FFBC Blog Tour, Excerpt, & Giveaway: Romancing The Dark In The City Of Light (Ann Jacobus)

Romancing the Dark in the City of Light

by Ann Jacobus

Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books

Release Date: October 6th 2015

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Travel, Fiction, France

A troubled teen, living in Paris, is torn between two boys, one of whom encourages her to embrace life, while the other—dark, dangerous, and attractive—urges her to embrace her fatal flaws.
Haunting and beautifully written, with a sharp and distinctive voice that could belong only to this character, Romancing the Dark in the City of Light is an unforgettable young adult novel.
Summer Barnes just moved to Paris to repeat her senior year of high school. After being kicked out of four boarding schools, she has to get on track or she risks losing her hefty inheritance. Summer is convinced that meeting the right guy will solve everything. She meets two. Moony, a classmate, is recovering against all odds from a serious car accident, and he encourages Summer to embrace life despite how hard it can be to make it through even one day. But when Summer meets Kurt, a hot, mysterious older man who she just can't shake, he leads her through the creepy underbelly of the city-and way out of her depth.
When Summer's behavior manages to alienate everyone, even Moony, she's forced to decide if a life so difficult is worth living. With an ending that'll surprise even the most seasoned reader, Romancing the Dark in the City of Light is an unputdownable and utterly compelling novel.

Kurt says, “I have a treat for you tonight. An unusual outing. I think you’ll... get a kick out of it.”

“Let’s see,” Summer says. “How could you possibly top the sewers? The city morgue?”

“No. Much more lively.”

“Nascar racing?”

“No, more intimate than that.” He’s laughing.

“Nude mud wrestling?” She’s feeling downright loose and light. Sexy and funny. Thin and beautiful, and healthy and alluring.

“Ha. Drink up. Let’s go.”

“But you just got here.” She drains her vodka.

"Waste not want not.” He smiles. "It's time."

Follow the Romancing The Dark in The City of Light by Ann Jacobus Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

Ann Jacobus earned an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She lived with her family for many years in the Arabian Gulf and in Paris, France. She now lives in San Francisco where she writes, reads, volunteers weekly on a suicide crisis line, and frequently resorts to crock-pot meals of canned soup, fowl and whatever's in the fridge.

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Rockstar Book Tours Blog Tour, Excerpt (by Kate Karyus Quinn), & Giveaway: Among The Shadows (Various Authors)

Title: AMONG THE SHADOWS
Author: Various Authors
Pub. Date: September 14, 2015
Pages: 276
Formats: Paperback, eBook
Find it: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Goodreads

Even the lightest hearts have shaded corners to hide the black thoughts that come at night. Experience the darker side of YA as 13 authors explore the places that others prefer to leave among the shadows.

Kate Karyus Quinn is an avid reader and menthol chapstick addict. She has lived in California and Tennessee, but recently made the move back to her hometown of Buffalo, New York, with her husband and two children in tow. She promised them wonderful people, amazing food, and weather that would...build character. She is the author of Another Little Piece, (Don’t You) Forget About Me, and the upcoming Down With The Shine all from HarperTeen.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

The One True Miranda Lieu

By Kate Karyus Quinn

Everyone has their breaking point. Turns out mine is having my father return from the dead.

I come home from school and there he is standing with Mother in the middle of the living room. His arm draped along her shoulders. Hers around his waist. They can’t possibly be comfortable. It looks as if they’re posing for a picture, and I can’t help but wonder how long they’ve been waiting here. But then again they never do seem quite at ease when they’re together.

“Miranda, isn’t this a surprise?” my mother squeals, proving once again that she has mastered the art of the understatement. It’s a shame they don’t hand out trophies for that type of thing.

“I hate surprises,” I answer. Which is true and which she would know if she paid the least bit of attention to me beyond what I’m wearing and how many times I’ve frowned (“Always aim for a zero frowny face day!”).

My distrust of surprises goes all the way back to my fifth birthday party. It was on that bright and sunny day when I received a beautiful pink pony, her flowing mane braided and bowed. She was the most wonderful thing I’d ever seen and she was all mine to keep forever and always. In that first glimpse of her I imagined us having a million different adventures together. My love was instant and complete.

Still it was difficult to be gracious when my parents insisted my party guests be allowed to ride her before me. “After today she’s all yours and only yours, Miranda,” Father said with the same warm chuckle that always accompanied reprimands or admonishments to behave better. “Let the other children have a chance.”

So I waited and waited until at last it was my turn. Of course, my parents had to make it a big production. As I approached the pony, a carrot clutched in my fist, all the other kids circled around, clapping and cheering. Just as I stretched out a hand to stroke her velvety soft nose, there was a terrible rumbling sound.

And then the beautiful pink pony spontaneously combusted.

Giveaway Details:

1 Paperback of AMONG THE SHADOWS & Signed Swag Pack! US Only.

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Tour Schedule:

9/7/2015- A Backwards Story- Excerpt- Lenore Appelhans

9/7/2015- Bookhounds ya- Excerpt- Beth Revis

9/8/2015- The Book Cellar- Excerpt- Joelle Charbonneau

9/9/2015- The Cover Contessa- Excerpt- Kelly Fiore

9/10/2015- Fiction Fare- Excerpt- Lydia Kang

9/11/2015- Ohana Reads- Excerpt- Demitria Lunetta

9/12/2015- It Starts At Midnight - Excerpt-Geoffrey Girard

9/13/2015- The Bibliophile Chronicles- Excerpt- R.C. Lewis

9/14/2015- Creatyvebooks- Excerpt- Justina Ireland

9/15/2015- Please Feed The Bookworm- Excerpt- Mindy McGinnis

9/16/2015- Seeing Double In Neverland- Excerpt- Phoebe North

9/17/2015- She Dreams in Fiction- Excerpt- Gretchen McNeil

9/18/2015- Curling Up With A Good Book- Excerpt- Kate Karyus Quinn

Trailer Reveal , Exclusive Excerpt, and GIVEAWAY: Blood & Salt (Kim Leggett)

Watch the eerie trailer for 'Blood and Salt' 

and read an exclusive excerpt

In an occult spin on Romeo and Juliet, Kim Liggett’s Blood and Salt follows a girl named Ash Larkin after her mother disappears from their home, leaving a briefcase full of gold and a message that she’s returned to Quivira — a cult-like town that she escaped from 17 years ago. But getting her back isn’t as easy as it seems: Not only does Ash fall in love with a boy she knows she can’t trust, but the town is preparing for a ceremony it’s waited 500 years to complete.

Check out the trailer above, and read an exclusive excerpt below.Blood and Salt comes out Sept. 22, 2015.

BLOOD AND SALT by Kim Liggett

THE SICKENING CRACKLE of the corn-husk rope pulls me from sleep, down the hall, up the stairs, and out into the night. The sky is the strangest color, a dusky gray rose. Dark blond hair skims the ground as it disappears into a patch of tall prairie grass.

Tearing through the coarse grass, I try to reach her. As I break into a small clearing, I catch a glimpse of her face—eyes wide and lifeless, she stares back at me as her body’s being dragged into the corn.

Sensing a presence, I turn to see a winged figure made of smoke move toward me, but I’m not afraid. The scent of freshly rained-upon soil, salt, hay, cloves, sandalwood, and saddle leather perme­ates the air. It’s the most beautiful smell in the world. I close my eyes to breathe it in, hoping it will imprint on my memory. And when I open them, the smoke has sharpened into the face of Dane.

I reach out to touch him, but he flinches away. I can’t help but laugh. Even my illusion of Dane won’t cooperate.

My skin is pulsing with light. Faint at first, the golden light soon grows into a soft halo that wraps around me, illuminating the protection marks.

I stand perfectly still, coaxing the golden light forward to reach him. As soon as it meets his skin, I can feel him, just as if I were touching him with my own fingers. Every bit of our connection is alive and electric as it flows through me and into him, back from him to me, and around us.

I feel his spirit, damaged and beautiful. Perfect in its flaws. Suddenly, I become worried that he can see all of me, too; something in me wants to cover up, to hide my imperfections. I feel vulnerable, like a gaping wound with salt water lapping at the edges.

“Do you see the light?”

“There’s no light,” he answers.

It makes me so sad he can’t see or feel what I feel. “Just because you don’t see it, doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist.”

Dane’s shadowy figure takes an unexpected step toward me. Even though he’s only a hallucination, I swear I can feel his gentle breath on my face. He leans forward, pressing his lips against mine. I can taste him, along with the salt of my tears that stream into our mouths. Sadness and ecstasy consume me.

I open my eyes to find Dane has vanished, along with every bit of light that beamed from my skin. I hear the crops rustle behind me. I turn and step toward the corn. As I peer through the stalks, a feeling of dread presses down on me, crushing me, holding me in place.

The dead girl’s hand emerges from the corn, clasping my ankle. “I thought you loved me,” she whispers.

“Ashlyn.”

I awoke sometime before dawn, sprawled on top of my cov­ers, a thick sheen of sweat covering my body. I stirred; my muscles ached. My feet gritted against the sheets. Looking down, I found them caked in dirt.

I leapt out of bed.

“What’s going on?” Rhys mumbled.

“Nothing. Just need to get ready.” I escaped into the bath­room and rested my forehead against the closed door.

“This is real,” I told myself as I pressed my fingers into the cool wood grain. I stole a glance at myself in the mirror and did a double take.

Threaded into my tangled hair were coarse strands of prairie grass. In a panic, I checked the rest of my body. “Holy shit.” I exhaled when I discovered a bloody handprint coiled around my left ankle.

I’d gone outside without a clue of how I got there or how I got back. I’d lost time again. Maybe hours. Was Coronado’s black magic trying to lure me into the corn? But it felt deeper than that.

“Are you okay in there?” Rhys knocked on the door, star­tling me.

“Find another bathroom,” I snapped as I pumped water into the washtub. I stepped into the cool water and scrubbed my legs with a washcloth until they were raw, then pulled the plug, watching the dirty water swirl around my ankles and disappear down the drain.

The dead girl spoke to me. She touched me. She wanted me to find her in the corn. And Dane could take me there.

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