion toppled it over onto the Inferi Scourge.
They were losing ground swiftly and chaos ruled. No one was listening to orders barked over the feed anymore, but were just trying to survive. The perimeter wall attached to the city wall still stood intact with the catwalks still secured to it. Many soldiers clambered onto it, trying to escape the ground. Maria, Ryan, Lindsey and the Chief Defender started to fall back, providing cover to those trying to reach higher ground.
Rappelling ropes started to fall from the high wall. Frantic soldiers gripped the lines and climbed upward, their muddy boots slipping against the steel surface.
Maria tripped, falling on her ass, and the Chief Defender hauled her up swiftly. The Scourge were everywhere now, smashing through the clusters of soldiers, howling. Maria fired point blank into the face of one as it charged her. The Chief Defender knocked another one back with the butt of his rifle. Together they charged through the mud toward the city wall.
Ryan and Lindsey were just ahead of them and nearing the remaining catwalks when Maria saw a flash of light. A massive force slammed into her and sent her sprawling through the air. Blackness surged up to claim her, and she fought not to drown in it. Pulling herself onto her elbows, her body felt numb and her helmet was gone. Beside her, the Chief Defender struggled to get up. His armor was punctured with shrapnel and blood poured through the tears.
Lifting her weapon, Maria aimed toward the creatures trying to climb over the corpses of Scourge and soldiers the grenade blast had killed. Pulling the trigger, she felt the rifle pulsing as it hurtled bullets into the bodies of the rampaging dead.
“Tiltrotor!” Ryan’s voice screamed near her.
She kept firing, but flicked her gaze to one side to see Ryan carrying a badly-wounded Lindsey over one broad shoulder. The churning wind pulled her gaze up to the aircraft slowly descending over the fray. Beside her, the Chief Defender fell over onto his side, unable to get up. Maria grabbed his arm and shifted her body under it. Rising to her knees, she pulled him upright. He screamed. Together, they managed to get to their feet as Maria fired at the Scourge drawing closer.
Vanguard Stillson’s huge body moved through the crowd of Inferi Scourge like a rampaging elephant, tossing them left and right, shooting a few as he went. His helmet was gone and his armor was smoldering. Maria could see the shrapnel from the grenade had sliced away parts of his face. Yet Stillson kept fighting. The Scourge were so intent on him, Ryan and the others were able to skirt past the mob and head toward the aircraft.
Casting one last look at Stillson, Maria gasped as a Scourge grabbed the man’s thick neck and bit into his cheek, infecting him. Usually the Scourge abandoned a victim successfully infected with the virus and moved on to another, but this one kept tearing at Stillson, chewing and appearing to devour his flesh.
Reichardt stumbled, forcing Maria’s attention away from Stillson’s demise. Pulling her superior up to his feet again, she continued to fire at any Scourge rushing them. Around her, other soldiers continued to fall, fighting the undead to their last breath.
“Keep moving, Chief Defender,” she urged him. “I don’t want to die today.”
“Neither do I, and my name is Dwayne,” he said crisply, his voice filled with pain and determination.
“I’m Maria.”
“Nice to meet you, Maria. Now, let’s not die,” Dwayne said
“Is that an order?” Maria kicked over a Scourge and shot it in the face.

“Without a doubt,” Dwayne answered with a grin.

Open to US/Canada

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Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Book Blitz: Daughter of Isis


Title: Daughter of Isis
Author: Kelsey Ketch
Series: Descendants of Isis, #1
Release Date: October 26, 2013
Cover Designed by: Steven Novak
“Her mouth parted slightly, waiting for Seth to breathe life into her own body, just like in the story. She wanted him to awaken her senses.”
Their worlds collide in California’s high desert.
The last thing Natara “Natti” Stone wants to do is to start anew at Setemple High School. She wished she had never left London. Yet the brutal murder of her maternal grandmother has made her life very complicated. The only clue related to her murder is an ancient, encrypted necklace Natti discovered after her grandmother’s death. And if trying to adjust to American life is not enough, Natti is being stalked by a mysterious, charming high school senior, Seth O’Keefe, who is annoyingly persistent in his attempts at seduction.
Seth O’Keefe is secretly a member of the Sons of Set, an order that worships the Egyptian god of chaos. Seth’s blessing from Set, his “charm,” never failed, except with one person: Natti Stone. Her ability to elude him infatuates and infuriates him, and he becomes obsessed with the chase. But the closer he gets to her, the more his emotions take a dangerous turn, and he risks breaking one of the most valued covenants of his order. The punishment for which is a fate worse than death.
The adventure this unlikely couple becomes engulfed in could cost them their lives and their souls.
*Note: Content for Upper YA*

Available from:
 photo B6096376-6C81-4465-8935-CE890C777EB9-1855-000001A1E900B890_zps5affbed6.jpg  photo 111AD205-AA04-4F9E-A0F4-C1264C4E9F30-1855-000001A1E8CEB6D7_zps9b730b94.jpg  photo KoboIcon_zps515cdc1a.jpg

Excerpt from Daughter of Isis
“She has always protected our family,” Zofia told her. “And we have always been careful to protect her in return.”
 Protected, Natti snorted and picked the box up gently and tilted it upright so she could look at the relief. Then why was her grandmother dead? Murdered in her own home?
She brushed her fingers over the mother-of-pearl feathers of Isis’s wings. Patterns of stars, ankhs, and eyes graced the borders, the mother-of-pearl incasing them in fine lines of shimmering white. Straightening her position on the floor, she leaned her back against the bed frame and studied the figures and images.
As she tipped the box just a bit more, something shifted and clinked against the wood inside. Natti froze. She glanced at her cat, who had stuck her nose over the rim of her fort; her eyes like saucers. Returning her attention back to the cedar box, Natti opened the lid. The maroon, velvet lining greeted her, but nothing more. Natti cocked her head and closed the box again as she thought. She examined the exterior, giving it a small shake. A metallic object scraped and rattled against the wood. A thought hit her, and she looked back inside, this time comparing the interior depth to the height of the exterior.

“Oh shit!” Natti rechecked to make sure her eyes hadn’t failed her. “No, bloody way!”
About the Author

During her high school years, Kelsey Ketch could always be found tucked away in a little corner of the hall or classroom, writing her fantasy worlds and creating illustrations and maps. Today is no different, except now she’s writing in the break room at her office building or at the tables of the Barnes and Noble CafĂ© in Cary, North Carolina. She is also an avid reader, a part-time book blogger at Ketch’s Book Nook, and lives with her two orange tabbies and awesome and humorous flat-mate.Daughter of Isis is her debut novel.

For more information, please visit her site at kelseyketch.com.
***Author Links***
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GIVEAWAY:
One winner will receive an Anubis Plush Toy and a Tyet Necklace (INT)


Book Blitz Organized by:
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Rebekah Purdy Double Cover Reveal: Legend of Me and The Winter People

Today Rebekah Purdy and Entangled Teen are revealing the covers for LEGEND OF ME, releasing in early 2014. And THE WINTER PEOPLE, releasing July 1, 2014! Check out the gorgeous covers, exclusive excerpts, and enter to win an eARC of each!

On to the reveals!
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Saturday, November 23, 2013

Sneak Peak Chapter Reveal and Giveaway: Afterparty by Ann Stampler

Welcome to a special sneak peak of Afterparty by Ann Stampler! There is also a chance to win a signed ARC of Afterparty so make sure to enter!

About the Book
Title: Afterparty
Author: Ann Redisch Stampler
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: January 7, 2014
Emma is tired of being good. Always the dutiful daughter to an overprotective father, she is the antithesis of her mother -- whose name her dad won't even say out loud. That's why meeting Siobhan is the best thing that ever happened to her...and the most dangerous. Because Siobhan is fun and alluring and experienced and lives on the edge. In other words, she's everything Emma is not.
And it may be more than Emma can handle.
Because as intoxicating as her secret life may be, when Emma begins to make her own decisions, Siobhan starts to unravel. It's more than just Dylan, the boy who comes between them. Their high-stakes pacts are spinning out of control. Elaborate lies become second nature. Loyalties and boundaries are blurred. And it all comes to a head at the infamous Afterparty, where debauchery rages and an intense, inescapable confrontation ends in a plummet from the rooftop...
This explosive, sexy, and harrowing follow-up to Ann Redisch Stampler's spectacular teen debut, Where It Began, reveals how those who know us best can hurt us most.
The first three chapters are available on Scribd, and you can read them right now

About the Author
Ann Stampler was the mild mannered author of literary picture books when she broke out, tore off her
tasteful string of pearls, and started writing edgy, contemporary young adult novels set in Los Angeles, where she lives with her husband and writer’s-helper rescue dog – without whose compelling distraction she would have no doubt penned dozens of novels by now.
     

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