Thunderlight: Cover Reveal, Excerpt, Giveaway



Title: Thunderlight
Author: Adrienne Woods
Series: The Dragonian Series, book 2
Genre: young adult fantasy
Publisher: Fire Quill Publishers
Release Date: 21 November 2014
Book Description:Vibrant, scale swathed wings… Abilities that can be harnessed by a chosen few… Dragons…

All this may seem like old news, but for sixteen year-old Elena Watkins the world of Paegeia is not finished revealing all its secrets. During a summer break intended for relaxation, she discovers that her harrowing adventure to retrieve the King of Lion sword wasn’t the destiny foretold by the cryptic Viden, a dragon with the ability to see a person’s true fate. The words inked onto the page of the mysterious Book of Shadows remains black and Elena must return to Dragonia Academy to discover their true meaning.
Upon her return to the magnificent castle she has to face a challenge of a different kind, keeping her boyfriend Lucian McKenzie, the Prince of Tith and love of her life, away from the dangerous new student, Paul Sutton. As a Wyvern, Paul has made it his mission to claim Elena as his rider but he is proving to be more perilous than at first glance.

Everyone knew that Wyverns were bad news, and just as evil as the darkness that lurked inside Blake Leaf, the Rubicon forced to fight against his inner nature every day. But Elena can see a small light lurking in the darkness, a destiny still unfulfilled; to prove that Wyverns can be claimed.

Will Lucian’s dark secret about Wyverns and Elena’s need to prove their true nature cause their love to be torn apart? And which of Elena’s friends will be sacrificed this time if she is wrong?




Excerpt

Chapter One

Castle of Etan

Anger, betrayal, and hate turned my stomach acid, it consumed my mind and I watched as bottles, papers and books on the desk, flew off and crushed to the floor.

A maid rushed to my side. She didn’t say anything, but her eyes reflected fear. The dustpan in her hand trembled as she started to sweep up the jagged shards of glass. Rising from the floor she began to straighten the books that had fallen to the floor in a heap. Every few seconds I would notice her eyes dart nervously in my direction as if a mere breath would make me lash out as her with my outstretched hand.

I touched her face gently until my hand reached her neck, tightening slowly as my anger began to rise once again. My grip tightened around her soft, shapely neck as I lifted her up from her position on the floor at my feet. Listening carefully I could hear her heart fluttering like a bird trapped inside a cage.

“How did I become this way?” I thought, giving voice to my reality softly.

She just stared at me with round, brown unblinking eyes. Her eyes were sunken deep into the surface of her face and her cheek bones were sharply defined.

Looking at her sullen face made me feel worse. I lifted up my other hand and struck the woman hard across her cheek.

A cry left her mouth and I threw her from me as if she weighed nothing. She skidded across the floor landing in a heap against a wall of cold, unforgiving stone. If I was a dragon I would blast fire, redeem this wretched place to a pile of insignificant ashes.

Two other maids, hearing the startled cry, rushed into the room. Their eyes were wide as they took in the room and the immobile heap near the far wall. “Sorry, me lord,” the older one said. “She’s new, we will train her better.”

They picked up the maid who had come too and begun sobbing. She clutched the side of her face, cover the huge red hand print where I struck her.

I nodded. The old maid knew her place well, although I still didn’t care for her name, she knew where she stood.

I plunged myself down onto the chair and closed my eyes. A silent roar growled inside of me lighting a fire of rage deep in my core.

The girl had made it.

The Rubicon saved her life, so a part of him was still fighting me. I could still see her eyes searching mine. They bore into my soul, seeking answers. How was this possible! The wall wouldn’t allow any human to go to the other side.

Albert’s laughter echoed inside the castle; a startling reminder that good would always win. He would pay dearly for this. I would find a way, but I promised she wouldn’t live much longer.

I got up, rubbed my face hard and let the emotion of my anger escaped my lips. The rage that emanated from deep within me overpowered the haunting laughter and echoed throughout the entire castle.

“Master,” Cain’s voice interrupted my thoughts.

“Speak my loyal servant,” I said out loud. “What is the news?”

“Everything is in place. We won’t fail you,” his voice said in my head.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and let it out hard. “We’ll see.”



About The  Auhor
Adrienne Woods was born and raised in South Africa where she still lives with her husband and two beautiful little girls. When she’s not dabbing into all sorts of genres, written under various different pen names, she’s busy being a mother, and a loving wife. Family always comes first and her hobby has to wait till she gets a chance to write.

Giveaway

Carnelian: Book Tour



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Displaying carnelian.jpgCarnelian (Chalcedony Chronicles #1) by B. Kristin McMichael
Release Date: 02/01/14
Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
Check out other stops on this tour
Summary from Goodreads:Everyone has a past, but for most it isn’t as long ago as Seth Sangre. His past is literally thousands of years ago. Seth’s life led him to the present seeking something that might help him save his country from destruction. He has been in the present for over three years now and just found exactly what he has been looking for.
Mari had dreams that college will be a fresh start, one where she would start over and not fall for the good looking player like high school. Unfortunately for her, that’s exactly what ends up falling into her lap on the first day she moves into the dorms. Now she has to hold to her promise to herself and not fall for the handsome Seth. But he doesn’t plan to make it easy for her. Seth has already marked her as his next conquest. As the semester progresses, Mari learns that Seth might just have a life of his own that’s actually from the past.
Suddenly Mari finds her future along with her past put into question. She’s connected to Seth far more than she ever wanted to be and maybe the player isn’t who she thought he was. If Mari can trust her heart enough to follow him, Seth will lead Mari on an adventure of a lifetime and reveal family secrets she never knew existed.






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About The  Auhor:     Originally from Wisconsin, B. Kristin currently resides in Ohio with her husband, two small children, and three cats. When not doing the mom thing of chasing kids, baking cookies, and playing outside, she is using her PhD in biology as a scientist. In her free time she is currently hard at work on multiple novels. Every day is a new writing adventure. She is a fan of all YA/NA fantasy and science fiction.
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Giveaway


1 grand prize of signed copies of both Carnelian and Chrysoprase
2 runners-up can get signed copies of Carnelian


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Summer!

So as some of you may know, I am a high school math teacher. Today was the last day of school!!
Since, I was proctoring final exams, grading finals, and closing my classroom for the summer, reading was put on the back burner for a bit.

Now that I am officially on "vacation" you might assume that I'll be reading all the time, but unfortunately that is not the case. I have lots of projects around the house to do and I am teaching two new courses next year that I have to prepare over the summer. So, I apologize, but my posting might be a bit sporadic.

Thank you for understanding. I hope you all have a wonderful summer!


Stacking the Shelves #14 (6/14/2014)




Stacking The Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews and is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

For Review

Into the Blind by Helen Rena
Into the Blind

Gypsy by Trisha Leigh
Gypsy (The Cavy Files, #1)

Book Blogging and Piracy

I'm hopping into this conversation a little late, but I still think it needs to be addressed. So, as many of you have probably heard an author, Teresa Mummert, was notified by one of her readers about a giveaway in which she received a pirated copy of an ebook. Here's a link to Teresa's post, you may want to read it.


OK, so now you know what happened.

As book bloggers, we sometimes receive books in exchange for honest reviews. However, there is almost always a catch: the book you receive is for your eyes only! Writing is a job - authors deserve to be paid for their work. When someone distributes files that are not supposed to be shared they are pirating and stealing from the author. (FYI: according to merriam-webster, pirating is "the unauthorized use of another's production, invention, or conception especially in infringement of a copyright")

Now some people might argue that this file sharing is similar to buying a book at the book store and lending it to a friend, but it is NOT the same. First of all, you would have purchased the book, where review copies are given to you for free. Second, if friend A has your book, then you can't lend it to friend B at the same time. Also, if friend A chooses to share your book with friend C without telling you, you would most likely be pretty pissed at friend A. With electronic files, you can share them with as many people as you want at one time and in turn they can share them with as many people as they want and so on and so on. This is stealing! You are sharing something you had no right to share! Kindle readers: ever notice how some ebooks purchased through Amazon are "shareable" and some are not? ever notice how you can only share with one person at a time and for a limited number of days? This is allowed because you purchased the book and it is similar to sharing a physical copy.

Most of us blog about books for a few similar reasons:

  1. we love to read
  2. we enjoy connecting with authors
  3. we like to promote authors and our favorite books
It is essential that you keep this in mind whenever you accept an electronic copy of a book. 

It is also your responsibility to ensure that all electronic copies of books that you receive are done so appropriately (i.e. purchased or gifted through an appropriate website; sent to you by an author, publisher, or promotional company). It is also our responsibility to report incidents in which we may have been given a pirated copy of someone's work.

OK Book Bloggers and followers - now that you know where I stand on this, I hope we are on the same page.

Branded


Branded (Sinners, #1)

Authors: Abi Ketner & Missy Kalicicki
Publication Date: February 18, 2014
Source: Netgalley

Summary from Goodreads: Fifty years ago the Commander came into power and murdered all who opposed him. In his warped mind, the seven deadly sins were the downfall of society. He created the Hole where sinners are branded according to their sins and might survive a few years. At best. Now LUST wraps around my neck like blue fingers strangling me. I’ve been accused of a crime I didn’t commit and now the Hole is my new home.

Darkness. Death. Violence. Pain.

Now every day is a fight for survival. But I won’t die. I won’t let them win.
The Hole can’t keep me. The Hole can’t break me.
I am more than my brand. I’m a fighter.
My name is Lexi Hamilton, and this is my story.




Rating: DNF

Review: The premise of this book was so promising: a dystopian world where sinners are branded according to which of the seven deadly sins they committed and a young woman wrongly accused and sentenced. After reading the blurb, I was intrigued by the world that this book takes place in, however I didn't feel that the world building was complete. I found Lexi to be inconsistent and annoying. Ultimately, what led to my decision to put this book down was the violence, it was just too much for me.

Top Ten Tuesday #12 (6/10/2014)



Top Ten Tuesday is hosted over at The Broke and Bookish, and this weeks Top Ten is: Top Ten Books I've Read So Far This Year

The Lunar Chronicles by Marisa Meyer
Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, #1)Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles, #2)Cress (The Lunar Chronicles, #3)
Stolen Songbird by Danielle Jensen
Stolen Songbird (The Malediction Trilogy, #1)

The Shadow Throne by Jennifer Nielsen
The Shadow Throne (The Ascendance Trilogy, #3)

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
Code Name Verity

Solomon's Sieve by Victoria Danann
Solomon's Sieve (Knights of Black Swan, Book #7)

Books 'n' Bloggers Swap


Squeeeee! I am so excited to be participating in my first ever Book Blogger Swap!

The swap is hosted by Chaotic Goddess Swaps. Sign up are ending today 6/9 so hurry on over if your interested in participating.

Your Swap Objective

Send your partner THREE books:
  1. A book you love
  2. A book you haven't read but are interested in
  3. A book from your partner's wish list

Dates to Remember:
Sign-Ups Start: Monday, June 2nd at 12AM
Sign-Ups End: Monday, June 9th at 11:59PM
First Post MUST be Posted by: Tuesday, June 10th at 11:59PM
Partners assigned: Wednesday, June 11th
Packages Shipped: Friday, June 27th & Saturday June 28th
Show-Off Linky Opens: Wednesday, July 2nd
Show-Off Linky Closes: Friday, July 18th

Visit the Chaotic Goddess Swaps page for the official rules.

Challenge Update - Netgalley Reading Challenge 2014




The 2014 Netgalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge is hosted by Falling for YA and will (hopefully) give you the incentive to tackle your review books, stumble upon new ones, and get your Netgalley percentage to the desired 80%!

My Goal is Silver (25 books)


Currently, my Netgalley percentage is 75%! Whoot whoot! I have made progress toward my goal of having the desired 80%.

However, my book count is OK, I am about halfway there in terms of my goal. Here is a list of what I have tackled so far (links go to my reviews - not in any particular order).
  1. Running on Empty by Colette Ballard
  2. Stolen Songbird by Danielle Jensen
  3. The Shadow Throne by Jennifer Neilsen
  4. Endless by Amanda Gray
  5. Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaria
  6. The Unintentional Virgin by AJ Bennett
  7. Me Since You by Laura Weiss
  8. Talented by Sophie Davis
  9. Don't Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowski
  10. External Forces by Deborah Rix
  11. Sun and Moon by Elizabeth Paradise
  12. The Opposite of Maybe by Maddie Dawson

Talented


Talented (Talented Saga, #1)

Author: Sophie Davis
Publication Date: January 11, 2012
Source: Netgalley
Summary from Goodreads: Block it out. Impossible for Talia Lyons. When you’re a Mind Manipulator, it’s hard enough to block the thoughts of others, let alone your own.
Block it out. The pounding, siren-ready world Talia inhabits as she trains with her fellow Hunters, the country's top-secret covert operatives. The physical demands. The emotional toll.
Block it out. The secrets that Talia’s boyfriend is hiding. Talia’s unbidden feelings of frustration and annoyance toward her teammate, the Casanova of the compound. The wondering why she cares what he thinks.
Block him out. Ian Crane. The man behind the bloodshed marring Talia’s memories of her murdered parents. The man she’s determined to kill.
Block it all out. Focus.
Talented is an emotionally raw dystopian romance, about the life of a girl with extraordinary psychic powers, and what happens when a heart is torn between love and rage.
Summary from Netgalley: When Talia Lyons was just a child, her parents were murdered before her eyes. Unable to accept their fate, Talia trains to become one of the country’s deadliest assassins in order to kill the man responsible. Luckily, she was born with a gift- the ability to read and influence the minds of others. At sixteen, Talia’s poised to graduate from a school for the Talented, where she learned to control her abilities. Now there is only one obstacle standing between her and the retribution she craves... the feelings and distractions of a normal teenage girl.
If Sookie and 007 had a love child with a yearning for vengeance, her story would be TALENTED.


Talented is currently FREE for a limited time

Rating: 3 stars

Review: This book was not what I expected; maybe I misread the synopsis (Or maybe it's because I read the summary from Netgalley and not the summary from Goodreads), but I was expecting a kiss-ass heroine, thrilling missions, and covert operations; what I got was a lot of day-to-day ho-hum and teenage angsty, romance drama.

The world building was good. The premise of the dystopian world is extremely clear. The characters are OK, but could be better with some development. Talia is childish, which made it somewhat difficult to like her. The love triangle felt forced and the result was a bit too predictable. But somehow, I found myself wanting to see how it turned out.

The pacing didn’t work for me; I was pretty bored and disappointed until about the 65% mark when things finally got a bit better, but the missions were confusing and their purpose was unclear. By the time we get to the really good action type stuff we were at the 90% mark! The techie stuff was neat and the action that took place was good.

The conclusion was disappointing for two main reasons, first Talia made a decision that completely went against everything we had read about in the entire novel, and second, the “big reveal” was sort of bland. The other irritating piece is that there are a ton of unanswered questions and a clear cliffhanger attempt to get readers to continue reading the series.

My feelings are mixed about this book: there were times that I had to force myself to keep reading, there were times that I was annoyed while reading, and there were times that I enjoyed the story. 2.5 stars round up to 3.

Top Ten Tuesday #11 (6/3/2014)


Top Ten Tuesday is hosted over at The Broke and Bookish, and this weeks Top Ten is: Top Ten Books That (I Hope) Will Be In My Beach Bag 

I love this week's category! Reading by the pool and the beach is one of my favorite things to do in the summer! 

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige
Dorothy Must Die (Dorothy Must Die, #1)

The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathiue
The Truth About Alice

Born of Illusion by Teri Brown
Born of Illusion (Born of Illusion, #1)

Prisoner of the Night and Fog by Anne Blankman
Prisoner of Night and Fog (Prisoner of Night and Fog, #1)

Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor
Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Daughter of Smoke and Bone, #1)

Poison Study by Maria V Snyder
Poison Study (Study, #1)

The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson
The Girl of Fire and Thorns (Fire and Thorns, #1)

The Reckoning by Alma Katsu
The Reckoning (The Taker, #2)

Velveteen by Daniel Marks
Velveteen

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
Under the Never Sky (Under the Never Sky, #1)

Gypsy: Book Blitz, Excerpt, Giveaway



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Displaying gypsy-trisha-leigh.jpgGypsy (The Cavy Files #1)
by Trisha Leigh
Release Date: 05/13/14
Amazon - B&N - Kobo - Book Depository

Summary from Goodreads:Inconsequential: not important or significant.
Synonyms: insignificant, unimportant, nonessential, irrelevant
In the world of genetic mutation, Gypsy’s talent of knowing a person’s age of death is considered a failure. Her peers, the other Cavies, have powers that range from curdling a blood still in the vein to being able to overhear a conversation taking place three miles away, but when they’re taken from the sanctuary where they grew up and forced into the real world, Gypsy, with her all-but-invisible gift, is the one with the advantage.
The only one who’s safe, if the world finds out what they can do.
When the Cavies are attacked and inoculated with an unidentified virus, that illusion is shattered. Whatever was attached to the virus causes their abilities to change. Grow. In some cases, to escape their control.
Gypsy dreamed of normal high school, normal friends, a normal life, for years. Instead, the Cavies are sucked under a sea of government intrigue, weaponized genetic mutation, and crushing secrets that will reframe everything they’ve ever been told about how their "talents" came to be in the first place.
When they find out one of their own has been appropriated by the government, mistreated and forced to run dangerous missions, their desire for information becomes a pressing need. With only a series of guesses about their origins, the path to the truth becomes quickly littered with friends, enemies, and in the end, the Cavies ability to trust anyone at all.



EXCERPT
The library is one of the bigger rooms in the house, converted from what used to be the upstairs parlor. The Professor looks out a window that overlooks the back lawn. Shelves, sagging with dusty books, cover every inch of the light blue, fifteen-foot walls. The morning sunlight still lingers around the front of the house, making this space dim, but motes of dust twirl and waltz like members of a royal court on the pale, reaching beams.

All at once, happiness floods my bloodstream, as though someone smacks good cheer into my chest cavity through my shoulder blades. The strange desire to burst into song hums along my nerve endings, as though I’m a Disney princess summoning her bird and varmint attendants at the window. It takes serious concentration to bite back the urge.

The abrupt change in mood announces another Cavy’s presence, but as hard as I try to glare at Pollyanna, my mouth refuses to cooperate. Her mutation, a reverse empath alternation that allows her disposition to affect the moods of people in close proximity, is more...invasive than most. Losing control of my own mind never fails to make me feel icky.

And given her insistence on cynicism and anger, she's not aptly named. Not at all.

“Feeling good, Gyspy?” She shakes out her long, blond hair and pins me with china-blue eyes. The faux-happy shroud crawling from her to me dissolves and my smile finally falls away. Polly nods. “That's better. You look weird when you smile.”

“Pollyanna, we have spoken at length about the perils of using your gifts on your fellow Cavies.” The Professor's patient, tired voice reprimands the youngest of his students, if only by several months.

The Philosopher, who runs Darley, took us in before we were three months old, and we all arrived between sixteen and seventeen years ago. 

“Sorry, sir.”

She's not sorry, but his chastisement and her apology are part of our daily routine. Of all the kids here, Pollyanna is my least favorite. She's everyone's least favorite, and even though she knows it she doesn't change. I guess she doesn't care.

“Sorry for what? Fucking with people again?” The voice bleeds out of thin air before Haint shimmers into view around it, face first. She leans against one of the bookcases once her shoulder appears, examining her nails as she waits for her daily reprimand.

The Professor doesn't disappoint. “Language, dear.”

He says nothing to me, not even hello, nor does he issue a warning to Haint about using her ability to go invisible. It’s not dangerous. Pollyanna could make any one of us walk straight off a cliff if she felt particularly suicidal that day.

The twins Athena and Goose arrive together, a tornado of rough-housing elbows and flashes of reddish hair, loosing half a shelf of books onto the floor and toppling an end table before getting themselves under control. The Professor ignores them, having long ago resigned himself to their antics.

We're all here now, at least those who are expected. Mole is still enduring his weekly brain prodding and so is Reaper. They’re our lethal Cavies, and are kept for testing more often and for longer than the rest of us. We're categorized according to our level of usefulness, the details of our mutations and abilities listed in records the Philosopher hopes might convince the government we could be potential assets as opposed to threats.

Three Operationals, two Substantials, one Developmental, three Unstables, and one Inconsequential. That’s me. The one who will never be an asset to anyone but can't be locked away and forgotten like an Unstable, either. They don't know what to do with me, so I shuffle along with the group.

“Everyone sit down, please.”

The Professor's command sounds more like a genteel request, and we drop into a circle of cross-legged teenagers on the oval Oriental rug that smothers the center of the room. He paces behind us, passing binder-clipped pages into our waiting hands.

I grab mine, excited as the title filters through my eyes and into my brain. It's a thesis, written by the Scientist back in the 1960s: Genetic Mutation and the Human Brain.

He died before any of us were born but his thoughts and experiments, his studies, help the scientists at Darley Hall figure out what might have caused the mutations that resulted in our “gifts.” Maybe one day they'll figure out how to switch off those screwy genes and I can touch another person without at least one layer in between us. Without the protection, touching someone means seeing a number in my mind.

The age the other person is going to die.

My “talent” is creepy at best, totally useless at worst, and being able to get rid of it has been a hidden desire for the whole of my life.

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About the AuthorTrisha Leigh is a product of the Midwest, which means it’s pop, not soda, garage sales, not tag sales, and you guys as opposed to y’all. Most of the time. She’s been writing seriously for five years now, and has published 4 young adult novels and 4 new adult novels (under her pen name Lyla Payne). Her favorite things, in no particular order, include: reading, Game of Thrones, Hershey’s kisses, reading, her dogs (Yoda and Jilly), summer, movies, reading, Jude Law, coffee, and rewatching WB series from the 90’s-00’s.
Her family is made up of farmers and/or almost rock stars from Iowa, people who numerous, loud, full of love, and the kind of people that make the world better. Trisha tries her best to honor them, and the lessons they’ve taught, through characters and stories—made up, of course, but true enough in their way.


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