In Too Deep Blog Tour

In Too Deep
by Michelle Kemper Brownlow



Publication date:
May 21st 2013

Publisher:
Sapphire Star Publishing










Gracie has just finished her freshman year of college in Memphis when she takes a job at a local pizza joint in her home town of McKenzie, Tennessee. She is the epitome of innocence when she meets Noah. Noah is unabashedly handsome, intriguingly reckless and just cocky enough to be sexy. Gracie’s instincts tell her to stay far away from him and based on the stories she hears from her co-workers he leaves broken hearts in his wake. But still, she can’t explain her fascination with him.

Noah puts aside his bad boy ways when what he thought was a summer crush has him unexpectedly falling in love. But soon after Gracie transfers to UT Knoxville to be with Noah, their unexpected love becomes riddled with anger, deceit and humiliation.

Jake, Noah’s former roommate and Gracie’s best friend, can no longer be a bystander. Gracie’s world falls out from beneath her and when she breaks she turns to Jake for strength. As Jake talks her through a decision she’s not yet strong enough to make, together they uncover a truth so ugly neither of them is prepared for its fallout. Will Jake pull her to the surface or is Gracie Jordan finally In Too Deep?

Excerpt

The strong force of the wave pulled me under. I gasped for air just before my face disappeared below the surface. My body rolled over and over, my arms flailed, and my head pounded into the sea bed which felt like a concrete floor. The salty water stung my eyes. I forced myself to keep them open, fearing I would slip into unconsciousness from the blow I took to the head. I knew I had to hold it together long enough for the swell to pull me back up when the wave rolled. But something was pulling me deeper. I fought with all my might, kicking against the thick water swallowing me whole. I used my arms like underwater oars and sliced through the depths trying to reach what I needed most, but I was in too deep.

“Get out!” I could barely get the words out before I had to run to the bathroom and void my gut of its contents. Noah didn’t move.
I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and screamed, “I said, Get! Out!” I stumbled back into the room, grabbed the box of mementos I’d collected from the last year of our relationship, and dumped everything into the trashcan in the corner. Like a communal grave, there lay movie tickets, dried rose petals, a strip of photos from the boardwalk, all the beautiful letters he wrote last fall semester, an empty beer bottle, and all the rest of what was now just a reminder of the guy I thought I knew.
“Gracie, don’t…” His face fell, but he didn’t move from the edge of my bed.
“Don’t? Don’t what, Noah? Don’t break up with you? Are you kidding?” My ears burned from his admission of guilt. It hit me broadside. I wasn’t prepared for the words he had spoken just moments before.

The rush of water covering me grew cold. Icy. My body quaked. My lungs burned and begged for air. I could see light above. It glimmered and danced on the small waves my panic created. I reached for the surface. Even if I couldn’t pull myself up, maybe just feeling the sun’s warmth would stop the shivering that threatened to unravel me.

My legs gave out beneath me and I crumbled into a heap on my apartment floor. I sobbed so uncontrollably I gasped for air. I was livid. Repulsed. Crushed and torn. Noah was the love of my life, and things were just getting back to the way I longed for them to be. Back to what used to be our “normal.” Before he pledged Sigma Chi. Our relationship hadn’t been easy since I transferred to Knoxville. But our story wasn’t ready to end.
It went something like this:
Bad boy meets good girl.
First kiss.
Bad boy turns sensitive.
Love.
Good girl gives sensitive boy all of her.
Long distance.
Flowers. Love letters.
Long, sweet phone calls.
Good girl transfers to sensitive boy’s school.
Sensitive boy becomes fraternity boy.
Drunken social events.
Secrets revealed.
Fraternity boy pulls good girl under.
Good girl finds herself in too deep.

Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi

Through the Ever Night
by Veronica Rossi

Published: May 7th 2013
(first published January 8th 2013)
Publisher: WSOY
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 352
Source: Received for review
from adlibris.com
Amazon |
Book Depository

It's been months since Aria last saw Perry. Months since Perry was named Blood Lord of the Tides, and Aria was charged with an impossible mission.

Now, finally, they are about to be reunited. But their reunion is far from perfect. The Tides don't take kindly to Aria, a former Dweller. And with the worsening Aether storms threatening the tribe's precarious existence, Aria begins to fear that leaving Perry behind might be the only way to save them both.

Threatened by false friends, hidden enemies, and powerful temptations, Aria and Perry wonder, can their love survive through the ever night?
In this second book in her spellbinding Under the Never Sky trilogy, Veronica Rossi combines fantasy and dystopian elements to create a captivating love story as perilous as it is unforgettable.

*MAY CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS*
This book continues where Under the Never Sky left. In the first book we saw Aria who had lived her whole life in Reverie and wouldn't have survive without help. Now both Perry and Aria have gone through huge changes; Aria was a scared little girl, but now an experienced hunter and traveler. Perry's new position as The Tides leader isn't what he thought, thanks to worsening Aether storms and harder living conditions. He tries his best but just can't seem to live up to his brother.
The world is in near chaos and their only hope is to find Still Blue, where the sky really is still blue without any Aether storms.

If I remember correctly, this series is going to be a trilogy. And many times the second book is nothing but some "filling" and everyone just waits for the third book. But luckily this ended up being just as good as the first one! I loved the first book and I loved this just as much.

In the end, I had very little to complain about. Yeah, I know, that's rare! I actually had only two complaints: First was about how there wasn't really any recap in the beginning. It had been a while since I read the first book, so it was kind of hard to dive into the story when I had absolutely no idea what happened in the first book! Minor detail, but bugged me a little.
The second problem was with the translation. I was reading Finnish edition and mostly it was perfectly translated and original. There was just two incidents, where the translator decided to use English words. One word was "ignore" and the second "stalk". Believe me, if everything else is perfect Finnish, it's pretty weird to stumble on some English words used as they are!
I know Finnish is hard sometimes, especially when the perfect word doesn't exist. But I cried only little over this, so no harm done!

And now.. We'll just wait another year for another book. So the usual problem.


My thanks to Adlibris.com for providing the review copy!

PODs Book Blitz

PODs
by Michelle K. Pickett



Publication date:
June 4th 2013

Publisher:
Spencer Hill Press










Seventeen-year-old Eva is a chosen one. Chosen to live, while others meet a swift and painful death from an incurable virus so lethal, a person is dead within days of symptoms emerging.
In the POD system, a series of underground habitats built by the government, she waits with the other chosen for the deadly virus to claim those above. Separated from family and friends, it's in the PODs she meets David. And while true love might not conquer all, it's a balm for the broken soul.

After a year, scientists believe the population has died, and without living hosts, so has the virus. That's the theory, anyway. But when the PODs are opened, survivors find the surface holds a vicious secret. The virus mutated, infecting those left top-side and creating... monsters.

Eva and David hide from the infected in the abandoned PODs. Together they try to build a life - a new beginning. But the infected follow and are relentless in their attacks. Leaving Eva and David to fight for survival, and pray for a cure.

Excerpt

The bus ride to the quarantine facility took more than ten hours. I was shoved against the window by my seatmate who slept almost the entire trip. He was a big guy, taking up most of the seat, and when he slept his body lolled to the side, wedging me against the metal side of the bus.

As we traveled, the air turned hot and dry, different than the humid, sticky climate of my coastal Texas hometown. The old school bus didn’t have air conditioning and the small windows didn’t let much air in. My seatmate’s body heat didn’t help. I was hot, thirsty, and had to pee in the worst way.

Wondering how much longer I’d be drooled on by the guy next to me, I strained my face against the window, looking for anything on the flat landscape.

That’s when I saw them.

I don’t know why I was surprised. I should’ve expected it after what had happened at the high school, but I hadn’t. It was worse than at the school—rioters everywhere. They waved anti-raffle signs and signs cursing the “Chosen.”

The land around the quarantine area was flat, dry, and dusty. The people lining the road sat under makeshift tents to keep out of the sun. Some stood on top of their RVs waving their handmade signs; one burned an American flag. I watched women holding their small children toward the bus, begging with tear-stained faces for us to take them. I wanted to reach out and snatch them out of their mothers’ hands as we drove past. Several of the other people on the bus reached up and pushed their windows shut.

The National Guard at the quarantine site didn’t allow people to get close enough to touch the bus. They were shot with rubber bullets or Tasered if they tried to cross the police line. Every time I heard the shot of the riot guns I jumped. My muscles ached from tensing them—waiting for the inevitable sound.

“Why are you crying?” A boy sitting in front of me looked at me like I’d grown another head. “They’d probably kill you and steal your place in the PODs if given the chance.”

I shook my head, remembering what my dad had told me. “They’re just scared,” I said. After all, they were, essentially, the walking dead.

The rioters screamed and cursed us. They threw rocks and eggs as we drove by. An egg hit the window next to me, the slimy insides plopping against my head, matting my hair.

“Gross,” the boy sitting next to me said.

I just looked at him and rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, the egg is gross. And the drool coming out of your mouth and dripping on my leg while you slept, leaning on me, was glorious."

The bus stopped in a fenced area like the one at the high school. The crowd screamed and banged the fence posts with their crude, homemade picket signs. Some climbed on the fence, pulling at it like chimpanzees at the zoo.

“Stay seated until your name is called,” a soldier yelled. “When you are called, grab your belongings and wait to be escorted into the building.”

"Oh please, call this guy’s name. He needs to move before I shove him off the seat. I’m tired of being pinned against the side of the bus. I need some room."

Thankfully, my name was called soon after we stopped. I stood, stretched the kinks out of my muscles, and plowed through the massive body blocking me. Clambering over the other luggage that filled the aisle, I grabbed my two suitcases and stood in front of the bus.

The one-story brick building was large but had no windows, only a single green door. I couldn’t see the other sides, but I had a feeling there’d be no windows there, either—no glass for rioters to break through.

The soldier walked up from behind me, tapping my suitcase with his clipboard. “Follow me.”

I shuffled into the brick building, guided by the same guardsman who’d ripped me away from my parents hours earlier...

“I love you,” my mom said through her tears, her voice thick and trembling.

“I want to stay with you,” I pleaded.

“Come here, kiddo.” My dad, his face distorted with grief, folded me in a tight hug. He kissed the top of my head and told me he loved me and how proud he was of me.
“I know, when this is over, you are going to do great things, Eva. you’re a fighter. I love you so much.”

A rough hand grabbed my arm, pulling me away from my dad. “Get on the bus,” the male voice ordered, yelling to be heard over the crying of parents and children saying their final goodbyes.

“I’m not done saying goodbye...” He didn’t let go, pulling me with him. My heels digging into the dirt, I tried to pull away. I needed one more hug, to hear them tell me they loved me and to tell them I loved them, too.

“MOM!” I screamed. “DAD!” Tears stained my face. The man thrust me toward the steps of the old, yellow school bus. I screamed one more time for my parents, telling them I loved them, reaching my arms out to them.

I could see my mom’s body rock with the force of her cries. Tears ran down my father’s face.
"We love you, Evangelina,” I heard them call just before the bus door closed.

It was the last thing I’d hear my parents say. It was the last image I’d have of them. I pressed my hand to the window of the bus, my head bowed as I sobbed. I didn’t try to hide my tears. Everyone on the bus was crying for their families. We knew what awaited them.

Death.

I shook my head, trying to erase the horrible memory.
I wanted to remember the good things about them, not saying goodbye.

Goodbyes are hard, but this one had been different.
This wasn’t a goodbye, I’ll see you in a month. It was a permanent goodbye. I’d never see my parents again. The overwhelming sadness took over, like a black hole sucking me in. Fat, salty tears ran down my face, and I could feel my nose running. I wiped my arm across it. My eyes were swollen, my throat sore, and my chest tight.

I was alone. My parents were gone. No brothers or sisters. Just me — an orphan of the virus.

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***GIVEAWAY***

POD's Swag Bundle including:
A signed first edition of PODs, PODs bookmarks and some of my next release Milayna, a tote bag, stickers, and a gift card ($10) to Amazon.
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Cover Reveal: Angels of the Knights #3: Nikki by Valerie Zambito

Angels of the Knights - Nikki (Book 3)

by Valerie Zambito

Coming Soon!

Summary not available yet...

***

Angels of the Knights - Fallon 

(Angels of the Knights #1)

by Valerie Zambito

Summary from Goodreads:

When Fallon Angell died at the age of sixteen, her life changed forever.

The hallowed world of Emperica is everything she had ever hoped for as a mortal—immeasurable beauty, unconditional love and light. But, with affection for humankind still burning within her, she joins the Knight Caste to train as an angel warrior. As a Knight, she will give up her wings and return to the place that killed her to use her unique powers to search out and destroy the evil Kjin that roam the earth. As a Knight, she will stop at nothing to protect the mortals in her care.

The elders warn her that the path she chose will be a solitary one. That she will not have the same bond with humans as she once did. But, as far as she knows, the elders had never met Kade Royce.

When her duties place her in the path of this handsome former cop, emotions buried long ago rise to the surface and she is powerless to ignore the depth of her feelings for this young man. She knows instinctively that she has found what most people search their entire lives for.

Ignoring the risks, she invites him into her world of danger, but soon their lives collide with explosive consequence. As a result, Fallon realizes with heartbreaking despair that she can no longer hide from the painful truth. In order for Kade to live, she must destroy him.

E-book is currently free!

 

Angels of the Knights - Blane 
(Angels of the Knights #2)

by Valerie Zambito

Summary from Goodreads:

Once the hunter, now the hunted. As the war with the Kjin rages, Blane Romero must lead the Paladin Knights against their mortal enemy while trying to protect the young, Juliet Hunter, who unwittingly finds herself entangled in their sinister schemes. Juliet cares only about shielding her young sisters from harm, but finds herself drawn to the enigmatic man who offers her much more than either he or she was prepared for.

Ostracized by the families they loved, Blane and Juliet find they have more in common than they thought as they battle demons both real and personal to stay together. But, will it be enough when the powerful Cesar Grant decides he wants Juliet for his own?

Book Two in the Angels of the Knights paranormal fantasy series.

Buy Links:

 

About the Author

Thank you for visiting my Goodread's profile. I am Valerie Zambito, and I live in upstate New York with my husband and three sons. After having been involved in a busy sales career for fifteen years, a great love of world building, character creation, and all things magic led to the publication of my first adult epic fantasy series, ISLAND SHIFTERS, in October of 2011. Since then, I have added two additional books to this series and wrote the first book in a new teen paranormal series called ANGELS OF THE KNIGHTS.

My reading preference is fantasy as well and I devour in copious amounts. In my opinion, there’s nothing like it! Great fantasy grants us entry into a world beyond our own that is filled with adventure, mystery and danger. How exciting to enjoy a front row seat to human struggles of epic proportions. Struggles that tug at our heartstrings and elicit real emotion.

I gravitate to fantasy with heroic elements. I like strong, confident men who never back down from a fight against evil. The kind who will not hesitate to throw himself between a woman and a fire-breathing dragon. I like strong women, too. The kind who will appreciate the offer, but is more inclined to push the man out of the way and take care of the dragon herself. ;)

Website│Twitter│Facebook│Goodreads

***GIVEAWAY***

(1) Print or e-book copies of books 1 & 2 in this series plus $25 Amazon Gift Card

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Cover Reveal Organized by:

Nissa by Bethany Lopez

Nissa
by Bethany Lopez

Published: April 23rd 2013
Format: Ebook
Pages: 216
Source: Received for
review purposes
Amazon |

At 900 years old, Nissa is finally ready to follow her mother's path and become the best Fairy Godmother she can.
She’s not thrilled when her first assignment turns out to be a teenage human girl with self-esteem issues, but she knows she has to start somewhere.
Her assignment has dealt with bullies since her freshman year and they haven’t let up. If Nissa can’t help her regain her self-confidence her future is bleak.

To complicate matters Nissa experiences all the signs that she's met the being fated for her. This impossibility distracts her from her purpose. After all, fairies and humans aren't meant for each other.
How can her heart believe otherwise? Can Nissa successfully complete her first assignment as a Fairy Godmother?
Will the fates allow Nissa and Levi to be together? And even if they do, will Levi believe Nissa once she reveals the truth?

*MAY CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS*
This book was described as "a contemporary fairy tale", so of course I couldn't wait to dive in. I'm a sucker for that kind of stories, and the gorgeous cover definitely didn't hurt! Seriously, just love it.

And the beginning was quite promising. Nissa decides she wants to be a fairy godmother and her first assignment is a teenage girl named Vicky. Then it got pretty bad.
By bad I mean the story didn't have a soul. Weird thing to say, but it was just empty. I couldn't connect with the story or with the characters.
I'm really having hard time to describe the problem here. It's like someone just tells you "main character named X meets a dude and they look each other. Now they are like feeling the connection and all. They like really fall for each other." Yeah, you can keep telling me that, but that just isn't good enough.
That pretty much describes the love story here. First Nissa meets Levi, drools over him a little, then they're suddenly sleeping together, then they're.. I don't even know what they are. There's absolutely no chemistry between these two characters so how am I suppose to believe they are falling for each other? I have no idea.

There was just this overall emptiness that bothered me so much. I really wanted to give only one cupcake, but I absolutely loved the idea behind this book and the cover, so I had to give two cupcakes.

Unbreak Me Relase Day Blitz

Unbreak Me
by Lexi Ryan



Publication date:
May 27th, 2013

Genre:
New Adult
Romance










“If you’re broken, I’ll fix you…”

I’m only twenty-one and already damaged goods. A slut. A failure. A disappointment to my picture-perfect family as long as I can remember. I called off my wedding to William Bailey, the only man who thought I was worth fixing. A year later, he’s marrying my sister. Unless I ask him not to…

“If you shatter, I’ll find you…”

But now there’s Asher Logan, a broken man who sees the fractures in my façade and doesn’t want to fix me at all. Asher wants me to stop hiding, to stop pretending. Asher wants to break down my walls. But that means letting him see my ugly secrets and forgiving him for his.

With my past weighing down on me, do I want the man who holds me together or the man who gives me permission to break?

Links

AMAZON | B&N

Love in Bloom Giveaway Hop Winner!

Another hop is over, and we have yet another winner!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

I'll be contacting you ASAP!
Thank you all for participating, thanks to you there will be another giveaway soon, since my blog finally reached the limit of 1000 followers!!! Can you believe it!? I know I can't, but I just have to believe it! :)

It also won't be that long my blog is also having yet another anniversary, so maybe I'll combine these two amazing markers. And I also have an extra ARC of Taken waiting for a new home. So many great things to come! ;)

Love in Bloom Giveaway Hop (INT)

It's time another hop, this time the theme is Love in Bloom Giveaway Hop and don't you just love that picture!

And what does Love in Bloom mean, you ask?
It means the winner gets a book of their choice, featuring Lighthearted/Contemporary Young Adult Romance & Sweet, Clean Adult Romance!

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Awakenings Blog Tour + Giveaway (US & INT)

Welcome to my stop on the Awakenings blog tour hosted by YA Bound. Click HERE to see the rest of the blog tour schedule!

Awakenings
by Hally Willmott

Published: May 2013
Publisher: Limitless Publishing
Format: Ebook
Pages: 359
Source: For review
Amazon |

When sixteen-year old Jacey Adison’s parents tell her they must move again, she has never questioned their life style. Until now.
When Jacey was two, her parents fled the protection of their birthplace, the mystical dimension of Nemele. Leaving was the only solution her parents believed might allow them to keep their family together and alive.

The Adisons have been running from a sect of iniquitous beings from Nemele who covet Jacey. Her parents have repressed their adversaries’ relentless tracking efforts by not utilizing their own mystical powers. They have chosen to conceal themselves within the only realm they knew they’d be able to survive. They are living under their self-imposed powerless sanctions on Earth, which constitutes the nineteenth nation of Nemele.

Her parents have never revealed their true identities to Jacey, consequently keeping her true lineage and unique birthright from her. Jacey’s family has pretended to be non-magical humans as a ploy to prevent an ancient omnipotent entity from killing more innocent beings in its relentless quest to possess Jacey.

Born as an anomaly, Jacey possesses rare abilities that both virtuous and corrupt entities seek to use as their own. Should either side prevail, Jacey may be the saviour or downfall of every world within Nemele’s domains. Blindly thrust into life and death situations, Jacey learns of her true powers within her dreaming and conscious states.

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About the author



Author for Limitless Publishing.

Wife, mother and Police Officer :)

homepage │ goodreads │ twitter │ facebook

Lash Book Blitz

Lash
by L.G. Castillo



Publication date:
May 6th 2013

Genre:
New Adult
Paranormal Romance









Decades after being banished from Heaven for saving a life he shouldn’t have, Lash is given a chance to redeem himself. His mission: protect Naomi Duran, a young woman who has lost her faith. The assignment proves to be anything but simple when his superiors, the Archangels, withhold key information about Naomi and refuse to restore Lash’s powers. When an unexpected source reveals centuries-old secrets, his trust is shaken to the core, and he begins to doubt those whom he had once considered to be his greatest allies.

Determined to avoid anything that would risk his chances of returning to Heaven, Lash struggles with the greatest obstacle of all—his growing feelings for Naomi. But when her life is threatened by an unknown source, Lash questions the wisdom of the Archangels and his ability to keep her safe.

Soon, Lash will have to choose where to place his faith — in the home he has fought so hard to regain or in the forbidden love he can’t bear to lose.

Links

EXCERPT | AMAZON | B&N