Blog Tour, Review, and Giveaway: The Exemeus (Folami & Abeni Morris)

Click here to follow the entire blog tour for The Exemeus!!

Paperback, 1st, 337 pages
Published January 3rd 2013 by Royal Colours Ink

Hyalee Smith is dead, she just doesn’t know it yet.
Her short life was devoted to love and to hate. Love of the man who stole her heart, hate for the man who stole the world. Murdered by the government she swore to destroy, she has been given another chance to make it right. But to save the planet, she needs the help of the most powerful mystic the world has ever seen—unfortunately he hasn’t been born yet.

In a world where fear is the only currency, Dephon has committed the ultimate crime:inspiring hope.
His only goal is to make it safely through ninth grade, but on a post-apocalyptic Earth run by the Treptonian government, it isn’t that simple. Heir to a legendary power, Dephon Johnson is the only threat to the government’s rule. And on Trepton, all threats must be eliminated. When hundreds of assassins are dispatched to neutralize him, Dephon is forced to fight back. His only chance of survival is to enlist the aid of the greatest warrior the world has ever known. The only problem is, she's been dead for 13 years.

Folami and Abeni Morris are a sister-sister writing team. Together they wrote (and rewrote) The Exemeus series, somehow managing to accomplish it without murdering one another. Despite their tendency to finish each others thoughts and stick up for each other constantly, no, they’re not twins and thus deserve their own individual bio.

Folami Morris

Folami grew up in the tiny city of San Mateo, California, where nothing ever happens and no one ever leaves. She went to Xavier University for undergraduate, getting her B.A in physics and her B.S in Biology. After graduation she returned to California, to live in an even smaller city, where even less happens, Antioch, California. During this time she escaped the monotony by hanging out with her imaginary friends Hyalee and Dephon, and by writing the Exemeus.

She finally escaped to Queens, NY and now realizes that quiet and tiny aren’t so bad.

Abeni Morris

As luck (and logic) would have it Abeni grew up in the same tiny little town as her sister, then she too escaped to the tinier town of Antioch. She has yet to leave. She received her bachelor’s degree in early childhood development from Cal State East Bay. She is the mom of two amazing kids, who swear that they deserve a percentage of the book proceeds and a ton of the credit. At least she raised dreamers.

I was not sure what I was getting in to when I began reading this book. The synopsis seems to lean towards a more of a fantasy type novel and sometimes those can be hard to get into. Yet after the first two chapters I found myself digging into the story and wanting to read more! 

The story begins with Dephon, a young boy who is living in a futuristc world and has yet to realize that he will be the person solely responsible for the future of the world. He begins his day like any normal teenager and by the end of the day he has discovered the mystical world that surrounds him and he is introduced to Jaqueline who gives him a book called The Exemeus that belonged to his mother and is supposed to lead him to his destiny. 

You get just enough into Dephon's story to want to know more and then the book changes pace. The point-of-view changes to Hylaee, who is Dephon's mother. You then get to read into the past and discover what truly happened with his mother and what led up to making him so important. 

I personally LOVED Hylaee's story. So many things are going on with her and I found myself unable to wait to see what happened next. She went thru so much in such a short amount of time. 

I really dont want to go on much further because there are so many things happening that you need to read for yourself to experience it! I truly liked The Exemeus and found it extremely entertaining!! I recommend it to anyone who likes a good fantasy story as well as a good mystery!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Make sure to check out The Exemeus Scavenger Hunt, where you can win a Kindle Fire or $150! The first stop is at My Guilty Obsession, where you can get the first clues on this incredible journey for an amazing prize! The Scavenger Hunt starts on Monday, August 26th and runs through Friday, August 30th. Chances to win are through midnight on September 1st. Buy your copy of The Exemeus today, if you haven't already!

Blog Tour & Review: The Emblazoned Red (Dawn McCullough White)

For more info about the guest posts you can direct your readers to The Emblazoned Red tour page.

236 pages
Published May 29th 2013 by Claypipe Press

Once, in another world—a dark world, the world of Faetta—there lived paladins and pirates, tyrants and scallywags, vampires and the undead. In this world a revolution is brewing. The royalty of Sieunes are in chains, and those priests and paladins who follow the holy word of the gods are under attack. In the west, the kingdom of Kellerhald receives the fleeing priests in their temples of the paladins of Silvius, god of the Sky.Here, a young woman has just passed her tests to become a paladin. A pirate crew raids along the Azez Sea. An undead creature, wielding great power, roams the graveyard of Yetta. And a lost soul, crying out from beyond the veil, seeks out a pure hearted warrior to hear its plea.


Amid the turmoil of the revolution, Ilka’s mettle is tested. Rescued by pirates, she ends up with an unlikely ally: the pirate captain himself. The newly trained paladin finds herself collaborating with the undead, working with a vampire, and worst of all, longing for revenge against the man who has ignited the revolution in Sieunes: Francois Mond.
Death of an Innocent. Rise of a Paladin.

Goodreads, Amazon, B&N

Dawn McCullough White is known for her strong female protagonists, and gritty dark fantasy.
Ms. McCullough-White has lived the majority of her life in and around Rochester, NY with a brief stint in Tucson, AZ. She is pursuing a degree in psychology at R.I.T. Dawn is a history buff and was a member of the Society of Creative Anachronism for years, active as a heavy weapons fighter. She currently resides with her husband and son in a quaint neighborhood next to an old cemetery.

About Dawn McCullough White -

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

First of all, the cover for The Emblazoned Red is absolutely gorgeous. It portrays a beautiful young blonde princess, Ilka, laying on a tree with blood on her dress and a sword at her side. Absolutely breathtaking. I read the synopsis of the book and it immediately grabbed my attention. Vampires, pirates, and the undead? Yep definitely my type of book!! 

The first chapter introduces us to the vampire aspect of the story. Of course being a fan of Twilight I first assumed the vampire would be an endearing part of the story. Wow, was I wrong. Augustine (the vampire) is evil and will be a pivotal part of Ilka's story. 

The next couple of chapters bring us straight into a war involving Ilka and her kinsfolk. There are several things that happen at this point in the story so I will be careful to not give away anything too soon. 

Ilka escapes the war and finds herself stranding in the ocean and saved by a pirate ship. The captain, Nate, sees her and immediately feels protective. He knows what she is..She is a paladin. She is a warrior trained to kill the supernatural. Captain Nate knows this and feels an overwhelming need to protect her.

The story continues to take on several different points-of-view and so many things are going on. Sometimes I find myself a little confused when this happens but with this book it was different. I found it refreshing and I really enjoyed the changes of pace.

There are so many twists and turns that I do not want to give anything away. Anyone who is a fan of supernatural romance and suspense should definitely check this book out! I enjoyed it immensely  and cant wait to read the sequel to find out the rest of Ilka and Nate's journey!!!

Tour Schedule

Friday, August 9th - The Fiction Fairy 

Monday, August 12th - Moosubi Reviews

Tuesday, August 13th - Tween 2 Teen Book Reviews

Wednesday, August 14th - Auggie Talk 

Thursday, August 15th - Bibliophiles Thoughts on Books

Friday, August 16th - The LUV'NV

Saturday, August 17th - So Bookalicious

Monday, August 19th - Eater of Books

Tuesday, August 20th - Books Besides my Bed

Wednesday, August 21st - Books Complete Me

Thursday, August 22nd - Books and Things

Friday. August 23rd - The Irish Banana 

Saturday, August 24th - The Reading Hideaway 

Monday, August 26th - The Book Galaxy 

Tuesday, August 27th - Breath In Books

Wednesday, August 28th - Crossroad Reviews 

Friday. August 30th - Curling up with a good Book

Book Blast & Giveaway: After Alex Died (Dakota Madison)

Welcome to the Nerd Blast for
After Alex Died by Dakota Madison

“Don’t be someone who defines her life by someone else’s death.”

Dee Dee DeMarco’s brother, Alex, was funny, free-spirited and creative. He was also gay. Tormented by bullies, Alex killed himself on his 15th birthday.

Two years later, and now in college, Dee Dee believes getting a summer job working with a college-prep program for disadvantaged high school students is a stroke of luck, until she discovers that the guy assigned to co-lead her group is Cameron Connelly, a star basketball player and one of the bullies who tormented her brother to death. How can Dee Dee possibly spend the entire summer working so closely with one of the boys she blames for her brother’s death?

1 Winner will receive a Signed Copy of After Alex Died.
5 Winners will receive  a Signed Copy of Matchplay.
Must be 13+ to EnterInternational Giveaway

About Dakota Madison:
Website
  

Dakota Madison has been writing since she learned to read and fell in love with books. When she’s not at her computer creating spicy new romances, Dakota is traveling to exotic locales or spending time with her husband and their bloodhounds.

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Cover Reveal: Forty Nights (Stephanie Parent)

Forty Nights (Neima's Ark #2)

by Stephanie Parent

Release Date: September 2013
Cover Designed by: Najla Qamber Designs

Summary from Goodreads:Neima, her family, and her grandfather Noah have found themselves trapped aboard an ark as a great flood destroys all life in the world. As their time aboard the ark lengthens, food begins to run out, wild animals grow restless, and family tensions become as much of a threat as the flood outside. In the second and final installment of Neima’s Ark, the stakes are higher, the conflicts are greater, and Neima finds herself facing a choice as impossible as the destruction all around her.
Forty Nights is a continuation of the story begun in Forty Days, and it’s recommended that you read Forty Days first for the best experience. Forty Nights does, however, contain a character guide to refresh readers’ memories. The Neima’s Ark series is a historical, feminist reimagining of the story of Noah’s Ark rather than a religiously oriented one, and the novels are best suited for readers who are comfortable with new interpretations of biblical stories.

Book One:

(Linked to Goodreads)

Forty Days is currently FREE!  Get your copy!

  

About the AuthorStephanie Parent is a graduate of the Master of Professional Writing program at USC and attended the Baltimore School for the Arts as a piano major. She moved to Los Angeles because of Francesca Lia Block's WEETZIE BAT books, which might give you some idea of how much books mean to her. She also loves dogs, books about dogs, and sugary coffee drinks both hot and cold.

***Author Links***

  

Cover Reveal: Through Glass (Rebecca Ethington)

We are so excited to be able to bring to you the cover reveal for Rebecca Ethington’s THROUGH GLASS which releases in less than a month on September 20th, 2013.

Both the book’s cover and description are awesome and more than a little bit chilling and we cannot wait for its release.

If you’d like to know more about the author, Rebecca Ethington, be sure to check out her website, or any of the other places she hangs out online.

And if you can’t wait until September 20th for the release of THROUGH GLASS, the first book in her Imdalind series, KISS OF FIRE, is now available in eBook format for free at AMAZON, BARNES & NOBLE and for the KOBO.

We love the cover, but what do you think?

COMING SEPTEMBER 20TH, 2013

About THROUGH GLASS

Everyone remembers the day the sky went black. They remember the screams as the blackness ate those who were out in the open, those who surrounded themselves by light, and those who made noise.

Everyone remembers the voice from the sky, the way food disappeared.

Everyone remembers the day the sky went black, and the sun was wiped from the sky.

At least that’s what I hope. I hope that there is an ‘everyone’ that will remember.

I hope that I am not alone.

Because I remember.

I remember, because it was the day I became alone.

It was the day the house went silent, and the birds stopped singing. It was the day when everyone disappeared, everyone except the boy, the only person I have seen in two years.

The boy I talk to through the glass.

GOODREADS

***

About Rebecca Ethington
Rebecca Ethington has been telling stories since she was small. First, with writing crude scripts, and then on stage with years of theatrical performances. The Imdalind Series is her first stint into the world of literary writing.
Rebecca is a mother to two, and wife to her best friend of 14 years. She was born and raised in the mountains of Salt Lake City, and hasn’t found the desire to leave yet. Her days are spent writing, running, and enjoying life with her amazing family.

TWITTER | FACEBOOK | WEBSITE | GOODREADS | PINTEREST | TUMBLR

Waiting On Wednesday: The Haven (Carol Lynch Williams)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill at

Breaking the Spine

and spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Today I am featuring a book that I saw on goodreads that just caught my eye and after reading the synopsis I can't wait to read it!! and not to mention...What a gorgeous cover!!

Hardcover, 224 pages

Expected publication: March 4th 2014 by St. Martin's Griffin
Author: Carol Lynch Williams

For the teens at The Haven, the outside world, just beyond the towering stone wall that surrounds the premises, is a dangerous unknown. It has always been this way, ever since the hospital was established in the year 2020. But The Haven is more than just a hospital; it is their home. It is all they know. Everything is strictly monitored: education, exercise, food, and rest. The rules must be followed to keep the children healthy, to help control the Disease that has cast them as Terminals, the Disease that claims limbs and lungs—and memories.
But Shiloh is different; she remembers everything. Gideon is different, too. He dreams of a cure, of rebellion against the status quo. What if everything they’ve been told is a lie? What if The Haven is not the safe place it claims to be? And what will happen if Shiloh starts asking dangerous questions?

What book are you looking forward to?? 

Book Blast & Giveaway: Disemblance (Shanae Branham)

DiSemblance Jason Tanner’s life has always been different from the ordinary citizen’s. It started when he was an infant and his parents were only teenagers. A computer science prodigy, Lloyd attended MIT but left a pariah in the eyes of the school’s dean—but a computer physics genius in the eyes of his primary investor. Then his theories and ideas created a holographic machine and their world shrunk as contact with the outside world became less and less frequent. A computer prodigy now himself, Jason is about to learn that the world never waits for you if you have the ability to change it: it will come for you. Detective Bruce Durante has been handed the case of the Comfort Killer, a serial killer so named because he appears to abduct terminally ill patients before returning their corpses to their families in refrigerated coffins. When he picks up the trail, it leads straight to the home of Lloyd Tanner. Jason has been living life through the world of Lloyd’s invention and wishing he could carry on a relationship with Boston, the beautiful girl next door. When his father is murdered and framed as the Comfort Killer, he is brought back to reality in a hurry. He is forced to destroy all of the planted evidence—and finds he is being targeted as the killer’s new fall guy. But the secrets of his father’s invention run deep and Jason, his brother Isaac,Boston, the Comfort Killer, and Detective Durante hurtle towards one another on a deadly collision course that leaves everyone’s life hanging in the balance.

Amazon * Barnes & Noble

Author Shanae Branham I am a professional writer with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and a minor in grammar. I have also attended several years of classes and workshops in screenplay writing at the Los Angeles Screenplay writer’s Expo. I love suspense thrillers and am a master at plot and character development. I enjoy stories with happy endings. I promise all my readers that when they put one of my books down or walk away from one of my movies, they will be enthused with excitement and joy. This does not mean there will not be some sad parts, because you have to feel the bitter in order to understand the sweet. In fact, I have struggled with Dyslexia my whole life, so you can imagine how overjoyed I was when DiSemblance won a Silver metal in the fantasy/science fiction category at the eLit awards in 2012.  

Website * Twitter * Facebook

 

Tour Schedule

   

  BookBlast Giveaway 

 $50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 9/13/13 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. 

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Blog Tour, Review & Giveaway: Everlast (Andria Buchanan)

Title: EVERLAST
Author: Andria Buchanan
Pub. Date: August 27, 2013
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Pages: 320

Allie Munroe has only ever wanted to belong, maybe even be well liked. But even though she’s nice and smart and has a couple of friends, she’s still pretty much the invisible girl at school. So when the chance to work with her friends and some of the popular kids on an English project comes up, Allie jumps at the chance to be noticed.
And her plan would have worked out just fine…if they hadn’t been sucked into a magical realm through a dusty old book of fairy tales in the middle of the library.
Now, Allie and her classmates are stuck in Nerissette, a world where karma rules and your social status is determined by what you deserve. Which makes a misfit like Allie the Crown Princess, and her archrival the scullery maid. And the only way out is for Allie to rally and lead the people of Nerissette against the evil forces that threaten their very existence.

Find it:

Amazon, Barnes& Noble, Goodreads

Patricia's a small town girl who was blessed with a large tree in the backyard that was a perfect spot for reading on summer days. Mixed with too much imagination it made her a bratty child but fated her to become a storyteller. After a stint of “thinking practically” in her twenties she earned degrees in Business and Economics and worked for a software firm in southwestern Germany but, her passion has always been a good book. She currently lives in Pittsburgh with her two wonderful kids and a husband that learned the gourmet art of frozen pizzas to give her more time to write. When she's not writing she can be found fencing and arguing with her dogs about plot points. Most days the Beagle wins but the Dalmatian is in close second. She's in a distant third. Patricia writes adult Paranormal under the name Patricia Eimer and writes Young Adult books under the name Andria Buchanan.

Website/Twitter/Facebook/Goodreads

Everlast is a fun magical read for any fans of young adult. Allie, the main character, is living a normal life until she and her friends are given a project which lets them visit the library and they find themselves all of a sudden immersed into a new world...a fantasy world. She and her friends have been sent to this world and find themselves as part of a magical realm with queens. 

Allie and her friends are each given a certain role within the kingdom. Allie is named queen. She and her friends immediately become involved in each one of their roles and the reasons they were given them. 

Allie discovers that all is not as it seems in this magical world and she and her friends work together to help discover the threat that has entered the magical world of Nerissette and to overcome this threat. 

This is a cute story with lots of fantasy involved in it. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys young adult/middle grade fantasy. 

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Tour Schedule:

8/19/2013- BookHounds YA- Interview

8/20/2013- The Happy Booker- Review

8/21/2013- Nick's Book Blog - Guest Post

8/22/2013- Heather Hearts Books- Review

8/23/2013- A Backwards Story- Guest Post

8/26/2013- Musings of a Blogder- Interview

8/27/2013- Curling Up With A Good Book- Review

8/28/2013- TiffanyLovesBooks- Review

8/29/2013- K-Books- Guest Post

8/30/2013- Mom With A Kindle- Interview