Saturday, April 30, 2016

I Am A Reader Book Blast & Giveaway: A Kiss and A Dream (Linda Andrews)

Kiss and a dream
A Kiss and a Dream by Linda Andrews She escapes with a dead woman's name and finds sanctuary with a widower reeling from his wife's betrayal. Can a love built on lies survive the truth? Gretchen Foltz honors her late father's request and ends up locked in the workhouse by her greedy brother. Dreaming of a home and freedom, she embarks on a dangerous winter journey. She awakes in a stranger's home. Hiding behind a lie, she discovers a man worthy of her trust. Kian Bryne is struggling to feed his four children. The last thing he needs is to rescue a woman stranded on the ice and running from her own demons. With his rich in-laws threatening to take custody his children, he'll make a desperate alliance to keep his family together. When a simple kiss shatters their agreement, he's left yearning for more. Can they untangle the lies before someone separates them forever?





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Excerpt:

In this scene, Gretchen learns that Kian has a secret dream to be a carriage driver on the island. She has a dream of her own and knows the power of them, so she is determined to help him achieve his goal. "It was a stupid dream. I should sell it, ta pay ya." Kian jerked the covering into place and turned away. "Nein. No." She followed him. "Dream is not stupid. Dream is good." She slowed down to hit the correct sound at the end. Just so he understood. He yanked pieces of oak from the pile near the door and dropped them into her pail. "I help you vith your dream." She pulled out the bigger pieces and returned them to the stack before tugging the handle from his grip. Selecting the right size for the cook stove, she filled her bucket. "You see." "Why?" He stared at the wood pile and huddled in his jacket. She didn't want to think too hard about the why. Instead, she clasped the pail to her chest and hustled for the door. He beat her there and pushed back the snow, so she could squeeze through the opening. Before she exited, he stayed her with a hand on her arm. "Why?" "Because I have the dreams, too. And you are helping to make them true." She ducked under his arm and walked into the cold. More than he knew. Maybe more than was safe for her heart. add to goodreads

Linda Andrews


Author Linda Andrews Linda Andrews lives with her husband and three children in Phoenix, Arizona. When she announced to her family that her paranormal romance was to be published, her sister pronounce: “What else would she write? She’s never been normal.” All kidding aside, writing has become a surprising passion and she’s followed that passion into history, the future, and beyond. Sometimes, she incorporates her science background and other times, she allows the magic of love to take center stage in sweet historicals.


Newsletter

  Blast Giveaway 
 $50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 5/11/16 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 and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.  

FFBC Blog Tour, Teaser, & Giveaway: Suffer Love (Ashley Herring Blake)

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Suffer Love
by Ashley Herring Blake
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Release Date: May 3rd 2016
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Realistic Fiction

Hadley St. Clair's life changed the day she came home to a front door covered in slips of paper, each of them revealing the ugly truth about her father. Now as her family falls apart in the wake of his year-long affair, Hadley wants everyone-her dad most of all-to leave her alone.
Then she meets Sam Bennett, a cute new boy who inexplicably "feels like home" to Hadley. Hadley and Sam's connection is undeniable, but Sam has a secret about his family that could ruin everything.
Funny and passionate, Suffer Love is a story about first love, family dysfunction, and the fickle hand of fate.


BOOK LINKS:

Goodreads: 

Amazon paperback:

Barnes & Noble (B&N):

Bookdepository: 

Kobo:








Ashley Herring Blake is a poet, teacher, and YA novelist. Her debut novel, SUFFER LOVE, follows two teens as they attempt to wade through an intense relationship complicated by their parents' infidelities. Ashley lives in Nashville, TN.







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Friday, April 29, 2016

FFBC Blog Tour, Guest Post, & Giveaway: The Keeper Of The Mist (Rachel Meimeier)


The Keeper of the Mist
by Rachel Neumeier
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Release Date: March 8th 2016
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Fiction


A lush new fantasy about finding the will to lead against all odds, perfect for fans of Shadow and Bone.
Keri has been struggling to run her family bakery since her mother passed away. Now the father she barely knew—the Lord of Nimmira—has died, and ancient magic has decreed that she will take his place as the new Lady. The position has never been so dangerous: the mists that hide Nimmira from its vicious, land-hungry neighbors have failed, and Keri’s people are visible to strangers for the first time since the mists were put in place generations ago. At the same time, three half-brothers will their own eyes on the crown make life within the House just as dangerous as the world outside.
But Keri has three people to guide her: her mysterious Timekeeper, clever Bookkeeper, and steadfast Doorkeeper. Together they must find a way to repair the boundary before her neighbors realize just how vulnerable Nimmira is.
With a spunky main character, lyrical storytelling, and hidden romance, The Keeper of the Mist is an engrossing story that is full of adventure.



Thank for inviting me over here to Curling Up With A Book, ______! It’s a pleasure to be here.

You asked about my favorite character in The Keeper of the Mist, and you know, that’s a good question for this particular book. I don’t always have a particular standout favorite character, so if you’d asked me that question about The Floating Islands or, I don’t know, Law of the Broken Earth, for example, I think I’d have had a hard time answering it.

I usually do feel attached to most of my characters, even the bad guys, at least the more human bad guys who have more normal motivations, even if those motivations aren’t exactly admirable. But when I have an actual favorite, it’s usually not the central protagonist and usually not a character whose role was clear to me from the beginning. Instead, it’s most often a character who went in a direction I didn’t see coming – a character who surprised me. 

As you might guess from this, I don’t (can’t) compose a detailed outline before I start writing. Usually I write the first thirty or hundred pages kind of by feel, then get a rough inkling of the end, and finally work out the middle of the book as I go. This process means that I often find out who a character is and what he’s like by introducing him and seeing what happens, and that I’m sometimes startled by his eventual role. (It also means that sometimes I have to go back and remove a character who turns out not to do anything important. This happened in Mist, in fact, because Keri started out with four half-brothers rather than three, but no role appeared for the extra brother and eventually I erased him.)


But I most enjoy the characters who have a distinctive personality from the moment they walk on stage, and where I didn’t see it coming. When I was writing the second Griffin Mage book, I remember commenting to my agent, “If I can’t find something for Tehre to do other than being The Love Interest, I’ll take her out of the story.” And then when she actually walked on stage, she turned out to be so much more than just a love interest! She astonished me by turning out to be a genius with physics and materials science, and went on to become a secondary protagonist and drive half the plot.

Well, in the same way, when I started The Keeper of the Mist, I had only the vaguest idea what two of Keri’s three half-brothers were like or what roles they would play. Brann, her oldest brother, I mostly had in mind from the beginning. What a total jerk he is, but though he’s not based on anybody in particular, I think we’ve all known guys like that. I more or less understood where Domeric was going from the moment I wrote his physical description, and I do like him, maybe more than he deserves. But Lucas was something else!

From the first moment he’s introduced, Lucas has a very distinctive style. He’s something of a scapegrace younger brother (though still older than Keri, of course). When Keri meets him, practically the first thing he says to her is: “I heard there would be flour in your hair and sugar syrup all sticky on your fingers, but you look perfectly civilized to me. Tell me, are you likely to come over all spatulas and spoons and dash down to the House kitchens to make fancy pastries? If you do, can I have one?” That’s Lucas: light-hearted and deliberately ridiculous.

Or so he seems. Perhaps it won’t surprise you if I add that Lucas has hidden depths. But though I suspected from the start that this might be the case, I myself didn’t realize just what those depths were going to include. In the end, Lucas took a much larger role than I initially guessed he would. I’m very pleased with how he turned out, and I hope readers will be, too.



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Follow the The Keeper Of The Mist by Rachel Neumeier Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.




Rachel Neumeier started writing fiction to relax when she was a graduate student and needed a hobby unrelated to her research. Prior to selling her first fantasy novel, she had published only a few articles in venues such as The American Journal of Botany. However, finding that her interests did not lie in research, Rachel left academia and began to let her hobbies take over her life instead.
She now raises and shows dogs, gardens, cooks, and occasionally finds time to read. She works part-time for a tutoring program, though she tutors far more students in Math and Chemistry than in English Composition.

Rockstar Book Tours Release Week Blitz & Giveaway: The Secrets We Keep (Trisha Leaver)


I am so excited to help spread the word that THE SECRETS WE KEEP by Trisha Leaver is now out in paperback!

If you haven’t yet added this awesome book to your shelf, now’s the perfect time. Just scroll down to learn more about the book and author, to read an excerpt, and to enter the giveaway for a chance to win an Amazon gift card!


Title: THE SECRETS WE KEEP
Author: Trisha Leaver
Paperback release date: April 26, 2016
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) | Square Fish
Pages: 304
Formats: Paperback 978-1250073624) | hardcover (978-0374300463) | audio (978-1501212222) | eBook (ASIN: B00OFKKFFQ)
Genre: YA Contemporary
Ages: 12 and up

Twin sisters. A fatal accident. A devastating lie. Which girl survived?
"A girl takes over her twin sister's identity in this emotionally charged page-turner about the complicated bond between sisters."
Ella and Maddy Lawton are identical twins. Ella has spent her high school years living in popular Maddy's shadows, but she has never been envious of Maddy. In fact, she's chosen the quiet, safe confines of her sketchbook over the constant battle for attention that has defined Maddy's world.
When--after a heated argument--Maddy and Ella get into a tragic accident that leaves Maddy dead, Ella wakes up in the hospital surrounded by loved ones who believe she is Maddy. Feeling responsible for Maddy's death and everyone's grief, Ella makes a split-second decision to pretend to be Maddy. And everyone believes her. Caught in a web of lies, Ella is faced with two options--confess her deception and risk devastating those who loved Maddy, or give up her own dreams and live her sister's life.
Find it:


Praise


*"Leaver's brilliant novel is the high school version of What Happened to Janie? The compelling premise will attract readers and the strong characterization will keep them enthralled." -VOYA, STARRED REVIEW

*“Leaver's story is certainly entertaining and intriguing. VERDICT This should be a primary purchase for any library with patrons who love melodramatic mysteries and romance.” SLJ, STARRED AUDIO REVIEW

"Trisha Leaver crafts a powerful and haunting novel that will keep you up long after you read the last page. Full of twists and turns and FEELS, this book questions how far a person will go for her family . . . even if it means losing herself." - Lynne Matson, author of NIL


The Excerpt


I don’t remember her room being so cold. Even snuggled into her sweater the chill seeps in, settling into my bones like a whisper from beyond. That’s where I will sleep tonight...in Maddy’s bed, surround by her scent. Mom wants to change the sheets, but I won’t let her. The hint of vanilla mingled with Alex’s dark cologne brings a little piece of my sister back to me each night.

The only thing I have left of my old life is a few sketches and a poor replica of the friendship bracelet Josh gave me. It took me days to re-create, to weave the strings into the right pattern. It’s not perfect, but it goes with me everywhere, a tiny reminder of who I once was and what Josh still means to me. The real bracelet is gone, cut off and tossed aside just like my life.

I want to make peace with my choice, but Maddy’s secret haunts me. The dark pieces of her life are hid- den in the back of her closet for no one but me to see. She’s not who I thought she was, but that doesn’t matter. Maddy was my sister, my twin sister, and I’ll do anything for her, including losing myself.


The Teasers


There was a fear behind his words, a fear that I would change my mind and reveal a secret I didn't even know.”

“I am already gone. I died that night on the side of the road with my sister.”




Trisha Leaver lives on Cape Cod with her husband, three children, and one rather disobedient black lab. She is a chronic daydreamer who prefers the cozy confines of her own imagination to the mundane routine of everyday life. She writes Young Adult Contemporary Fiction, Historical Fiction, Psychological Horror and Science Fiction and is published with FSG/ Macmillan, Flux/Llewellyn and Merit Press. Her YA Contemporary, THE SECRETS WE KEEP, was named one of the best YA novels for summer (2015) by Teen Vogue and received starred reviews from VOYA Magazine and School Library Journal (audio). For more details, check out her website at www.trishaleaver.com

Find her: 



There is a blitz-wide giveaway, courtesy of the author, for:
ONE (1) winner will receive a $25 Amazon Gift Card
***Giveaway is open to anyone 13 or older who can accept an Amazon Gift Card***

Enter in the Rafflecopter below.



Thursday, April 28, 2016

GCR Blog Tours, Review, & Giveaway: Single (Collette West)



Single by Collette West
Genre: Adult, Contemporary Romance


Underdog Luke “Single” Singleton is yearning to make a comeback. After getting hit in the neck with a pitch—an injury that nearly cost him his life—he has one last chance to play for his hometown team, the Stockton Beavers. But his mom has Alzheimer’s, and he’s all she has to depend on. How can he pursue his career, much less someone special?
Personal care aide Roberta Bennett is done dating baseball players. Having had her share of heartbreak, she heads to Stockton hoping for a fresh start. But after she finds Luke’s mom outside, lost, and alone, she can’t refuse when he hires her on the spot. Unbeknownst to Luke, Roberta is all too familiar with the violent tendencies of the pitcher who hit him.
Now that they’re living under the same roof, the last thing either of them is looking for is a relationship. But it’s not long before they find themselves drawn to each other. And right when Luke is thinking about finally making a change to his single status, a secret from Roberta’s past emerges with the power to tear them apart.


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 About the Author


Collette West grew up as somewhat of a jock-nerd hybrid. Entering the world three weeks premature, her dad nearly missed her birth because he had seats behind the dugout for a sold-out, highly-anticipated match-up between two of baseball's biggest rivals. Not to be outdone, her book-loving mom taught her how to read by the time she was three. A love of the game coupled with an appreciation for the written word were instilled in Collette's impressionable brain from a young age. No wonder her characters believe in the philosophy: sports + romance = a little slice of heaven.

Splitting her time between the Pocono Mountains and Manhattan, Collette indulges her inner fangirl by going to as many games as she can from hockey to baseball and downloading every sports romance novel in existence onto her iPad. When she's not clicking away on her laptop, she enjoys walking her dog in Central Park, satisfying her caffeine craving at the Starbucks on Broadway and keeping an eye out for Mr. Right. But above all, she loves dishing with her readers. Email her at collette_west@yahoo.com.

She is the author of NIGHT GAMES, GAME CHANGER and GAME ON.

Amazon | Purchase official New York Kings Fan Gear

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 Giveaway


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GCR Blog Tour, Promo Post, & Giveaway: Daughter of Isis (Kelsey Ketch)




Daughter of Isis by Kelsey Ketch
Series:  Descendants of Isis #1
Release Date: October 26th, 2013
Genre: Upper Young Adult Fantasy


“Her mouth parted slightly, waiting for Seth to breathe life into her own body, just like in the story. She wanted him to awaken her senses.”
Their worlds collide in California’s high desert.
The last thing Natara “Natti” Stone wants to do is to start anew at Setemple High School. She wished she had never left London. Yet the brutal murder of her maternal grandmother has made her life very complicated. The only clue related to her murder is an ancient, encrypted necklace Natti discovered after her grandmother’s death. And if trying to adjust to American life is not enough, Natti is being stalked by a mysterious, charming high school senior, Seth O’Keefe, who is annoyingly persistent in his attempts at seduction.
Seth O’Keefe is secretly a member of the Sons of Set, an order that worships the Egyptian god of chaos. Seth’s blessing from Set, his “charm,” never failed, except with one person: Natti Stone. Her ability to elude him infatuates and infuriates him, and he becomes obsessed with the chase. But the closer he gets to her, the more his emotions take a dangerous turn, and he risks breaking one of the most valued covenants of his order. The punishment for which is a fate worse than death.
The adventure this unlikely couple becomes engulfed in could cost them their lives and their souls.

*Note: Content for Upper YA*

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During her high school years, Kelsey Ketch could always be found tucked away in a little corner of the hall or classroom, writing her fantasy worlds and creating illustrations and maps. Today is no different, except now she’s writing in the break room at her office building or at the tables of the Barnes and Noble Café in Cary, North Carolina. She is also an avid reader, a part-time book blogger at Ketch’s Book Nook, and lives with her two orange tabbies and awesome and humorous flat-mate.For more information, please visit her site at kelseyketch.com.





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