Book Blitz : The Guardian, a Sword & Stilettos by Kristin D. Van Risseghem (The Enlighten Series #1)

Check out the promo event for Kristin's Young Adult Fantasy debut.

Series: The Enlighten Series #1

Release date: May 20th 2015

Publisher: Kasian Publishing

Purchase: Amazon | B&N

Synopsis via Goodreads:
Zoe Jabril could be just another 17-year-old girl attending parties with her friends and checking out cute guys—except her best friend is a Guardian Angel, and the boy she crushes on is a Nephilim, half-angel, both sent to Earth to protect her. A high school classmate happens to be a trendsetting shopaholic fairy. And now there’s a new werewolf in town. 

Zoe has to deal with her feelings toward Shay, who spreads a strange electrical current through her body every time he touches her. Now Zoe is under constant attack from demons, trying to kill and stop her from fulfilling the Prophecy: a girl will be born who will unite the Enlightens to battle evil. Then on top of that, between boring homework and drama with girls at school, she has to control new found talents if she’s to prevent the devil from escaping Hell.

In order to do so, Zoe must devise a kick-ass plan ASAP or watch everyone die, because she’s running out of time. She turns eighteen in two months—the date Armageddon kicks off.

~EXCERPT~

I stumbled into Kieran as a tremor moved through me, the hairs on my arms stood at attention like tiny lightning rods. 

“Do you feel that?” my voice sounded breathless, even to me. 

He glanced sideways. “Feel what?”

“Look.” I held out my arms to him, “I feel strange. Like someone…” I rubbed my slightly numb hands over my forearms and sucked in a breath, as he hooked his head around. I fell into step beside him. “Never mind. It’s probably nothing.”

This happens when lightning’s about to strike, right? 

The heat from the sun radiated off the few cars parked along Boutique Row, their owners engaged in mid-afternoon shopping. Store fronts displayed the new and trendy ‘must-have’ dresses, shorts, and shoes for the spring season. 

I paused to see my reflection. Not a hair was out of place. Thank God.The Coffee Grind’s signature cinnamon dessert scent wafted through the air, and my teeth hurt with the memory of sinking them into it time and again. What I wouldn’t give to be able to park my back end on one of their leather wing-back chairs and crack open a book, while the fire crackled next to me in the original stone hearth.

“Earth to Zoe,” Kieran’s gentle voice broke my trance. He poked my shoulder. “Are you going to order or what?”

My face flamed. “You could’ve ordered for me.” I rummaged through my purple backpack. “You know I get the same thing every time.”

Kieran watched me rub my arms, as he told the cashier, “She’ll also have an ice water.” He tilted his head toward the menu board. “Anything else?”

“Did you order me a chai?” I asked. He nodded. “Cause you know I can’t function without a good cup of—”

“You can’t function with it, either.” 

Then I turned my attention toward the clerk, unsure if I recognized him or not. I hope he doesn’t know me. “Nothing else. Thanks.” I handed him some bills. 

“How’s track going, Zoe?” the clerk asked. 

Damn. 

“Think you’ll make it to State?”

I realized he was a sophomore on the team. Our paths crossed during several meets. He looked thin in his black polo shirt, and I knew a mirror would reflect a similar physique in me, though my lavender sundress tried to disguise it.

I shrugged. “I have fast times, but we’ll see. If I don’t make it this year, there’s always senior year.” My fingertips skimmed the glass display of mammoth muffins and assorted pastries as we moved down the aisle to the ‘Pick-up Here’ sign. A heavy coffee aroma hung in the air. 

A figure in dark clothing with yellow-tipped, spiked hair stared at me from outside the glass entrance door. His eyes narrowed on contact with mine. Chills rushed through my body.

About the Author

Kristin D. Van Risseghem grew up in a small river town in Minnesota with her parents and older sister. And after receiving a double Bachelor of Science degree from Winona State University in Paralegal and Corrections, she worked as a Paralegal for various law firms around the Twin Cities for 14 years. Then she left the legal field and is now a Senior Buyer for a technology company.

Currently, Kristin lives in Eagan with her husband and two Calico cats. She also loves attending book clubs, going shopping, and hanging out with friends. She has come to realize that she absolutely has an addiction to purses and shoes. They are her weakness and probably has way too many of both.

In the summer months, Kristin can usually be found lounging on her boat, drinking an ice cold something. Being an avid reader of YA and Women's Literature stories, she still finds time to read a ton of books in-between writing. And in the winter months, her main goal is to stay warm from the Minnesota cold!

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | GOODREADS

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Book Blitz : Jaded Little Lies by Christina Channelle

Check out the promo tour for the first full-length novel in Christina's new adult contemporary series. 

Series: Four Letters #1

Release date: May 15th 2015

Purchase: Amazon

Synopsis via Goodreads:

What do you do when the love of your life is halfway across the world? 

If you’re Jade Reamer, you fill that void with writing depressing song lyrics, hanging out with asshole exes, and re-reading your dead best friend’s diary (morbid, anyone?). But she’s got a lot to deal with—getting to know her biological family, for one. Not to mention getting through her first year of university without her best friend, Nina, by her side. 

Then there are the men in Jade’s life. Her ex, Connor, has baggage coming out of his ass since the car accident. Her brother, Bryn, thinks stifling who he really is while pretending everything’s okay … is okay. When that’s far from the truth. And Reed? Reed decides the best way for Jade to deal with his absence is to get her a dog. And when he finally comes back? 

Well, things aren't exactly the same. 

Deciphering between love and hate is the least of Jade’s problems … those four letter words are getting more and more complicated. Especially when she and Reed are keeping secrets from each other. Because as she forms new relationships and rekindles old ones, an unexpected surprise has got Jade’s mouth spewing lies on top of the usual curse words. 

But little white lies won’t hurt anybody, right?

Note: This full-length novel follows the novella, Those Four Letter Words.

 

EXCERPT

Today was definitely not my day. 

First of all, I woke up late. Waking up late was not the best thing to do when I went to a school that I actually paid for. Because now it just ruined my entire mood, starting the day in the whole mindset of being behind. I had to rush for everything. 

I had to rush out of bed when the snooze alarm finally woke me up. I had to rush into the bathroom to brush my teeth, and take the fastest shower known to mankind. I had to rush to change into something that wouldn’t make me sweat in the car, yet wouldn’t make me freeze while sitting in class because the heater broke down. I had to rush to eat a bowl of cereal. I had to rush to drink my coffee, and that was just not right. I had to rush as I drove to school while trying not to break any laws. I had to rush down the hall and quietly take my seat when I finally reached my classroom. 

Without my backpack. 

“Shit,” I sighed to myself, slapping my palm against my forehead.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A Canuck with a strong love addiction to caffeine, Christina Channelle enjoys writing about angsty girls and her favorite color green. While a drama whore when it comes to her TV shows and books, she stays clear from it all in the real world, preferring solitude instead. Christina was born and raised in the Greater Toronto Area.

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM

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Cover Reveal : Where Shadows Lie by Tialla Rising

Check out the book cover and trailer reveal for Tialla Rising's upcoming release, Where Shadows Lie, and continue below to enter the giveaway! 

Release date: June 2015

Synopsis via Goodreads:

His dark past haunts him. His new life taunts him.

After twenty years in the gangs and a hefty prison sentence, an early release gives Shawn the opportunity to turn his life around.

But that isn’t so easy when gangs are involved.

Only a year into his fresh start, the gang catches on and makes Shawn’s life miserable. After all, once a gang member, always a gang member. His very blood belongs to them.

Threats become promises. Whispers become actions. Words become bullets. He must fight – not only for his life, but to save his honor, prove his integrity, and protect the woman he loves.

An ember of hope glows in the darkness, strengthening his resolve. Will her support and his determination be enough to dispel the shadows of his past?

A story of discovery and faith, love and perseverance.

BOOK TRAILER

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tialla Rising is a Christian young woman living with her family in the mountains of Arizona. She loves to write and will passionately spend hours long into the night developing her stories. Like most writers, Tialla fills her spare time with reading from her favorite fantasy and mystery genres. A good book, a stormy day, and an iced coffee comprise her favorite moments.

www.therubyvial.com 
facebook.com/authortiallarising

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Book Blitz : Alice in Wonderland High by Rachel Shane

Check out the promo event for Rachel Shane's YA Contemporary Retelling.

Release date: April 18th 2015
Publisher: Merit Press

Purchase: Amazon | B&N

Synopsis via Goodreads:

Sixteen-year-old Alice suppresses her need for rebellion after a petition to start a farmer’s market receives more snickers than signatures. That is until Whitney Lapin, a girl who speaks in cryptic riddles and spends her free time turning abandoned warehouses into beautiful gardens, leads her on a rabbit trail into the underground–aka secret society–of Wonderland High. Curiouser and curiouser.

Even though Whitney’s group of teenage environmental vigilantes operates on the wrong side of the law, Alice has never felt more free to be herself. Soon she stomps on her good girl image by completing a series of environmental pranks to impress them: flooding the school and disguising a pig as a baby in order to smuggle it out of a testing facility. But the group refuses to help with the farmer’s market or reveal their hidden agenda. She wants to trust them, and she especially wants to trust (or maybe kiss) Chester Katz, a boy with a killer smile, a penchant for disappearing, and a secret that will really turn Alice‘s world backwards. When one group member tries to frame Alice for all the pranks, she must figure out their secret before she ends up in front of a jury that’s screaming, “Off with her head!”

~EXCERPT~

The plan had seemed utterly attractive while lying in bed. Foolproof, even. Take the keys. Go inside. Find the information to link someone to the crime. Sole the case. What I hadn't factored into everything was guts, which happened to be something I lacked.

I paced in front of Town Hall, my heart pounding as if it was ready to escape my chest and ditch me completely. I paused in front of the rows of white rosebushes lining the entrance and took a deep breath.

You're not breaking and entering, I liked to myself. You have a key.

I counted to three and yanked the keys out of my pocket, but my hands were too clammy. The keys leapt out of my fingers and hit the ground with a metallic clink. 

I should go home and forget about Kingston's stupid-as-hell plan. I tried to move, but my feet wouldn't budge, weighed down by cemented desire. As scared as I was, I wanted to do this. I fumbled for my phone. 3:10 blinked back at me on the LED screen. If I had Chess's phone number, I would call him. Accomplices equaled encouragement.

But it wouldn't have mattered; Chess had refuted Kingston's idea. So had Whitney. If I called her, she'd try to talk me out of this. I knew what a bad idea it was. I'd broken up with my sense of reason when I first followed Whitney through the woods. Might as well descend even farther down the path of wrong and stupid. I let out a crazy laugh that echoed in the silent darkness.

Morality bites.

Before I could stop myself, I flipped through my cell phone until I found Kingston's number. It was absurd that Whitney had made me add my least favorite person's number when I still didn't have my own boyfriend's. Tonight, though, it came in handy.

"What?" he said when he picked up. He didn't sound tired, more like…prepared.

"Hey, it's Alice. I have a weird question."

"Wow. Didn't strike me as the booty-call type."

My nerves erupted out of my mouth in a laugh that sounded almost flirty. I covered it up with a cough. He was calling me crazy, and this was the first time he made sense. "I'm outside Town Hall."

"Keys?"

"Yeah." The word came out all choked.

"Be right there."

"As soon as I hung up, the gravity of what I'd done hit my stomach like a cartoon anvil. I'd just committed to committing a felony. With my enemy.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rachel Shane studied Creative Writing at Syracuse University and now works in digital publishing at in New York City. She lives in New Jersey with her husband, young daughter, and a basement full of books. ALICE IN WONDERLAND HIGH is her first novel.

www.rachelshane.com | twitter.com/rachshane
instagram.com/shanasilver

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Cover Reveal : Blood Stitches by Erin Fanning

Check out the fantastic cover art for Erin Fanning's upcoming paranormal release. Continue below for an excerpt and the chance to win a gift card.

Release date: May 12th 2015

Publisher: Lyrical Press

Pre-order:Amazon

Synopsis via Goodreads:

It’s called El Toque de la Luna—The Touch of the Moon. At least that’s how nineteen-year-old Gabby’s older sister, Esperanza, refers to the magical powers she inherited from their Mayan ancestors. Esperanza says women with El Toque weave magic into their knitting, creating tapestries capable of saving—or devastating—the world. Gabby thinks Esperanza is more like touched in the head—until a man dressed like a candy corn arrives at their Seattle home on Halloween. But "Mr. C" is far from sweet…

Soon, Gabby and her almost-more-than-friend, Frank, find themselves spirited away to a demon ball, complete with shape shifters—and on a mission to destroy Esperanza’s tapestries before they cause an apocalyptic disaster…And before it’s too late to confess their true feelings for each other.

EXCERPT

A gust of wind scattered leaves across the University of Seattle campus. My hair tangled over my face. New contacts tortured my eyes, and books weighed down my backpack. It didn’t matter. A tornado could have snatched me up. As long as it carried me home and put an end to the anniversary of the worst day of my life. 

“Watch out, Gabby.” My best friend Frank thrust his hands deep into the pockets of his pinstriped suit. “We’re being followed by a giant candy corn.” 

“Giant candy corn? Yeah, right.” If I turned around, Frank would laugh and say, “Gotcha”, or some other dorky thing. The mind-numbing boredom of Calculus I, our last class of the day, always set Frank off, making him zanier than usual. 

“I mean it. We’ve got a candy corn on our tail.” Frank whistled a Lester Ruben song as he sauntered ahead. 

“Okay, okay. Let me see this Halloween wonder.” If I didn’t give in, Frank would never leave me alone. I whirled, ready to hear Frank’s laugh, and almost ran into a man. His face glowed orange, like someone who’d spent too much time in a tanning booth, and he wore a white cap pulled down to his ears. A yellow scarf hid his neck and chin. For once, Frank wasn’t kidding. The man resembled a giant candy corn. 

Shredded paper and a postage stamp poked out of his scarf, and a moon decorated an edge of the knitting, like one of my older sister Esperanza’s creations. It didn’t seem possible, but no one else I knew added garbage and a signature moon to their knitting. A wool coat covered the rest of him, except his face and steel-tipped boots. 

“Sorry.” I jumped back. 

Frank’s chuckles mixed with squirrels chattering in a nearby tree. Drizzle moistened my forehead, and a cold dampness seeped into my bones. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion, like watching Esperanza unravel her knitting one stitch at a time to fix a mistake.

About the Author

Erin Fanning spends her summers on a northern Michigan lake, where her imagination explores the water and dense forest for undiscovered creatures. In the winter, she migrates to central Idaho, exchanging mountain bikes and kayaks for skis and snowshoes. She’s the author of Mountain Biking Michigan, as well as numerous articles, essays, and short stories. 

www.erinfanning.com | twitter.com/writererin

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Book Blitz: Sacrificed by Emily Wibberley (The Last Oracle #1)

This is the promo event for the first book in Emily Wibberley's Last Oracle series. Continue for an excerpt and enter the international giveaway.

Release date: February 13th 2015
Publisher: Wibbs Ink
Purchase:Amazon

Synopsis via Goodreads:

Fifteen-year-old Clio should have never been the Oracle of Sheehan. That power is passed from mother to eldest daughter, and Clio is the youngest of four sisters. But when her entire family is murdered by Mannix, the king's adviser, Clio is left all alone and heir to a power she never wanted and doesn't understand.

Hunted by Mannix, Clio seeks refuge in a foreign city where oracles are absolutely forbidden. If she's found out, she will be sacrificed atop its great pyramid. 

Clio has no choice but to win the trust of Riece, an enemy warrior. Despite the growing feelings between them, Clio knows that if he finds out who she really is, he won't hesitate to kill her.

Clio tries to hide her budding powers, but the visions she has of Mannix bringing a barbarian army into Sheehan torture her conscience. She alone has the strength and foresight to stop him, but only if she can embrace her destiny and sacrifice everything.

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EXCERPT

The temple wasn’t empty, however. She stopped when she saw a man standing on the edge of the pool. He wore long sweeping robes of deepest red. 

Mannix. 

Clio shivered. Something about Mannix had always unnerved her. He came to Sheehan not five years ago, and already he had somehow gotten himself a position as the King’s prized adviser. She knew he had played an instrumental role in brokering a peace with Morek. 

A thin-lipped grin spread across his pale face as his eyes fell on Clio. His head and face were completely hairless. In the place of eyebrows, Mannix wore a multitude of ruby piercings. He turned to her, his red eyes lighting up as she approached. 

She barely spared him a glance. She was racking her brain for ideas of where Ali could be. “You shouldn’t be here.” 

“Is that so? Tell me, why is it that men cannot come in here unattended?” His gaze fell on her like flames. 

“Not my temple, not my rules.” 

“Ah, but it may be your temple one day.” He walked around the pool to get a better look at her. 

“Not likely. Youngest of four, remember?” 

“I do. And yet you really are…flowering.” His grin ripped itself higher into those hollow cheekbones, giving light to those red, empty eyes. 

“It’s probably comments like that why men aren’t allowed in here.” Ali could be anywhere, doing anything by now, and Clio was stuck dealing with Mannix in an empty temple. 

She could still feel his eyes moving over her body. He wasn’t like the other men who came to see the Oracle. Their stares seemed to strip Clio of her clothes. Mannix looked like he was stripping the very skin off her bones. Rage flickered up in her chest, but the best way out of this was to move him along as quickly as possible. She had to find Ali. 

“Can I help you with something, or are you just here to bother me?” 

He ignored her and bent down at the pool’s edge, skimming his fingers along its surface. 

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” she warned. 

“The sacrificial waters, yes? I wondered if the lore was true. They say it carries the power of the Oracle. That she cannot be the servant to the Deities without it. Have you ever gone in?” 

“I don’t know about all that, but yes, once. I fell. Came out covered in blisters. Truly, you are ugly enough already.” The water was another of her mother’s flashy tricks, poisoned in a way to seem like it held power from the Deities. 

“Interesting. So only the Oracle herself can touch it?” he wondered to himself, his fingers curling around his chin. “But Clio, that mouth of yours will get you into trouble one day. Learn to guard yourself in the presence of powerful men.” 

“Is that what you are now? You serve the King — the servant of men. I serve the Oracle — the servant of the Deities. Whatever power you have stops at the doors of this temple.” 

They glared into each other’s eyes until — 

“Clio, escort Mannix out of the temple and help him with the offerings.” Her mother’s voice broke their eye contact. 

Unnoticed by Clio, her mother had entered the room. She stood at the top of the steps, a vision in her white robe and headdress made of pure white pearls almost indistinguishable from the striking white of her hair. While all of her daughters had hair the color of darkest night, hers was whiter than sunlight reflected on a snowy field. She stood at the vestibule to her private chamber that attached to the temple. Clio didn’t know what was in there, and she never would. It was for the Oracle’s eyes only. 

Mannix lowered himself into an obsequious bow. Clio couldn’t help but snicker. The Oracle looked down on her. “Clio, I won’t ask you twice.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Seven Things about Me:

1. I graduated from Princeton University in June 2014 with a bunch of people who are a lot smarter than I am.

2. I’m just starting out so I’m not “the best-selling author” of anything, but…

3. I did once stand in line to meet Joss Whedon at a comic book signing when I was in middle school and got him to autograph a Buffy the Vampire Slayer poster for me.

4. I was the flute section leader in my high school’s marching band.

5. Besides YA, some of my favorite reading material comes from Jane Austen and the Preacher comic book series. I also like to spend my free time playing video games like The Last of Us.

6. I have two rescue German Shepherds. One is really sweet and the other thinks he’s a NAVY SEAL and that every cat, skateboarder and motorcyclist is a terrorist.

7. L + R = J.

www.emilywibberley.com | twitter.com/wibbs_ink

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Tour Stop & Review & Giveaway : Rise of Arcane Fire by Kristin Bailey (Secret Order #2)

Summary (from Goodreads)

Title:  Rise of Arcane Fire

Author:  Kristin Bailey

Publication Date:  February 4, 2014

  

Publisher:  Simon Pulse

Goodreads – Amazon – Barnes & Noble

Summary:

 After her parents died in a fire and her grandfather disappeared, Meg Whitlock thought her life had come to a standstill. But when she learned that the pocket watch her grandfather left her was really an intricate key, Meg, with the help of a stable hand named Will, uncovered the Amusementists: members of an elite secret society dedicated to discovery and shrouded in mystery.

Now the Amusementists are convening in London, and Meg is determined to join their ranks. But being the first girl in the Order has its difficulties, and with Will away in Scotland Meg fears she can’t trust anyone but herself. Her worries are only supported by the sabotage happening at the academy, with each altered invention being more harmful than the last.

With threats lurking around every corner, and while trying to prove her worth as the first female Amusementist, Meg must uncover the identity of the academy’s saboteur before the botched devices become deadly. And after she finds evidence of a sinister and forbidden invention, Meg must stop it - or risk the entire future of the Amusementists.

My Thoughts:

It was amazing. Better than the first book. And now I am freaking out of my mind, because I don’t know if there is a third book. If you haven’t read the story yet, you are missing a lot. But don’t be afraid, just grab your copy of both books and start an amazing adventure into amusmentists secret world of clockwork inventions.

The story follows Meg, who now is going to start her studies at the academy. She is still in danger, and now that she is the first female student at the academy things start to get out of hand. There is a saboteur who wants not only to kill Meg, but make her first fail in her studies. And Will is off to Scotland to become a man Meg deserves (his words). While the first book was full of different clockwork creatures, and it was full of mystery and action, in this book author shows us Meg from a different side. She shows how Meg is coping with everyone and struggling to reach the goal she wants, and how she tries to solve the mystery all together. Secrets are still secrets, and many lay unraveled in the end of the book.

The book sucks you into it in no time, and at the end you are crying because you don’t know when will the sequel be published. Well that was all about me. We meet some new and interesting characters. The villain is much closer that you could have expected. And there are some to die for inventions, which leave you googling how to construct something like that. Believe me, I really googled it the first time I started the Secret Order Series. There is a new love interest or something like that. So it’s up to you to get your own copy to share a world of amusmentists with Meg. To see how it was a struggle for men to acknowledge that we – woman can think beyond household and gossip in the past. It is only up to you to decide if you are ready to get lost in many mysteries and secrets which can lead to death.

I hope you are now considering the book, so Happy reading! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. And don’t forget to share your thoughts!!!

XOXO

Katie

My Rating: 

                                      About The Author:

Kristin Bailey grew up in the middle of the San Joaquin Valley in California. As a kid she enjoyed visiting the beach, camping and skiing with her two brothers.

Now she is a military wife and mother of two young children. She is also terrible about spoiling her pets. She has one fluffy mutt, two cats who think they own the world, and a fish tank with a quartet of fat fish, and two secretive striped ninja-assassin snails.

In the course of her adventures, she has worked as a zookeeper, balloon artist, and substitute teacher. Now she enjoys writing books for teens who enjoy mystery and adventure as much as she does.

www.kristinbailey.com | twitter.com/KBaileyBooks

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