Showing posts with label promo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label promo. Show all posts

Sunday, November 09, 2014

A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray [Excerpt + Giveaway]

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17234658-a-thousand-pieces-of-you
AVAILABLE NOW!
Every Day meets Cloud Atlas in this heart-racing, space- and time-bending, epic new trilogy from New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray.

Marguerite Caine’s physicist parents are known for their radical scientific achievements. Their most astonishing invention: the Firebird, which allows users to jump into parallel universes, some vastly altered from our own. But when Marguerite’s father is murdered, the killer—her parent’s handsome and enigmatic assistant Paul—escapes into another dimension before the law can touch him.

Marguerite can’t let the man who destroyed her family go free, and she races after Paul through different universes, where their lives entangle in increasingly familiar ways. With each encounter she begins to question Paul’s guilt—and her own heart. Soon she discovers the truth behind her father’s death is more sinister than she ever could have imagined.


For a history lesson, this is almost interesting. Maybe it’s the way he talks with his hands, like an excited kid. But right when I might actually get drawn in, I see Paul walking swiftly up the side aisle to the exit.

Theo’s hand closes over my forearm, tightly, in warning. He whispers, “You see him too?”

I nod. He rises from his seat—crouching low so we don’t block anyone’s view and create a disturbance—and I do the same as we slip out to the side of the auditorium.

A few people give us annoyed looks, but the only sound in the room remains Conley’s voice. “For generations now, people have dreaded World War Three. But they’re making a huge mistake. They’re expecting war to look the way it looked before.”

Nobody much is milling around in the corridors outside, except for a few harried assistants trying to prep for some kind of follow-up reception. So Theo and I go unnoticed as we try to figure out where, exactly, Paul might have gone. In a building this old, nothing is laid out quite like you’d expect.

“Through here, maybe?” Theo opens a door that leads into a darkened room, one empty of chairs or tables.

I follow him inside; as the door swings shut behind us, darkness seals us in, except for the faint glow of the tech we wear—our holoclips, or my security bracelet. We can hear Conley’s speech again, but muffled. “The next challenges humanity will face are going to be fundamentally different from any we’ve faced before. New threats, yes—but new opportunities, too.”

Then we hear something else. Footsteps.

Theo’s arm catches me across the belly as he pulls us both backward, until we’re standing against the wall, hiding in the most absolute darkness. Adrenaline rushes through me; my hair prickles on my scalp, and I can hardly catch my breath.

The steps come closer. Theo and I look over at each other, side by side in the dark, his hand firm against my stomach. It’s too dark for me to understand the expression in his eyes.

Then he whispers, “The far corner. Go.”

We break apart. I rush into the corner, like he said, while Theo walks straight toward the steps . . . which turn out to belong to a tall man in a uniform who doesn’t have a sense of humor.

I knew somebody like Wyatt Conley would have security.

“I only wanted to get an autograph afterward,” Theo says as he keeps going, leading the guard farther from me. “Do you think he’d sign my arm? I could tattoo the autograph on there forever!”

Probably Theo meant for me to get out of here while he distracts the guard. Instead I creep around closer to the stage, and to Paul.

From onstage, Conley says, “The dangers we have to fear aren’t the ones we’re used to. They’re coming from directions we never imagined.”

Theo protests as the guard backs him out of the room, “Oh, come on, no need to overreact—” The door swings shut again, and I can’t hear his voice any longer. I glance over my shoulder, as though looking for Theo would bring him back again—

—which is when Paul Markov’s hand clamps down over my mouth.

My father’s killer whispers, “Don’t scream.”



Due to shipping errors I ended up receiving two duplicate copies of A Thousand Pieces of You. And with permission from the publicist, I am giving these copies away to two lucky readers! To enter please fill out the Rafflecopter below!

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Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Review: Bloodsick by Melissa F. Olson + Promo

Title: Bloodsick
Author: Melissa F. Olson
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: An Old World Novella #2

E-book, 175 pages
Publication: October 27th 2014 by SMP via Shifters After Dark Anthology. Available as a stand-alone December 26, 2014

Source: I received a review copy from the author in exchange for a honest review.

Buy Shifters After Dark here!

All her life, Sashi’s mother warned her not to get involved with werewolf problems. But Sashi, a witch who uses healing magic on sick and injured bodies, has never made a habit of ignoring trauma. When she meets an abused shapeshifter that no one else seems willing to help, Sashi will risk everything –including her fledgling relationship – to save a woman who can’t save herself.


Bloodsick is Will Carling’s origin story, a character that readers met in the Scarlett Bernard series. Bloodsick is narrated by Sashi Noring, a twenty-something Thaumaturge witch (healing magic) living in Minnesota and occasionally Astrid, a female werewolf recently traded to the Minnesota pack to mate with their alpha Luke. There are two stories occurring simultaneously, one with Sashi discovering her place in the world, who wants to make her own path rather than follow in her mom’s footsteps using her magic as an oncologist; and Astrid a new werewolf and member to the Minnesota pack, being mistreated by her Alpha Luke who is determined to bond/mate their wolves together…regardless of their mutual dislike for one another.

I never read a short-story with duo narration, nor is it a preference of mine but I found myself wrapped up in both of these strong women voices and really enjoyed it. Sashi’s mother, Stephanie Noring is Luke’s go-to healer every time he or his wolves get injured. A few days before the full moon, Luke brings Astrid to Stephanie to heal a broken leg and this is where Sashi first meets Astrid and eventually discovers that Luke is not only physically and mentally abusing Astrid but he’s also forcing himself on her in hopes that their wolves bond, and that he will be cured of his madness. Sashi knows she shouldn't meddle in pack affairs, but she's not one to stand by and see another woman go through what Astrid is going through. Sashi's involvement has a snowball effect not only in her Old World business life but also her personal life. While this is supposed to be a story of Will’s origins, the two women are the ones mostly in the spotlight. However, the story still did a great job in painting an image of Will prior to his werewolf transformation and a life before he became the Alpha of the L.A. pack. It was interesting to see all the events that lead up to Will’s transformation, especially when he never had a say in it.

I loved Sashi and Astrid, they were very likeable leads. They are two very different woman but have the same qualities that make them the perfect heroines; both of them are strong, independent, smart, brave and headstrong. I also loved learning all about the witches and wolfs dynamic as well as more of the old world (term used when referring to all the hidden supernaturals). The two supernaturals are very complex in their rules and it was interesting to see how much they differ yet one thing is for certain; the sects cannot stand one another nor do they interact with each other much, which is exactly the way everyone wants it to be kept.

Another great novella from Olson! Bloodsick has all the elements that I love and come to associate with the Scarlett Bernard series packed into this short-story. Bloodsick clocks out at 175 pages, but it was jammed packed with action, a well-written plot, awesome characters and an intriguing world. Bloodsick is a great introduction to Olson’s writing style/story telling; fans of the Scarlett Bernard series will be delighted to jump back into the Old World, while new fans…let me just say ‘get ready to be hooked’! I absolutely loved Bloodsick and was so sad when it ended...I just didn’t want to leave Sashi, Astrid, Will, and the wolf pack! The ending/Epilogue was just crazy and bittersweet! I hope we find out what happens next for Sashi! I highly recommend Bloodsick, Olson’s spin on the supernaturals (Witches, Vamps, and Weres) is a breath of fresh air. Read it, you won’t be disappointed!




Bloodsick is available now in the Shifters After Dark Anthology!
http://www.amazon.com/Shifters-After-Dark-Box-Set-ebook/dp/B00OTX7UK2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1414444706&sr=8-1&keywords=Shifters+After+Dark
Six authors, six books for only .99¢ ! For a limited time only!