Release Day Blitz: Reckless Abandon (J.C. Hannigan)

~* RELEASE BLITZ *~

TITLE: Reckless Abandon

SERIES: Damaged Series (Book 2)

AUTHOR: J.C. Hannigan

PUBLISHER: Booktrope Publishing

RELEASES: Jan 29th, 2015

RELEASE EVENT, Q&A with JC! JOIN! https://www.facebook.com/events/1013034132071227/

SALE $1.99 or #free with #kindleunlimited (reg $2.99)

AMAZON: http://amzn.to/1lWlwV5

SYNOPSIS

Everly Daniels has never gotten over Grayson Dixon or what happened between them. Having avoided home for years so she doesn’t have to think about the past and the people in it, Everly isn’t quite sure how to return. But tragedy strikes and she has no choice in the matter.

When Grayson learns Everly has returned home, he knows he has to see her. He has to find out if there is anything that can be salvaged.

However, with so much pain and so many years between them, it seems impossible to work things out. Fate forces them to take a closer look at what they lost, and they both begin to realize that they may be able to pursue a future together with reckless abandon.

Have you met Everly and Grayson yet? If not grab book 1, Damaged Goods! $2.99 or #free with #kindleunlimited!

AMAZON: http://amzn.to/1Ntks2y

5 Star ARC Review: Banished (Kimberley Griffiths Little)

Hardcover, 416 pages
Expected publication: February 2nd 2016 by Harpercollins

She thought she’d lost everything . . .
After spending months traveling the harsh, unforgiving Mesopotamian desert, Jayden reunites with a broken, injured Kadesh. Although everyone was convinced the violent and unpredictable Horeb, Jayden’s betrothed, killed the handsome prince, Jayden knew in her heart that her love was alive and safe. But their reunion is short-lived, as they learn Horeb is on their trail and determined to take back the girl he has claimed. Soon, the two star-crossed lovers are on the run toward Sariba, Kadesh’s homeland, where, as heir to the Kingdom, he plans to make Jayden his princess.
But the trek to Sariba is fraught with heartache and danger. After narrowly escaping being stoned to death for a crime she didn’t commit, and learning that her sister has disappeared, Jayden’s only solace is her love for Kadesh. But even he is keeping secrets from her . . . secrets that will change everything.
This gorgeous and enchanting sequel to Forbidden, is full of love, danger, and heated passion that will leave readers breathless. 

Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Indigo 

                                              

Kimberley Griffiths Little was born in San Francisco, but now lives in New Mexico with her husband and their three sons.

For such award-winning middle grade novels as When the Butterflies Came, The Last Snake Runner, The Healing Spell, and Circle of Secrets, her writing has been praised as "fast-paced and dramatic," with "characters painted in memorable detail" and "beautifully realized settings."

Kimberley adores anything old and musty with a secret story to tell and makes way too many cookies while writing.
She's stayed in the haunted tower room at Borthwick Castle in Scotland; sailed on the Seine in Paris; ridden a camel in Petra, Jordan; shopped the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul; and spent the night in an old Communist hotel in Bulgaria.
Her amazing, filmed-on-location book trailers are right here on Goodreads.https://www.goodreads.com/videos/list...
Awards: Southwest Book Award, Whitney Award for Best Youth Novel, Bank Street College Best Books of 2011 & 2014, Crystal Kite Finalist, and New Mexico Book Award Finalist.

Website * Twitter * Facebook 

"If she follows her heart, 

she will be forever....

Banished..."

Oh where to start....I absolutely LOVED, OBSESSED, DREAMED ABOUT, RAVED and DEVOURED this amazing book. WOW....I loved the first book in this series, Forbidden, and could not wait to read the sequel and it was even better than expected!!! 

Banished is full of breath-taking romance, intense action scenes, and beautiful world-building. I love how the story takes place over the Mesopotamian desert which makes the survival aspect of this story feel so real. I love survival stories and especially where there is a female heroine who has to overcome overwhelming odds to survive and Jayden is the perfect heroine for this story. 

Banished picks up right where Forbidden ended and Jayden is scouring the desert looking for her true love, Kadesh, whom she has heard stories that he could be alive and not dead at the hands of the evil Horeb. Jayden has dealt with so many difficult and painful experiences but she has not given up hope that she and Kadesh can live happily if they can just make it to his kingdom, Sariba and escape Horeb. 

Usually sequels are more of just a continuation of the story to keep the story going until the final book but Banished is an exception to that standard....Banished was so much more than just an ordinary sequel. The story line in Banished was so intricate and fascinating and so many new characters were introduced who grabbed your heart just as much as the original characters from the first book. Each new character that was introduced had their own special place in the story and I cannot wait to find out where their paths take them in this amazing trilogy. 

Jayden and Kadesh travel the desert for most of this book and they visit so many new, fascinating places that just continued to build on this amazing, breath-takingly beautiful world. I loved the aspect of "arabian nights", beautiful dark-haired belly dancers, and magnificent palaces. 

There is so much emotion in this story and  moments where my heart literally broke for Jayden and the pain she experienced. Jayden's family's beliefs and their culture is so strong and at times utterly heart-breaking. Jayden faces terrifying danger out in the desert and uncovers treacherous secrets that could change everything for her and Kadesh. 

"My arms swept around his neck to hold him, our bodies woven together, legs tangled. I sensed his heart beating in rhythm to mine as though we were already one."

I cannot express just how much I loved this book!! It's hard to talk about it and try not to give away anything because everyone should experience each page of this book and devour each beautifully written word just as I did.....WOW...Just WOW....I literally cannot wait to get my hands on the final book and see where Jayden and Kadesh's destiny lies and what treasures await them......

Click here to read my review of Forbidden (#1 in the series)

**The quotes from this book have been taken from an Advanced Reading Copy and are subject to change when the final book is printed. Please refer to the final, finished copy for exact quotes!**

**I want to say Thank You to Harper Teen for the opportunity to review this book!!**

Blog Tour & Guest Post Daughter of Blood (Helen Lowe)

Title: Daughter of Blood 

Author: Helen Lowe 

Publisher: Harper Voyager 

Pages: 768 

Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy 

Format: Ecopy/Paperback

A Gemmell Award-Winning Series
Malian of Night and Kalan, her trusted ally, are returning to the Wall of Night—but already it may be too late. The Wall is dangerously weakened, the Nine Houses of the Derai fractured by rivalry and hate. And now, the Darkswarm is rising . . .
Among Grayharbor backstreets, an orphan boy falls foul of dark forces. On the Wall, a Daughter of Blood must be married off to the Earl of Night, a pawn in the web of her family's ambition. On the Field of Blood, Kalan fights for a place in the bride's honor guard, while Malian dodges deadly pursuers in a hunt against time for the fabled Shield of Heaven. But the Darkswarm is gaining strength, and time is running out—for Malian, for Kalan, and for all of Haarth . . .

 

Helen Lowe is an award-winning novelist, poet, interviewer, and blogger, whose first novel, Thornspell (Knopf), was published to critical praise in 2008. Her second, The Heir of Night (The Wall of Night Series, Book One) won the Gemmell Morningstar Award 2012. The sequel, The Gathering of The Lost, was shortlisted for the Gemmell Legend Award in 2013. Helen has a second-dan black belt in the martial art aikido and represented her university at fencing. 
She posts regularly on her ". . . on Anything, Really" blog, occasionally on SF Signal, and is also on Twitter: @helenlowe.

The Road to Story: Helen Lowe & The Wall of Night series

by Helen Lowe

Not so very long ago, and in several cities both near and farther away (because her family moved around a lot) lived a little girl who loved stories. One of her earliest memories was listening to Sunday morning radio’s story time for kids, where her favourite stories were always the fairy tales and myths – because of the magic in them, but also the wildness and adventure. 

Way back then, the girl got a little older and grew to love, not just hearing stories, but reading them in books. She read all the Narnia stories, Alan Garner’s Elidor and Roger Lancelyn Green’s Tales of Troy and Greece, as well as a myriad tales by Rosemary Sutcliff (The Eagle of the Ninth) and Susan Cooper’s wonderful The Dark is Rising sequence. A little later again and she was reading The Lord of the Rings and Dune and Ursula Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness. 

The Fantasy-Science fiction die had been well and truly cast! 

You’ve probably worked out that the little girl was me, but what you may not have guessed is that while I was reading all these books I was also writing stories. Because when you really love something, generally you want to do it yourself as well. 

My first “proper” short stories, on “realistic” themes, were published and broadcast in my teens. But when it came to book-length tales, the ideas that “sparked” were always either fantasy or science fiction. The stories I’d loved reading—the epic sweep of The Lord of the Rings, the magic and power and darkness of the Greek and Norse myths, and the cultural and character nuances of books like The Left Hand of Darkness—were the kind of stories I wanted to tell: stories of “what if” and “wonder” and “possibility.”

Many ideas grew out of that mix, but one that kept recurring was the possibility of a twilit world, shot through with darkness and danger. “What would it look like?” I wondered. “And would the whole world be like that, or only parts of it?” The bitter peaks and wind-blasted mountain range that became the Wall of Night with its nine great, bastion strongholds grew out of those years of imagining.

But so too did the other realms of the world I came to call Haarth: the Winter Country, and Ij the Golden—a city of merchant-princes, minstrels and assassins, built on islands—as well as the dukedom of Emer with its heavily armoured knights, and Jaransor, where the land itself may be aware … 

“But ‘what if’,” I thought, “there were a people garrisoning that dark and wind-blasted Wall, who believed themselves to be defenders of good, but were in fact divided by prejudice, suspicion and fear? How would that work itself out through the story?” I also wondered what the story would look like if this people were not bravely defending their own homes and world against an external evil, but were in fact alien themselves and had brought their war and their enemy with them—how might that play out? What might the other people who were native to the world think about it, or perhaps more importantly, do? 

It was these “possibilities” and “what-ifs” that gave rise to The Wall of Night series—and the “sense of wonder” associated with both world and character building as the story evolved were a major factor in driving the book to completion. Because in the end, no matter how many what-ifs and possibilities present themselves, every story hangs off its characters—and it is in the act of developing characters (or having them tell you how they intend developing) that the joy of storytelling lies. 

So who is the leading character, Malian of Night, and what does it mean for her to be the Heir to that bitter, wind-blasted mountain range—or in the wider world of Haarth? Who are her friends and family, her enemies and allies, and what is their stake in the story? I can’t answer these questions now, because to do that properly takes a book—and also because, as that little girl who loved stories knew, the magic thing about story is that you are part of it. To experience the magic you have to read or listen for yourself, and let the story unfold . . . 

---

Helen Lowe, is a novelist, poet, interviewer and blogger whose first novel, Thornspell (Knopf), was published to critical praise in 2008. Her second, The Heir of Night (The Wall Of Night Series, Book One) won the Gemmell Morningstar Award 2012. The sequel, The Gathering Of The Lost, was shortlisted for the Gemmell Legend Award in 2013. Daughter Of Blood, (The Wall Of Night Series, Book Three), is published on January 26, 2016. Helen posts regularly on her “…on Anything, Really” blog and is also on Twitter: @helenl0we.

 Tour Schedule

Monday, January 18 - Book featured at 3 Partners in Shopping

Tuesday, January 19 - Guest blogging at What is That Book About

Wednesday, January 20 - Interviewed at I'm Shelf-ish

Thursday, January 21 - Book featured at The Review From Here

Friday, January 22 - Interviewed at Deal Sharing Aunt

________

Monday, January 25 - Book reviewed at Vic's Media Room

Tuesday, January 26 - Book reviewed at Bookishly Me

Wednesday, January 27 - Guest blogging at Curling Up With A Good Book

Thursday, January 28 - Book reviewed at Cover2Cover

Friday, January 29 - Guest blogging at Lori's Reading Corner

________

 Monday, February 1 - Interviewed at Literal Exposure 

  Tuesday, February 2 - Book featured at Confessions of an Eccentric Bookaholic 

  Wednesday, February 3 - Guest blogging at The Dark Phantom 

  Thursday, February 4 - Book featured at My Bookish Pleasures 

  Friday, February 5 - Book featured at Harmonious Publicity 

 ________ 

  Monday, February 8 - Guest blogging at Write and Take Flight 

  Tuesday, February 9 - Book featured at Voodoo Princess 

  Wednesday, February 10 - Book featured at Bent Over Bookwords 

  Thursday, February 11 - Book featured at Book Cover Junkie 

  Friday, February 12 - Guest blogging at From Paperback to Leatherbound

Rockstar Book Tours, Review, & Giveaway: The Memory of Light (Francisco Stork)

Title: THE MEMORY OF LIGHT
Author: Francisco X. Stork
Release Date: January 26, 2016
Pages: 336
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook

When Vicky Cruz wakes up in the Lakeview Hospital Mental Disorders ward, she knows one thing: She can't even commit suicide right. But for once, a mistake works out well for her, as she meets Mona, the live wire; Gabriel, the saint; E.M., always angry; and Dr. Desai, a quiet force. With stories and honesty, kindness and hard work, they push her to reconsider her life before Lakeview, and offer her an acceptance she's never had.
But Vicky's newfound peace is as fragile as the roses that grow around the hospital. And when a crisis forces the group to split up, sending her back to the life that drove her to suicide, Vicky must try to find the strength to carry on. She may not have it. She doesn't know.
Inspired in part by the author's own experience with depression, The Memory of Light is the rare young adult novel that focuses not on the events leading up to a suicide attempt, but the recovery from one -- about living when life doesn't seem worth it, and how we go on anyway.

Find it: 

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks

“The Memory of Light is filled with hard truths and beautiful revelations. It’s a beacon of hope for those in the dark of depression. This book just might save your life.” -Stephanie Perkins, New York Times bestselling author of Isla and the Happily Ever After.

“The Memory of Light takes you to that cold strange place that is depression. Vicky’s journey back from darkness doesn’t simplify or sentimentalize the effects of mental illness. Francisco Stork shows us the universe of the human mind, how it can be terrifyingly dark – and how in the company of the right kind heart – infinitely dazzling.” –Martha Brockenborough, author of the Game of Love and Death

“Stork further marks himself as a major voice in teen literature by delivering one of his richest and most emotionally charged novels yet.”— Kirkus, starred review - https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/francisco-x-stork/the-memory-of-light/

“Various studies have estimated that perhaps as many as one in five teens has a diagnosable mental health problem; it’s a subject that needs the discussion Stork’s potent novel can readily provide.”— Publishers Weekly, starred review - http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-545-47432-0

“Vicky’s story has undeniable emotional strength and an encouraging, compassionate message. Stork writes his characters with authenticity and respect… informative and highly rewarding.”— Booklist, starred review

Francisco X. Stork is the author of the acclaimed Marcelo in the Real World which received five starred reviews and won the Schneider Family Book Award for Teens; The Last Summer of the Death Warriors, named a New York TimesEditors’ Choice selection; and Irises. He was born in Monterrey, Mexico, spent his teenage years in El Paso, Texas, and now lives outside Boston, Massachusetts, with his family. Visit him online at www.FranciscoStork.com.

Website | Twitter | Goodreads

The Memory of Light is a young adult novel that focuses on serious mental illnesses such as depression and shows a realistic portrayal of the effects of this illness on not only the person experiencing it but the people around them. 

This story is based on a young girl named Vicky Cruz that allows depression to take hold and she attempts suicide....and her story is about her recovery and the people who help her during the process. 

The Memory of Light is a honest, truthful, heart-wrenching and yet deep psychological story about recovery and the amazing friendships that evolved from all these troubled people. It reflects on how each person in the story has a different story but how they all came together to help each other. It is such a deep, raw story that shows the truths about depression and how it changes and affects not only the person dealing with the illness but everyone else around them as well. 

Battling depression is not an illness that can be cured overnight and it takes time and effort to manage the illness and The Memory of Light shows the trials and tribulations of these young adults as they deal with the disease. I loved how all the characters seemed to come together and basically saved each others lives. 

There are so many people in this world dealing with depression and other mental illnesses and for anyone who has battled or knows someone who has battled the illness then this book will be perfect and will really touch close to home for them. 

I have so much respect for this author who is going to touch so many lives and affect so many people through this beautiful story and I truly hope  this book brings awareness to young people everywhere who might be dealing with the same issues or knows someone who is and this can help them deal with this mental illness. 

5 winners will receive a finished copy of THE MEMORY OF LIGHT, US Only.

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Tour Schedule:

Week One:

1/18/2016- Bookish Lifestyle- Interview

1/19/2016- Here's to Happy Endings- Review

1/20/2016- Storybook Slayers- Guest Post

1/21/2016- Such a Novel Idea- Review

1/22/2016- Literary Meanderings- Interview

Week Two:

1/25/2016- Worth Reading It?- Review

1/26/2016- The Bibliophile Chronicles- Guest Post

1/27/2016- Reading List- Review

1/28/2016- Paranormal Book Club- Interview

1/29/2016- Curling Up With A Good Book- Review

FFBC Blog Tour & Giveaway: The Mystery of Hollow Places (Rebecca Podos)

The Mystery of Hollow Places
by Rebecca Podos
Publisher: Balzer & Bray
Release Date: January 26th 2016

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Mystery

All Imogene Scott knows of her mother is the bedtime story her father told her as a child. It's the story of how her parents met: he, a forensic pathologist, she, a mysterious woman who came to identify a body. A woman who left Imogene and her father when she was a baby, a woman who was always possessed by a powerful loneliness, a woman who many referred to as troubled waters.

When Imogene is seventeen, her father, now a famous author of medical mysteries, strikes out in the middle of the night and doesn't come back. Neither Imogene's stepmother nor the police know where he could've gone, but Imogene is convinced he's looking for her mother. She decides to put to use the skills she's gleaned from a lifetime of her father's books to track down a woman she's never known, in order to find him and, perhaps, the answer to the question she's carried with her for her entire life. 

Rebecca Podos' debut is a powerful, affecting story of the pieces of ourselves that remain mysteries even to us - the desperate search through empty spaces for something to hold on to.

The Mystery Of Hollow Places | Books | Epic Reads

Follow the The Mystery of Hollow Places by Rebecca Podos Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

Rebecca Podos' debut YA novel, THE MYSTERY OF HOLLOW PLACES, is forthcoming from Balzer + Bray (HarperCollins) on 1/26/16. A graduate of the Writing, Literature and Publishing program at Emerson College where she won the M.F.A. Award for Best Thesis, her fiction has been published in Glimmer Train, Glyph, CAJE, Paper Darts, Bellows American Review, and Smokelong Quarterly. Past Awards include the Helman Award for Short Fiction, the David Dornstein Memorial Creative Writing Prize for Young Adult Writers, and the Hillerman-McGarrity Scholarship for Creative Writing. She works as a YA and MG agent at the Rees Literary Agency in Boston.

US ONLY

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