Release Week Blitz (Excerpt): WICKED by Jennifer L. Armentrout (NA)

WICKED

A Wicked Saga #1

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Release date: December 8th, 2014

Published by: Self-published

Genre: New Adult Paranormal Romance

Format: Paperback, eBook

SUMMARY

Things are about to get Wicked in New Orleans.

Twenty-two year old Ivy Morgan isn’t your average college student. She, and others like her, know humans aren’t the only thing trolling the French Quarter for fun… and for food. Her duty to the Order is her life. After all, four years ago, she lost everything at the hands of the creatures she’d sworn to hunt, tearing her world and her heart apart.

Ren Owens is the last person Ivy expected to enter her rigidly controlled life. He’s six feet and three inches of temptation and swoon-inducing charm. With forest-green eyes and a smile that’s surely left a stream of broken hearts in its wake, he has an uncanny, almost unnatural ability to make her yearn for everything he has to offer. But letting him in is as dangerous as hunting the cold-blooded killers stalking the streets. Losing the boy she loved once before had nearly destroyed her, but the sparking tension that grows between them becomes impossible for Ivy to deny. Deep down, she wants… she needs more than what her duty demands of her, what her past has shaped for her.

But as Ivy grows closer to Ren, she realizes she’s not the only one carrying secrets that could shatter the frail bond between them. There’s something he’s not telling her, and one thing is for certain. She’s no longer sure what is more dangerous to her—the ancient beings threatening to take over the town or the man demanding to lay claim to her heart and her soul. 

PRE-ORDER LINKS

Amazon / Barnes and Noble / iTunes / Kobo 

EXCERPT

It was him. Green Eyes. Ren. That was his name. Now I remembered. I started to step forward, but he beat me to it. Moving as quickly as a damn snake striking, he caught my wrists. He didn’t yank my arms to my sides. All he did was hold my fists away from his face.

A lopsided grin appeared on those full lips. “Can’t say I’m entirely surprised you took a swing at me.”

“Then I guess this won’t surprise you either.” Leaning back, I shifted my weight onto my left leg, but again, Ren outmaneuvered me with a quickness that was sort of embarrassing.

He stepped into what would’ve been a fantastic kick and forced me back against the wall. Then there was nowhere to go, no space whatsoever. My back was against the building, and the entire length of his hard body was pressed against mine.

Son of a bitch.

As if he could read my mind, that grin spread and the dimples played peekaboo. “Now I think we can have a conversation without me ending up bloody.”

I blew out an aggravated breath. “I wouldn’t bet on that not happening.”

 He chuckled, and the sound rumbled through me. I couldn’t even remember being this close to a guy since . . . since Shaun. “Look, I’m sorry for snatching you off the street like a kidnapper, but you were about to make yet another huge mistake.”

His apology was lost on me. “Make another mistake?”

“Yeah, like the one last night that ended with you getting shot.” He dipped his chin, and the yellow glow of the light attached to the wall above us glanced off his broad cheekbones. “I know what you were about to do.”

 “I didn’t make a mistake last night. I was doing my job,” I spat. “And I doubt your job includes grabbing chicks off the street.”

 “That would be a hell of a lot more entertaining, but the moment you thought you could engage that fae last night, you made a mistake. And you were about to do it again, you little ass.”

“Little ass?” I sputtered. “You grabbed me off the street like a serial killer!”

“And I’ve apologized for that even though you should be thanking me. I just saved your life, sweetness.”

Floored, all I could do was stare at him for a moment. “You’re insane.”

“I’m a lot of things, but today I’m your fucking saving grace.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Jennifer L. Armentrout

# 1 NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki.

Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her book Obsidian has been optioned for a major motion picture and her Covenant Series has been optioned for TV.

She also writes adult and New Adult romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

Website / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads

  

Release Day and GIVEAWAY: EDGE OF FALLING (Fallling #2) by Valia Lind (YA)

EDGE OF FALLING
Falling #2

by Valia Lind

Release date: August 13th, 2014

Published by: Self-published

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance

Format: eBook

SUMMARY

For Chance, there's always only been Dakota. 

He's been in love with the girl since the day they met. He's tried everything to get her to notice him and nothing has worked. So when things suddenly start moving in the right direction, Chance can't believe his luck. 

Until Kyle comes along. 

Kyle is like a new shiny toy and Dakota loves new and shiny. She falls for the tall, blonde and gorgeous fast and without looking back. Dating the summer before college wasn't in the plans, but come on, Kyle is perfect. So why does Chance and his snarky grin keeps popping up in her mind now that Dakota has found her happiness? 

When Chance's world comes crashing down, Dakota proves the strength of their friendship, surprising herself and everyone around her, by helping him pick up the pieces. In return, Chance is finally able to crack her hard shell, discovering that not everything is sunny in Dakota-land. Her world is not what it seems on the outside, and together, they're able to pull each other to the brink of safety and sanity. 

Dakota likes that things are simple with Kyle, so why does she feel more like herself around Chance? 

As graduation grows closer, both Chance and Dakota learn that the plans you make for your life don't always play out the way you expect them and sometimes, everything starts to make sense when you find yourself on the edge of falling.

BUY LINKS

Amazon eBook / Amazon paperback / Barnes and Noble / iTunes / Smashwords / CreateSpace

Order signed books and swag directly from the author here!

Falling by Design (Falling #1)

Release date: March 11th, 2014

SUMMARY

Brooklynn Summers has a plan for her life: graduate from high school, get into a top fashion school, prove to her family that she’s not a failure. She wishes someone in her life understood her need to create because her parents sure don’t support her dreams, her sister hates her, and the deadlines are soon approaching. 

Enter Grayson Banks. 

There are a few things in life Brooklynn can’t stand: mismatched patterns, cheap polyester, and Grayson. No boy has ever publicly humiliated Brooklynn like Grayson has. When he suddenly moved away in eighth grade, Brooklynn happily wished him good riddance. But on the first day of senior year, Grayson comes back, with his piercing blue eyes and a smile that melts icebergs, he is not exactly the boy Brooklynn remembers. She quickly realizes that Grayson’s intentions have completely shifted, but she’s not sure if she can put their past behind her. 

Grayson understands Brooklynn’s creative ambitions and he devises a plan to showcase her work to the world. When the two agree to work together, suddenly, there is more than just fabric paint that’s having a chemical reaction to its environment. Brooklynn cannot help but feel pulled into Grayson’s arms, but memories and misunderstandings surface, putting in danger whatever small comradeship these two childhood enemies have constructed. 

Can Brooklynn overcome her own insecurities, finally making her dreams come true? Even a dream she didn’t know she had.

GIVEAWAY

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Valia Lind

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Excerpt and Giveaway: FIRST & FOREVER (The Crescent Chronicles #4) by Alyssa Rose Ivy (NA)

FIRST & FOREVER

The Crescent Chronicles #4
by Alyssa Rose Ivy

Release day: August 11th, 2014

Published by: Self-published

Genre: New Adult Paranormal Romance

Format: eBook

SUMMARY

Ever wonder what Levi was thinking in FLIGHT? Find out in the two Levi POV novellas FIRST & FOREVER. This combined edition includes both FIRST (previously released) and FOREVER, a brand new novella.This edition also includes the bonus short story: The Royal Wedding.

FIRST
Levi's got it all. He's a paranormal prince with more money and power than he knows what to do with, but something is missing — a mate. He only has until college graduation to find her. 
Allie's perfect but she wants nothing to do with him. 
When attraction becomes something more, will he take a chance and show her who he really is or will he lose everything?

FOREVER
Levi's almost out of time. Allie's the one, he knows it in every grain of his being, but how can he make her see it? 
Desperate to keep Allie safe and at his side, he takes the biggest risk of his life. 
Reckless or not there is nothing he wouldn't do to keep her with him

BUY LINKS

Amazon / Barnes and Noble / iTunes / Kobo

EXCERPT

We walked off into the darkness, and I held her hand firmly in my own. I’d never been a big hand holder, but it’s like I needed to have hers in mine. I needed to touch her constantly, and I wanted her to know she was always safe with me—even if I was far from safe to most anyone else.

She tugged on my hand, and I gladly followed her down closer to the water.

She took in another deep breath. “There is nothing like the beach at night.”

“You like it at night, too? I was worried you wouldn’t like it without the sun.” I wondered if I was unique in craving the quiet shadows of the dark beach.

“I like the beach during the day, but I love it at night. There is just something about listening to the waves in the darkness and the soft glow of the stars reflecting off the water.”

“Yeah. It’s nice.” I moved behind her, and she leaned into me. We stood that way for several minutes before I turned her to look at me.

She looked like a dream standing there in the glimmering of the moonlight. I studied her face, looking for a sign that she was something more than the beautiful human that had attracted me from the moment we met. Every part of me knew how significant she was to me, but I wanted more proof. “You’re so beautiful. So unbelievably beautiful…” I trailed off as my lips gave in to what they had wanted to do all day.

GIVEAWAY

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THE CRESCENT CHRONICLES

ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Alyssa Rose Ivy

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.

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Cover Reveal and Excerpt: AGAIN by Lisa Burstein (NA)

AGAIN

by Lisa Burstein 

Expected release date: September 22nd, 2014

Published by: Self-published

Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance

Format: eBook

SUMMARY

How far would you go for a second chance?

Eleven years after flunking out of college, Kate has finally hit rock-bottom. Losing her job and boyfriend in one drunken night, she’s determined to fix her life by going back to the moment when she let partying and sex take over and do things right. At twenty-nine, she heads back to freshman year of college, with a catch.

Pretending she's nineteen with a new roommate and full class schedule is easy. When she meets her shy, sexy and seven-years-younger RA Carter, following her self-imposed sobriety and celibacy rules is proving to be anything but.

A senior enduring years of regret, Carter is more than ready to graduate. He’s anxious to move on from the party his freshman year where he witnessed his frat brothers about to commit a sexual assault. Instead of doing the right thing and stepping in, he looked the other way and left. His guilt has made for a lonely four years.

When he meets the new freshman on his floor, spunky and confident Kate, he wonders if his time as an outcast has finally come to an end.

Kate and Carter’s growing friendship and undeniable attraction make it harder to hide the demons from their respective pasts. But when their secrets are finally revealed, will their chance at starting over together still be there?

EXCERPT from Chapter One

Kate

College-take-two started with me hiding in the dorm lobby men’s bathroom. Unfortunately, I didn’t notice the urinals until after I ran inside.

I stood with my back tight against the wall gasping air like it was Riesling and I was at an all you can drink happy hour.

How the hell did I think I’d ever pull this off? Pretend to be a nineteen-year-old freshman at twenty-nine-years old?

Going back to college might not have been one of my best ideas—but it was the only one that might finally change my life. I wanted to change my life. I needed to. It was just hard to convince myself of that once I was actually on campus with tons of real freshman all around me.

I guess it’s a lot easier to fantasize about living your life over again than to actually go through with it. 

“Are you lost?”

I turned and found a built, blonde-haired hottie washing his hands. He dried them quickly, crossed his arms over his broad chest and leaned against the sink.

 That was the moment I realized I was in the men’s bathroom. The moment my breathing went from gulping Riesling at an all you can drink happy hour to puking it up into the disgusting toilet at the back of the bar when drinks went back to full price.

My knees went wobbly. My mouth was dry; my head seemingly floating on top of my neck. I couldn’t tell if I was suddenly unbalanced because of how handsome he was, or the realization I clearly was lost.

Minus a penis lost.

“Shit,” I reached for the door handle with sweaty palms. At least I was making the kind of a stupid mistake a real freshman would.

My wide, wild eyes probably made me look as confused by my surroundings as any other student arriving, but honestly I was terrified and not because I’d almost caught this guy with his pants down, because this whole idea was insane.

“It’s okay,” he said, walking toward me, waving his large hands to calm me. “This is definitely not the worst thing I’ve seen someone do the first day back.” He smiled showing teeth that reminded me of toothpaste commercials. It brought out the sweetest dimple the size of an M&M on his chin.

Fuck me. I smiled back.

He paused; eyeing me up and down, perhaps noticing the tight body I was showing off in a desperate attempt to appear nineteen.

“What makes you an expert?” I asked hoping to change his focus, Maybe he wasn’t regarding me for the reason I thought; tight body or no, I was not nineteen. I was twenty-nine. Why the hell would anyone believe any different?

He pointed to his red polo shirt.

Turns out he was doing his job.

The area above his right pectoral muscle read Resident Advisor, Hudson University. There was something I couldn’t identify in his sea-glass blue eyes; almost like he was holding back, putting up a good front.

I knew his look well. It was one I’d mastered. When it got too hard to wear my own everything-is-fine-mask I doused it in alcohol and sex and bad choices, but that wasn’t a solution anymore.

And clearly, everything wasn’t fine.

“I need to get out of here,” I grasped for the door latch again, trying to put out the fire blazing in my neck and face.

He reached from behind me and also went for the door. His hand brushed against mine blistering enough to brand my skin.

My pulse popped like the last minute of popcorn in a microwave. I needed to get away from him. I would have usually chastised myself for even glancing in his direction. Not that I had much choice considering I’d been the one who put us in such close and uncomfortable quarters.

Twenty-nine-year-olds didn’t spontaneously combust from a college kid’s accidental touch. But damn, this guy was fine. My RA back in college-take-one was nothing like this. If he had been I might have made it past the first semester.

I might have passed my actual college-take-one classes.

Of course, I also might have spent it studying what was under his khakis.

“Let me help you,” he said, pushing on the latch as I continued to pull. His voice was a deep vibrato, as deep as his blue eyes seemed.

“I can open a door,” I said, pulling as hard as I could. Nothing happened.

Apparently I couldn’t.

He lifted his arms I-surrender-style and stood back stifling a laugh. “It’s a push.”

“I knew that,” I looked down as I finally pushed the door open and we exited the bathroom. Not because I was embarrassed, though who was I kidding?

I kept my eyes away from his. I didn’t want to show him my face. Have him laugh and say, what the hell are you doing here old lady? Or even worse, are you here helping your daughter or son move in?

It was one thing to be told you had a baby-face your entire life. It was another to put it to the test next to actual babies!

That was why I’d run into the bathroom. Too bad my early-onset cataracts had obscured the mammoth M and stick figure dude.

We stood in front of the door, the dorm lobby brimming with students and their parents. I should have just walked away, but I liked the way he was checking me out, his gaze sliding from my just purchased Uggs to my just purchased white winter hat with cat-ears smashed over my recently highlighted blonde hair. I had been doing my best to look student-like.

But I was pretty sure I looked like Hannah Montana.

It had been easy to Photoshop my high school transcript so it seemed like I graduated a year ago. Simple to change my one semester of F’s to A’s, to take the SATs again, to get a fake ID, to dress like any other nineteen-year-old. It took an hour to sublet my rent-controlled New York City apartment.

Being here and acting like a college freshman would clearly be a lot harder. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Lisa Burstein

Lisa Burstein is the author of the Young Adult Novels: Pretty Amy and Dear Cassie, and the New Adult Novels & Novellas: Sneaking Candy, The Next Forever & The Possibility of Us. 

She is also a contributor to the essay collection, Break These Rules: 35 Young Adult Authors On Speaking Up, Standing Out, and Being Yourself. 

She lives in Portland, Oregon with her very patient husband, a neurotic dog and two cats. 

Again is her self-publishing debut.

GoodReads / Website /  Twitter  / Facebook

http://www.wordsmithpublicity.com/

Indie Monday #5: FADED (The Faded Trilogy #1) by Chloe Miles (YA)

Welcome to my new meme called INDIE MONDAYS!!!

A post dedicated to independent authors and their books!

Every week, every Monday, a new author will be featured...

If you are an independent Young Adult, Middle Grade, Children's or clean Adult author that would like to be featured, check out the details here and/or please fill out this form.

FADED

The Faded Trilogy #1

by Chloe Miles

Release date: August 24th, 2012

Published by: Self-published

Genre: Young Adult Paranormal Romance

Format: Paperback, eBook

SUMMARY

When seventeen-year-old Savannah Fraser and her three friends are killed in a car accident, they are given a second chance at life by a group of century-old earthbound spirits who need their help. 

Savannah learns she is a Chosen One, which means, she can switch between human and spirit form, heal people and control the weather - and she is also now invincible. 

The Chosen Ones are the only ones who can defeat The Forces - a trio of evil half-spirits who are slowly destroying the perfect little town of Fort Everwick with violent storms and not-s0-natural disasters - and stop them from harming everyone they care about. 

The Forces are set on destroying everything Savannah knows and loves, but they also have a more sinister plan - they want a new member to join them. They won't give up until they get the one they want - and they have Savannah firmly in their sights. 

But what Savannah didn't count on was falling in love with Hunter. She's never loved anyone the way she loves Hunter, and she knows he loves her too. But how can they be together forever if he no longer exists and she's the only one who can see him?

Will Savannah have enough belief in herself to defeat The Forces, or will they be able to lure her to the darkside and turn her against her loved ones - and tear her and Hunter apart? 

EXCERPT

It was just as stunning out there as it was inside the hall. A string of lights adorned the fancy stone railing, and little square trees formed a hedge along the inside of it. Hunter walked out into the middle and took a bow before he extended his hand to her.

"Our own private dance floor."

Savannah obligingly placed her hand in his. She couldn't hold his hand like she could have in spirit form - she couldn't take the risk in case somebody had seen her go out there - but Hunter still hold hers all the same. 

"It's bad enough that I can't be your proper date that everybody else can see you with," he said as he twirled her around and then gently pulled her in closer, "but I didn't want you to miss out on this part as well."

"What do you mean a proper date?" she asked him. "Hunter, you're still here to me. You've just faded a little, that's all."

A light dusting of snow had started falling about their heads, and Savannah lifted her eyes to see tiny romantic snowflakes falling only on them like their own little winter snow globe scene.

"I noticed their dance floor in there had a snow machine," Hunter said as he watched the snowflakes fall above their heads before he let his eyes drift back down to here. "I can do better than that."

"It's beautiful."

Savannah caught a tiny snowflake as it landed gently on her hand. It might not have been really snowing like how Madison had wanted it to, but it was still romantic. 

"This night is perfect," she whispered as she placed her arms around his transparent shoulders, "because you're here."

"I wouldn't have missed this for anything," he said. "You're the most important thing in the world to me, and I knew how important this was to you."

Savannah looked back up at the falling snow.

"You know how you said that I should forget about everything else and just be a normal girl tonight?" She shook her head to disagree before she had even said the words. "Normal is overrated. None of those other girls in there have real snow," she whispered, "or you."

Hunter gently twirled her around again before she held both her hands up to his. Their hands were barely touching, but that was good enough for her. Hunter was hers. She didn't need anybody else to be able to see him to know that. 

"Those other guys in there may be alive and have youth on their side," he whispered as his eyes drifted to her lips, "but I'm the luckiest guy here tonight." 

PURCHASE LINKS

Amazon / Barnes and Noble

ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Chloe Miles

Chloe Miles is a twenty-something author, dreamer, shameless chocoholic and hopeless romantic.

When she's not writing or daydreaming, she loves escaping reality with her favorite playlists, eating too much chocolate and curling up on her couch in her PJs with a good TV show and a cup of tea.

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Relaunch Blitz: BLUE SKY DAYS by Marie Landry (YA)

BLUE SKY DAYS

by Marie Landry

Release date: January 17th, 2012

Published by: Self-Published

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary

Format: eBook

SUMMARY

A year after graduating from high school, nineteen-year-old Emma Ward feels lost. She has spent most of her life trying to please her frigid, miserable mother - studying hard, getting good grades, avoiding the whole teenage rebellion thing - and now she feels she has no identity beyond that. Because she spent so many years working hard and planning every moment of her life, she doesn't have any friends, has never had a boyfriend, and basically doesn't know who she is or what she really wants from life. Working two part-time jobs to save money for college hasn't helped her make decisions about her future, so she decides it's time for a change. She leaves home to live with her free-spirited, slightly eccentric Aunt Daisy in a small town that makes Emma feel like she's stepped back in time. 

When Emma meets Nicholas Shaw, everything changes - he's unlike anyone she's ever met before, the kind of man she didn't even know existed in the 21st century. Carefree and spirited like Daisy, Nicholas teaches Emma to appreciate life, the beauty around her, and to just let go and live. Between Daisy and Nicholas, Emma feels like she belongs somewhere for the first time in her life, and realizes that you don't always need a plan - sometimes life steers you where you're meant to be. 

Life is wonderful, an endless string of blue sky days, until Nicholas is diagnosed with cancer, and life changes once again for Emma in ways she never thought possible. Now it's time for her to help Nicholas the way he's helped her. Emma will have to use her new-found strength, and discover along the way if love really is enough to get you through.

BUY LINKS

Amazon US / Amazon CAN / Amazon UK 

Barnes & Noble / Smashwords / Kobo / iBooks

June 27th is the 20th anniversary of my dad’s death from leukemia. For a long time I’ve wanted to honour him in some way, and I thought having the relaunch of Blue Sky Days, a book that was partly inspired by him, would be the perfect tribute. My dad was a wonderful man—smart, funny, kind, and loyal. He was an amazing father, husband, brother, and friend. Even before he died, I knew I wanted to be a writer, and he would listen to my crazy made-up stories with the patience of a saint.

From the 27th-30th of June, half the proceeds from all sales of Blue Sky Days will be donated to the Canadian Cancer Society. If you already own a copy, maybe you’d consider buying the book for a friend or family member? Or buying another copy from a different retailer (like Smashwords, which offers the book in every format)?

I greatly appreciate the support of the online reading/writing community for helping me honour my dad.

Thanks to eight incredible sponsors, there's a huge blitz-wide giveaway! 

There will be three (3) $20 PayPal cash prizes. 

Three chances to win - not too shabby, huh? 

This giveaway is open internationally to people aged 18+ who can accept PayPal cash.

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Marie has always been a daydreamer; 
since early childhood she's had a passion for words and a desire to create imaginary worlds, so it only seemed natural for her to become a writer. 
She resides in Ontario, Canada, and most days you can find her writing, reading, blogging about writing and reading, listening to U2, watching copious amounts of TV on DVD, or having grand adventures with her nephews and niece. 
She's a hopeless romantic, an unapologetic eavesdropper (occupational hazard), an equally unapologetic squeeing fangirl, and a lover of swoonworthy book and TV characters. 

For more on Marie and her books please visit http://sweetmarie-83.blogspot.ca. She also loves to chat with fellow book lovers, so feel free to tweet her @SweetMarie83 any time.

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