Blog Tour (Excerpt/Giveaway): KEEPER OF THE BEES by Meg Kassel (YA)

Hosted by YA Bound Book Tours

KEEPER OF THE BEES

Black Bird of the Gallows #2
by Meg Kassel

Release date: September 4th, 2018

Published by Entangled Teen

Genre: Young Adult - Paranormal/Fantasy

Format: Hardcover, eBook

SUMMARY

*PLEASE NOTE: 
Keeper of the Bees is the second book in the companion series to BLACK BIRD OF THE GALLOWS. However, as per the publisher, you do not need to read BLACK BIRD OF THE GALLOWS before KEEPER OF THE BEES in order to enjoy them both.

"Beauty and the Beast like you've never imagined!"
- New York Times bestselling author Pintip Dunn

KEEPER OF THE BEES is a tale of two teens who are both beautiful and beastly, and whose pasts are entangled in surprising and heartbreaking ways.

Dresden is cursed.
His chest houses a hive of bees that he can't stop from stinging people with psychosis-inducing venom. His face is a shifting montage of all the people who have died because of those stings. And he has been this way for centuries - since he was eighteen and magic flowed through his homeland, corrupting its people. 

He follows harbingers of death, so at least his curse only affects those about to die anyway. But when he arrives in a Midwest town marked for death, he encounters Essie, a seventeen-year-old girl who suffers from debilitating delusions and hallucinations. His bees want to sting her on sight. But Essie doesn't see a monster when she looks at Dresden.

Essie is fascinated and delighted by his changing features. Risking his own life, he holds back his bees and spares her. What starts out as a simple act of mercy ends up unraveling Dresden's solitary life and Essie's tormented one.

Their impossible romance might even be powerful enough to unravel a centuries-old curse. 

ORDER LINKS can be found HERE!

EXCERPT from KEEPER OF THE BEES

     She closes her eyes. Her breath hitches. Then, she does the improbable and throws herself against me, wrapping her arms around my waist.

     I am paralyzed. Motionless, breathless in my first embrace in a millennium. To be touched... my eyes close as I tremble from head to toe. The pain is glorious, excruciating.

     "Thank you," she breathes against my chest. "You calm my mind. Why is that?"

     "I don't know." Speech takes an unbearable effort. I'm overwhelmed in every single possible way - destroyed on a level she can't begin to comprehend. My arms hover, uncertain how to return her embrace and unsure if I should. Unable to push her away. I feel as though I will shatter if I move, but my arms slowly close around her. One of my hands falls on her hair, where the elastic has loosened. The thin band slips from her hair and falls into my hand. My fingers close around it. 

READ the first book to the companion series NOW!!!

BLACK BIRD OF THE GALLOWS
by Meg Kassel
Release date: September 5th, 2017
Published by: Entangled Teen

SUMMARY to BLACK BIRD OF THE GALLOWS

A simple but forgotten truth:

Where harbingers of death appear, the morgues will soon be full.

Angie Dovage can tell there's more to Reece Fernandez than just the tall, brooding athlete who has her classmates swooning, but she can't imagine his presence signals a tragedy that will devastate her small town. When something supernatural tries to attack her, Angie is thrown into a battle between good and evil she never saw coming. Right in the center of it is Reece - and he's not human.

What's more, she knows something most don't.

That the secrets her town holds could kill them all.

But that's only half as dangerous as falling in love with a harbinger of death.

*GIVEAWAY*

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*Bumbles and Fairy-Tales is not responsible for any lost, damaged, unclaimed, etc. prizes.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Meg Kassel


Meg Kassel is an author of fantasy and speculative books for young adults. 

A graduate of Parson's School of Design, she’s been creating stories, whether with visuals or words, since childhood. 

Meg is a New Jersey native who lives in a log house in the Maine woods with her husband and daughter. 

As a fan of ’80s cartoons, Netflix series, and ancient mythology, she has always been fascinated and inspired by the fantastic, the creepy, and the futuristic. 

She is the 2016 RWA Golden Heart® winner in YA and a double 2018 RITA® finalist for her debut novel, Black Bird of the Gallows.

GOODREADS / WEBSITE / TWITTER / INSTAGRAM / FACEBOOK / AMAZON 

YA BOUND BOOK TOURS

Review: WINK POPPY MIDNIGHT by April Genevieve Tucholke (YA)

WINK POPPY MIDNIGHT

by April Genevieve Tucholke

Release date: March 22nd, 2016

Published by: Dial Books (Penguin Random House)

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary

Format: Hardcover, eBook, Audiobook

Format read: ARC acquired from a book blogger friend.

SUMMARY

Every story needs a hero.

Every story needs a villain.

Every story needs a secret.

Wink is the odd, mysterious neighbor girl, wild red hair, and freckles.

Poppy is the blond bully and the beautiful, manipulative high school queen bee.

Midnight is the sweet, uncertain boy caught between them.

Wink. Poppy. Midnight.

Two girls.

One boy.

Three voices that burst onto the page in short, sharp, bewitching chapters, and spiral swiftly and inexorably toward something terrible or tricky or tremendous.

What really happened?

Someone knows.

Someone is lying.

MY REVIEW

*An ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) was acquired from a book blogger friend for free to read and review. All thoughts here are my very own. 

This book has my brain all jumbled up! It was whimsical, addicting and... everything that you would want in a book that will leave you feeling overwhelmed and confused in such a good way... I'm advising you now, when you pick up this book, be prepared to be sucked in until the end. This is not a book that you could/should read in spurts or while reading other books. This book will demand your undivided attention and you should not go against it!

Wink, Poppy and Midnight are our three main characters and the story is told from all of their point-of-views... there is a love triangle here, BUT, it is not like anything you have probably read before. Their story is so complicated and full of unexpected twists and turns, revelations and more. No one who is who you think they are and then they are and then they're not again. Their story is full of manipulation, and puzzling thoughts... they're not here to make friends with you, to get you to connect with them and sympathize; they're here to tell a story, their story.

Wink is the new girl next door who believes in fairytales and feels that life should be lived like one, and feels that Midnight is the hero to her story. 

Poppy is purposely the villain. She admittedly has a black heart and enjoys playing with peoples emotions and their lives. And will do anything to claim what is hers and put people in their rightful place. Midnight is hers and she will play along, or until she grows bored.

And, Midnight. Midnight is our lost boy who is in love with two girls who may be exactly who he thinks they are and also knows that he doesn't. He's torn between the two, but he also has his own story to tell.

THE WRITING! Oh, my goodness - the writing is AMAZING! It is flawless and lyrical; some passages are so captivating and realistic. For me, while reading, I felt like I was there seeing everything first hand, smelling the strawberries and barn, feeling the sheets and the grass between my toes, seeing the dust and cobwebs. It is quite eerie the way the magic of Tucholke's writing had on me.

I highly recommend this book to those who want a quick read to fall into for a while and get lost in, to then take some time to find a way to climb out of. For those who love honest complex characters, mysteries and a mind-boggling experience. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR - April Genevieve Tucholke

April Genevieve Tucholke is the author of BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA, BETWEEN THE SPARK AND THE BURN, and WINK POPPY MIDNIGHT.

She also curated the horror anthology SLASHER GIRLS & MONSTER BOYS.

She has received five starred reviews and her novels have been chosen for the Junior Library Guild, Kids' Indie Next picks, and YALSA Teens Top Ten.

When she's not writing, April likes walking in the woods with her two cheerful dogs, exploring abandoned houses, and drinking expensive coffee.

She has lived in many places around the world and currently resides in Oregon with her husband.

GOODREADS / WEBSITE / TWITTER / INSTAGRAM 

Cover Reveal: SPIES, LIES, AND ALLIES: A LOVE STORY by Lisa Brown Roberts (YA)

Happy Monday to you!

I'm happy to be able to share a really super cute cover reveal with you today!

Be sure to let us know what you think of it, and the book :) 

SPIES, LIES, AND ALLIES: A LOVE STORY

by Lisa Brown Roberts

Expected release date: May 1st, 2018

Published by Entangled Teen

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance

Format: Paperback, eBook

SUMMARY

Summers are supposed to be fun, right? Not mine. 

I've got a job at my dad's company, which is sponsoring a college scholarship competition. I just found out that, in addition to my job assisting the competing interns, I'm supposed to vote for the winner. Totally not what I signed up for. There's a crazy guy running the competition like it's an episode of Survivor. Then there's Carlos, who is, well, very distracting - in a good way. But I can't even think about him that way because Crazy Guy says any fraternizing on the job means instant disqualification for the intern involved.

As if that's not enough, an anonymous weirdo with insider intel is trying to sabotage my dad's company on social media... and I'm afraid it's working.

Much as I'd love to quit, I can't. Kristoff's Never Quit is our family motto. I just hope there's more than one survivor by the end of this summer.

Want to read more?

Pre-order your copy of SPIES, LIES, AND ALLIES: A LOVE STORY today!!!

Amazon / B&N / iBooks / Kobo / Entangled Publishing

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Have You Seen the NEW Cover for The Replacement Crush by Lisa Brown Roberts yet? 

Check it out now!

THE REPLACEMENT CRUSH

by Lisa Brown Roberts

Release date: September 6th, 2016

Published by Entangled Teen

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance

Format: Paperback, eBook

SUMMARY

True love can't be strategized.

After book blogger Vivian Galdi's longtime crush pretends their secret summer kissing sessions never happened, Vivian creates a list of safe crushes, determined to protect her heart.

But nerd-hot Dallas, the sweet new guy in town, sends the mission and Vivian's zing meter into chaos. While designing software for the bookstore where Vivian works, Dallas wages a counter-mission.

Operation Replacement Crush is in full effect.

And Dallas is determined to take her heart off the shelf.

Want to read more?

Purchase your copy of THE REPLACEMENT CRUSH by Lisa Brown Roberts today!

Amazon / B&N / iBooks / Kobo / Entangled Publishing

ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Lisa Brown Roberts

Lisa Brown Roberts still hasn't recovered from the teenage trauma of nearly tweezing off her eyebrows and penciling them in for an entire school year. This and other painful memories inspire her to write books in which girls big on wit and heart earn happy endings with swoony guys... eventually.

Her almost forever home is Colorado, though she occasionally pines for the days when she lived within walking distance of the Pacific Ocean. Her house is full of books, boys, four-legged prima donnas, and lots of laughter.

LINKS: Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook / Instagram / Amazon 

 Entangled Publishing

Blog Tour (Excerpt and Giveaway): SAY YOU'LL REMEMBER ME by Katie McGarry (YA)

I am so very excited and happy to be able to share with you today an excerpt from Katie McGarry's latest book, SAY YOU'LL REMEMBER ME!!! A story of two people from different worlds pushing themselves, and each other, to get what they deserve! 

Katie McGarry is one of the few first authors that I was able to meet and interview in person when I first started reviewing books and blogging - she is such a wonderful person! And all of her books (that I have already read, I'm a few books behind, lol!) are favorites of mine :) 

SAY YOU'LL REMEMBER ME

by Katie McGarry

Release date: January 30th, 2018

Published by: Harlequin Teen

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary

Format: Hardcover, eBook

SUMMARY

"Doesn't matter who did it. Not anymore. I did the time. It's over."

When Drix was convicted of a crime - one he didn't commit - he thought his life was over.

But an opportunity came with the Second Chance Program, the governor's newest pet project to get delinquents off the streets, rehabilitated and back into society. Drix knows this is his chance to get his life back on track, even if it means being paraded in front of reporters for a while. 

Elle knows she lives a life of privilege. As the governor's daughter, she can open doors with her name alone. But the expectations and pressure to be someone she isn't may be too much to handle. She wants to follow her own path, whatever that means. 

When Drix and Elle meet, their connection is immediate, but so are their problems. Drix is not the type of boy Elle's parents have in mind for her, and Elle is not the kind of girl who can understand Drix's messy life.

But sometimes love can breach all barriers.

Fighting against a society that can't imagine them together, Drix and Elle must push themselves - Drix to confront the truth of the robbery, and Elle to assert her independence - and each other to finally get what they deserve. 

Grab your copy of SAY YOU’LL REMEMBER ME here!

Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks 

Google Play / BAM / Kobo

EXCERPT

Hendrix

“Everyone says you have a blank slate.” My brother Axle sits beside me on the ground, arms resting on his bent knees, and he stares at the bonfire I built with my own two hands with only flint and sticks. It’s one of the many tricks I learned over the last three months. That and how to survive on my own in the middle of nowhere.

Trees and bears I can handle. It’s not knowing who I can trust, now that I’m home, that’s the problem. Axle knows this. It’s why he’s next to me as our friends and family walk around the backyard for the impromptu “Welcome Home” party I told Axle I didn’t want.

Someone in this yard is the reason why I spent a year away from home for a crime I didn’t commit.

My neck tenses and I roll it in an attempt to release the anger. It took me close to eight months to find some Zen, and it has taken less than thirty minutes for some of the old underlying rage that followed me around like a black thunderhead to return.

Across from us, two girls I used to go to school with are roasting marshmallows. They’re waiting for me to talk to them. That’s who I was before: the smooth talker, the guy who made girls laugh and caused them to light up with a few specially chosen words. The right smile dropped at the right time, and panties would be shed. But I don’t feel up for conversation and I don’t feel like manipulating anyone anymore.

Crazy—I used to thrive when surrounded by people. The more, the better. But after being in juvenile detention for seven months and spending three in the wilderness taking part in an Outward Bound program for troubled teens, I’m more at ease by myself in front of a fire.

“They’ve all confirmed you’re walking out of all this with sealed records,” Axle continues.

Hel’s leaving out the part of how those records only remain sealed if I uphold my end of the plea deal—the agreement I made with the district attorney after I was arrested. I agreed to plead guilty, and the DA didn’t charge me as an adult and send me to hard-core prison. Considering we had no money for a lawyer to help prove my innocence, the deal sounded like the better of two bad options.

“You’re getting a massive second chance,” Axle says.

It was rotten luck that got me into this mess, but it happened at the right time. Our governor was searching for screwed-up teens to use for his pilot program. Someone high up in the world thought I stood a chance at turning my life around, but that second chance comes with a price. A price my brother is currently breaking down for me.

“This is a good thing. A blank slate. Not many people get one of those.”

Blank slate. That’s what I’m scared of. I may not have liked parts of the person I was before I was arrested, but at least I knew who I was. This blank slate, this chance to create someone new, scares me. This is a new type of pressure. At least I had a good excuse for being a delinquent before. Now, if I mess up, it’s because I’m truly broken.

The fire crackles then pops, and embers rise into the late May night. My younger sister laughs at the other end of the narrow yard near the aging shotgun house, and the sound is like an eight-eight beat with a high hat cymbal. It’s welcomed, and it’s the first time this feels like home.

She’s sixteen now, grown up faster than I’d prefer, and she’s one of the four people I love more than my own life. She’s also the only reason I’m still out here instead of holed up in my room. According to Axle, it was Holiday’s idea to set up the party.

Old Christmas lights are strung from one towering oak tree to the next, zigzagging green, red and blue across the yard. Most people brought their own chairs and a dish to share. My first meal as a free man and it’s hamburgers, hot dogs, and potato salad. I don’t have the heart to tell her I would have given my left ball for a slice of thick crust pizza.

“She missed you,” Axle says, catching my train of sight.

“I missed her, too.” Those are my first words since we pulled into the driveway. I used to be the life of the party, but that was before, and as I said, I don’t know who I am anymore, so for now, I’m quiet.

“I missed you,” he says in such a low tone I barely catch it. “We weren’t the same without you.”

I take a deep breath because I’m not sure any of us will be the same again.

Order your copy of SAY YOU'LL REMEMBER ME, register and you will receive AND THEY ALL LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER, a novella that features your favorite PUSHING THE LIMITS and THUNDER ROAD characters!!! 

From the PUSHING THE LIMITS series, Noah, Beth, Isaiah, West, and Logan are all grown up. Catch up with your favorite characters as one of them finally says, I DO!

Pigpen, Eli, and Addison from the THUNDER ROAD series: 

Three separate personalities who still needed to find love... and still had someone important to meet.

This is a limited time offer! SO HURRY!

Registration ends on February 3, 2018!

You must register your order to receive AND THEY ALL LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER.

https://a.pgtb.me/4tLZSM

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*Bumbles and Fairy-Tales is not responsible for any lost, damaged, unclaimed, etc. prizes.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Katie McGarry

Katie McGarry was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. 

She is a lover of music, happy endings, reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan.

Katie is the author of full-length YA novels, PUSHING THE LIMITS, DARE YOU TO, CRASH INTO YOU, TAKE ME ON, BREAKING THE RULES, and NOWHERE BUT HERE and the e-novellas, CROSSING THE LINE and RED AT NIGHT. 

Her debut YA novel, PUSHING THE LIMITS, was a 2012 Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction, a RT Magazine's 2012 Reviewer's Choice Awards Nominee for Young Adult Contemporary Novel, a double Rita Finalist, and a 2013 YALSA Top Ten Teen Pick.

DARE YOU TO was also a Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction and won RT Magazine's Reviewer's Choice Best Book Award for Young Adult Contemporary fiction in 2013.

LINKS: Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads 

Pinterest / Tumbler / Instagram

Cover Reveal: DECEPTION SO DARK (Deception So #2) by Clara Kensie (YA)

I am so happy to be able to share the cover reveal to the next book in Clara Kensie's DECEPTION SO series today!!! And even more happy for Clara, who has finally been able to release her stories the way they were meant to be told... the DECEPTION SO series was originally published as the RUN TO YOU serial series and the winner of the prestigious RITA® AWARD for BEST FIRST BOOK!!! It is a wonderful psychic thriller, with a swoony romance... and the next book will be released in just a few short weeks!!!

 So I hope you're ready for Tristan's... I mean, for another thrilling part of Tessa's AND Tristan's story :) 

And if you haven't read the first book yet, you must!!!... or, I may have to rethink our bookish friendship ;) 

* * * * * 

DECEPTION SO DARK

Deception So #2

by Clara Kensie

Expected release date: February 13th, 2018

Published by: Snowy Wings Publishing

Genre: Young Adult Sci-Fi, Thriller, Romance

Format: Paperback, eBook

Cover design by Key of Heart Designs

SUMMARY

Dark as a starless night and black as a cavern of coal...

With no more secrets to keep them apart, Tessa and Tristan embark upon a desperate search to find her missing brother and sister. But not even Tristan can keep Tessa safe from her new - and volatile - psionic power, or from the Nightmare Eyes that seem to watch her even when she's awake.

As the Nightmare Eyes grow stronger, the hope of finding her siblings fades - until a new lead sends Tessa on a dangerous journey, one that a psychic has foretold ends in her death. And one that will force her to choose between Tristan and her siblings - and defeat an enemy she never knew she had in order to save them all. 

Originally published as Run to You parts 4 – 6, Deception So Dark is Book Two of the RITA® Award-winning Deception So series, a super-romantic thriller about a psychic family on the run from a deadly past, and a first love that will transcend secrets, lies, and danger. 

Deception So Dark is available for preorder now! 

You can also add it to your Goodreads here.

* * * * * 

Praises for DECEPTION SO DEADLY

"A dark, suspenseful, and romantic ride!" - USA Today

"The perfect blend of mystery, romance, paranormal thrills, and danger." - Mundie Mums

"A well-written YA paranormal read, with welcome dashes of thrills and plot twists, Kensie has written a gripping and engaging series that features great family dynamics and the enormity of first love." - RT Book Review 

* * * * * 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Clara Kensie

Clara Kensie grew up near Chicago, reading every book she could find and using her diary to write stories about a girl with psychic powers who solved mysteries. She purposely did not hide her diary, hoping someone would read it and assume she was writing about herself. Since then, she's swapped her diary for a computer and admits her characters are fictional, but otherwise, she hasn't changed one bit.

Today, Clara is a RITA Award-winning author of dark fiction for young adults. Her debt, the super-romantic psychic thriller DECEPTION SO series, was named an RT Book Review Editors Pick for Best Books of 2014, and DECEPTION SO Book One: DECEPTION SO DEADLY, is the winner of the prestigious 2015 RITA Award for Best First Book. The first two books in the series, originally released as the six-part RUN TO YOU digital serial in 2014, are being released in print with new DECEPTION SO titles and gorgeous new covers, starting with DECEPTION SO DEADLY in August 2017 and DECEPTION SO DARK in February 2018. The series continues with DECEPTION SO DANGEROUS in August 2018.

Clara's critically-acclaimed novel AFTERMATH (Simon and Schuster/Simon Pulse), a dark, ripped-from-the-headlines drama about hope, healing, and triumph over tragedy in the tradition of ROOM and THE LOVELY BONES, is on Goodreads' list of Most Popular Books Published in November 2016, and Young Adult Books Central declared it a Top Ten Book of 2016.

Clara's favorite foods are guacamole and cookie dough. 

But not together. That would be gross.

LINKS

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