Teaser Tuesday - Earth Edition

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!



Today my teaser comes from Earth by Shauna Granger.

I had the sudden horrible thought that he might try to kiss me goodnight like this was a date or something. I kept both hands securely on the steering wheel and my eyes forward and tried to keep my breathing normal.

Review Copy Cleanup 2.0

I took part in the first Review Copy Cleanup and had a blast (although I'm still miles behind on my reviews). So when I saw Review Copy Cleanup 2.0, I couldn't wait to sign up. See you August 1st!

Tangi's Teardrops Blog Tour: Excerpt

I'm super excited to be part of the Tangi's Teardrops blog tour today and to share an awesome excerpt with you. Please keep reading for an awesome sneak-peek!

BLURB

When Tangi's father dies, he leaves her nothing but three empty bottles. A kind uncle takes the poverty-stricken girl and her stepsisters in, and for a time life gets better on his farm. But Tangi remains a lonely outsider; her stepsisters tease her for her crippled leg, and the housekeepers use her like a servant.

Just before her thirteenth birthday, Tangi learns the truth about her father's strange legacy: the three bottles aren't empty any more. They're filled with all the tears she's cried since her father died, and her tears are enchanted. She must use them to travel to Rosevine, the world of her dead mother. Tangi not only belongs there but is necessary to keep Rosevine alive.

Tangi's tears will save Rosevine, and Rosevine will save Tangi from a cruelty-filled life, except for one thing: Tangi's lost the bottles.

EXCERPT

Tangi stopped midstride and turned. As she walked back to the ditch, a little laugh escaped her lips. She reminded herself of Sarah, the crazy woman of the village, talking to herself, hearing things no one else heard.

But what did she have to lose? She would take another look, and if she still saw nothing, she’d leave without turning back.

She bent lower at the waist and peered into the ditch.

All of a sudden, the ditch filled with crystal clear water.

She jumped away, her heart pounding wildly, and then moved closer again.

Then the rain stopped. Sunrays slanted through the dark clouds and the air was suddenly heavy with the scent of roses.

When the water reached the rim, the ditch transformed into a pond. The crystal water shimmered. The mud had disappeared and the green of the leaves seemed more vivid. No sign at all that it had rained just a few seconds ago.

The reflection of a handsome man’s face stared up at her—short, curly hair, big brown eyes, and the whitest teeth she had ever seen. He seemed to be somewhere in his twenties.

“Hi, Tangi, I’m Daryle, the prince of Rosevine. I didn’t mean to scare you. I came to show you a way out of this world.”

I'm totally excited for this one and I hope you are too!

Find the Author:

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The Forgotten Duke Blog Tour

I'm super excited to be doing an author spotlight on Jamie Carrie, author of the Forgotten Duke!

Author Spotlight:

When novelist Jamie Carie was six, her parents met Jesus and soon after started a church. It changed everything.

 Road trips with her dad—to and from Bible studies across Indiana—were filled with talks of things beyond earth’s bounds--creation and the fall, God and Jesus and the rapture, the earthly walk compared to the spiritual walk, and how we are born for more than what we can see or touch.

The highlight of those nights was stopping at a truck stop in the middle of the night where her dad would spend a little of the offering basket on two slices of pie and a couple of Cokes. Nothing ever felt so special as a middle of the night slice of pie with her dad. And nothing could stop the writing pouring out of her.

 

As Jamie’s relationship with God grew, she discovered her heart was filled with songs and poetry. During high school she wrote lyrics for her brother’s band. (And she sang them too!) After college, Jamie married, had two sons and decided to stay home with them. While she homeschooled she wrote skits, poems, plays and short stories for school and church.

When her eldest son turned five she dove into the world of novels. She’d read romance novels for years, but couldn’t relate to the flawless, saintly heroines in Christian romance novels. So she decided to write her own.

Snow Angel was born on a frosty night in an old farmhouse in Fishers, Indiana, where the cold floor gave plenty of motivation for the snow scene. Jamie loves to write late at night when the house is quiet and the darkness seems alive. Elizabeth and Noah had been playacting in herhead for a long time, so the story went fast.

Ten years later Snow Angel was published and won the ForeWord magazine Romance Book of the Year winner, was a National “Best Books 2007” Awards winner, and a 2008 RITA Awards® Best First Book finalist. It was the beginning of her dream career.

Jamie and her husband Tony have been married for twenty-one years and live in Indianapolis with their three sons and a giant of a dog named Leo.

The Forgiven Duke is the 2^nd installment in The Forgotten Castles Series.

If she could only say one thing to her readers it would be, “Live the dreams God has destined you for!”

Book blurb:

Tethered by her impulsive promise to marry Lord John Lemon - the path of least resistance - Alexandria Featherstone sets off toward Iceland in search of her parents with a leaden heart. A glimpse of her guardian, the Duke of St. Easton - the path less traveled by - on Dublin’s shore still haunts her.

Will he come after her? Will he drag her back to London, quelling her mission to rescue her treasure-seeking parents, or might he decide to throw caution to the wind and choose Foy Pour Devoir: “Faith for Duty,” the St. Easton motto. The Featherstone motto Valens et Volens: “Willing and Able,” beats in her heart and thrums through her veins. She will find her parents and find their love, no matter the cost.

The powerful yet wing-clipped Duke of St. Easton has never known the challenge that has become his life since hearing his ward’s name. Alexandria Featherstone will be the life or the death of him. Only time and God’s plan will reveal just how much this man can endure for the prize of love.

About the author:

Jamie Carie writes novels about fierce, passionate women; their dreams; their fears; their triumphs. Her deepest desire is to see her readers find that same passion as they follow their destiny and discover deeper intimacy with Jesus.

She lives in Indianapolis with her husband and three sons.

Links:

Amazon | Barnes and Nobles | Book Depository | Goodreads | Facebook

Website | Blog | Facebook

Empyreal Fate Blog Tour - Excerpt

I'm super excited to be taking part in the Empyreal Fate blog tour and I'm stoked to share with you this great excerpt. Don't forget to check out the rest of the tour!

Scene from Empyreal Fate - Part One of Rachel Hunter’s Llathalan Annal series


Quiet they stood: ghostly silhouette and motionless royal - their troubled thoughts deepening against the heavy air. As time stretched, the bounding chill of stark recollection permeated as a scathing echo; it would not cease.
 
“So be it, wise elf.” Freiysuira’s youthful features darkened as she broke the silence; the diamond sheath she housed fell a shade coarser. “You choose your path well... If you listen close, all will thus be revealed.”
 
Amarya nodded, though a stitch pierced her heart.
 
 “There is one whom you know – a mortal, by name of Darrion. He rests well in your eyes – well acquainted, no?”
 
Amarya shifted, her caution pulsing as a weathered storm. “How do you know this?” she breathed. 

“What’s he got to..?” She paused, eyes widening at a stirred thought. “No. Do not burden in him any way. Lend him no troubles of my own. I will not see him harmed!”
 
The child smirked at Amarya’s concern. “Fear not, Lady Amarya. He comes to no harm by your fated choice. No… He has trial enough that will toy with his soul. You need not be the cause… Though – I come to relay your own personal charge.”
 
Amarya frowned. “If this meeting is to pose me burden, then why bring him up? What purpose does he hold that would cause his mention?”
 
Freiysuira smiled grim. “Only thus, Child of Life: He is the key to Llathala’s continual wake - the essence by which all shall thrive… and with hope, retain. Without his presence upon the land - though a child of man he is – all shall fare a hideous doom to sweep. None shall see light; none shall breathe else but pain. No… Without his slim thread of being, the might of endurance will fall. Llathala will cease as a residing land.”
 
“Speak no more of riddles, cursed Fate!” Amarya wielded her ire, growing sore of dampened speech. 

“Tell me now in a clear tongue or not at all! What is the due I am destined – and what is Darrion’s own? Tell me now! You tamper with patience I can no longer spare!”
 
“You - Amarya Duravyn-wren - are a pawn of writhing darkness. Fair mountains, behold! You think I come to you now for mere pleasure? You think I come for idle speak? Spite upon your family name! I come to warn of your hindrance - to warn of your darkened stain. You’ve a black mark upon you, Amarya. Spare the creation of man; spare Darrion the ills of your heart! See him unpossessed to your presence. See him revel not in your shadow. You wish him no burden? Then remove of your distraction! He cannot be what he must with mortal love to bind.”
 
Amarya touched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes. “I still do not understand your riddling tongue! No more of dancing words. Speak true! What is this darkness you say that holds me?”
 
 “Of such I cannot speak direct. Though as you wish to know of your immanent design, do well to heed what words I breathe. I shan’t repeat myself a second time.” Floating in her yellow mist, Freiysuira’s childlike chin rose high. “You must give yourself to faulty Laervyen; tie with him your bond. Not only just - let him stake his claim on your temple, as you say. Seek his council ere this night! And dare you not flee at the last… lest all tune end in the wood. But grant him his claim before Darrion has first, and see the mortal’s heart broken of your hold. For if he remains consumed in lust, the land you know as Llathala shan’t longer thrive.” 
 

Author Rachel Hunter

“What request!” Amarya exclaimed, horrified. “This is my due? I must bond with a lie – and that will secure Llathala’s fate? What madness do you breathe? What blight do you covet in that mask of churning gold?”
 
The child clasped thin fingers to her lips. Swirling upside down in her diamond, she lowered her gaze. “I covet no ill. What I breathe is what you must. You swore to it on blood of your own. All depends on your rule… beside Laervyen as queen. Though he may love more his own name than your heart, he must claim the throne … for a time. Only until the darkness of the land has passed. For the royal who leads now will fall if such is not so. Though indeed, the corpses of your vision spoke true… You can end it all; you can dispel the brutal deaths the future seeks to bestow. Do you wish to see the fall of nations - so that you may cherish the desires you so crave? If not, Darrion must stray from your eye. You cannot lead with him at your side.”  
 
“No! Foul upon your scorched tongue that you should direct me so!”
 
“You seek to defy? You mean to ridicule the task beset by Fate?”
 
“Defy?” Amarya gnashed her teeth. “I mean to expose your false claim! You are not of nature’s whim - nor the idol of the Fates. No… You are the blackness that threatens my soul!”
 
The hallway echoed as a thundering crack resounded; a flash of sharp light split the air. With maddened eyes, the child growled fierce, and her golden halo whipped about her, churning as a rampant sea. Streaks of purple merged with gold, penetrating deeper by swirling black. Bolts of silver flecked the surging mesh of cloud.
 
A bitter wind lifted in the darkness and thrust Amarya from her feet, tearing her from the wall she leaned. Tossing her to the side, it beat her with ethereal censure, and stole her breath with windswept cruelty.
 
Flung in a ruthless whirl, Amarya slammed against the marble, scraping her shoulder against uneven stone. Her head spun as the wind’s command abandoned her body, and she wilted lightly to her knees before collapsing to the ground. With weak movements, she clasped her wrists around her neck, shielding her head as though to ward Freiysuira’s presence. Exhausted, she lay with her brow against the tile and sobbed into the darkness.

***

There you go! Be sure to check out Empyreal Fate on Goodreads and check out Rachel's website and follow her on twitter!

Lonely Souls Review

 Description: 
 

It’s two weeks before Triss turns 18, and her world is about to change into the most magical one imaginable as she readies herself to enter The Witch Avenue Order… that is until her mother’s disappearance.  Instead of celebrating her transformation, she finds herself spreading rose petals into her mother’s empty grave.

When Logan, her best friend from junior high, moves back to town for college, he vows to help her find the answers she so desperately seeks surrounding her mother’s disappearance.  As they begin uncovering clues, it becomes apparent that the life of white magic they both grew up loving, is not what the majority practices, and their lives are in danger.

With a haunting feeling that her mother may still be alive, she begins to hear a call to the wilderness.  Triss realizes that in order to find the answers she needs, she must learn the ways of her ancestors and become the hunter, not the hunted before it’s too late, and she becomes part of the lonely souls.

My Thoughts:

I've always liked stories about witches and Lonely Souls was an interesting addition to the ones I've already read. I really enjoyed the way that magic was portrayed in Lonely Souls and the portrayal of spells and covens and the like. Triss was a decent heroine, although I occasionally got annoyed with her constant feeling of guilt (which in turn makes me feel like a terrible person considering what she's gone through). But I feel she made the right decision in the end.

I also liked Logan, Triss's childhood friend and love interest. In fact, I know I have much more in common with Logan than with Triss. I'm still a bit mad at Logan about something that happened at the end though.

My biggest turn-off with this one was the dialogue. It felt a little forced and unnatural to me.

On the Cover:

I absolutely love this cover. I was lucky enough to be part oif the cover reveal and was dying to read it ever since!

Where to find it: Goodreads

Karice Boulton: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Check out the rest of the tour and don't forget to enter the giveaway!!! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Final Life Blog Tour

I'm super excited to be taking part in the Final Life blog tour. Today author Rose Garcia is sharing six words that play a major part in her novel Final Life. Plus there's even a giveaway at the end!

Eight lives. You’d think Dominique would get it right, but she’s failed every time. Now on her final life, Dominique must discover the secrets of her past before confronting the Transhuman hunter who wants to kill her for the last time. Farrell, a mysterious Transhuman protector, and Trent, a hot guy from her school, want to help her. But it’s up to her to get it right this time—or she’ll be dead. For real.

Six Words for Final Life by Rose Garcia

1.      Transhuman is defined in the 1966 Reader’s Digest Great Encyclopedia as “surpassing; transcending; beyond.” In the 1983 Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary, transhuman is defined as “superhuman.” The main characters in Final Life are Transhumans—humans that are able to control the energy in and around them. This ability gives them superpowers, and allows them to do things ordinary people are unable to do.

2.      Numerology is the study of numbers, more particularly one’s birth date, and the supposed influence the numbers have on a person’s life. I once had a neighbor use numerology to determine my soul life. According to my neighbor and her interpretation of numerology, every person has one soul but nine lives. (Like a cat, but not a cat!) In Final Life, a neighbor does the same reading for Dominique and tells her that she is living her final life, life number nine. And, as it turns out, this is true. She is indeed living her final life and has only one last chance to find her killer before she ends up dead… again.

3.      Amnesia is the partial or total loss of memory. In Final Life, Dominique has no memory of her past lives. All she has are sparks of recognition from time to time, but she isn’t sure if she can trust those glimmers of her past.

4.      Hopelessness is having no expectation of success.  And because Dominique has been killed in each of her past lives, she has no reason to feel anything but hopeless. Her feeling of despair magnifies throughout the book and completely alters her as a person, but also propels her into action.

5.      Death is the end of life. And since this is Dominique’s final life, there’s a finality that goes beyond her existence because her death will also affect the Transhumans that are protecting her and the feud between the good Transhumans (the Pure) and the evil Transhumans (the Tainted.)

6.      Love is the strong affection for another. Sometimes it’s so strong that it can lead one to sacrifice for another. In Final Life, love is the one thing that Dominique can count on. 

About the Author:

Rose Garcia is a lawyer turned writer who’s always been fascinated by science fiction and fantasy. From a very young age, she often had her nose buried in books about other-worlds, fantastical creatures, and life and death situations. More recently she’s been intrigued by a blend of science fiction and reality, and the idea that some supernatural events are, indeed, very real. Fueled by her imagination, she created The Transhuman Chronicles—a series of books about people who have overcome human limitations. Rose lives in Houston with her husband and two kids. You can visit Rose at www.rosegarciabooks.com. Check her out on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads!

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