Book Blitz: BAIT by Kasi Blake

Cover Reveal: Darkness Brutal by Rachel A. Marks

Have I ever mentioned how much I love cover reveals? I really do! It's probably the artist in me. Anyway, today we are excited to reveal the cover for DARKNESS BRUTAL, a YA urban fantasy by Rachel A. Marks! And it's so pretty!

Darkness Brutal by Rachel A. Marks
(The Dark Cycle #1)
Published by: Skyscape
Publication date: July 1st 2015
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult

Aidan O’Linn’s childhood ended the night he saw a demon kill his mother and mark his sister, Ava, with Darkness. Since then, every three years the demons have returned to try to claim her. Living in the gritty, forgotten corners of Los Angeles, Aidan has managed to protect his sister, but he knows that even his powers to fight demons and speak dead languages won’t keep her safe for much longer.

In desperation, Aidan seeks out the help of Sid, the enigmatic leader of a rag-tag group of teens who run LA Paranormal, an Internet reality show that fights demons and ghosts. With them, Aidan believes he’s finally found a haven for Ava. But then he meets Kara, a broken girl who can spin a hypnotic web of passionate energy, and she awakens powers inside of him he didn’t know he had―and unleashes a new era of war between the forces of Light and the forces of Darkness.

With the fate of humanity in his hands, can Aidan keep the Darkness held back and accept his terrifying destiny, or will he and his sister fall to the same fate as their mother?

     

PREVIEW

I let the pulse of the music coat me and mute my surroundings. A mass of people crowd the dance floor of the club, and I sit on an abandoned couch in the corner. The lights beat at the air in blues and greens, and bodies twist and merge to the thunder. I lean back, close my eyes, and try to get lost in it, the smells and sounds of people and their collective high.

Something moves next to me. I look over to find a girl sprawled on the seat beside me, trying to catch her breath. She’s not dressed in the usual club gear, more like a girl who got lost on her way to a beach party: Hurley T-shirt, jean skirt, and red Converse. Her cheeks are flushed pink; her throat and forehead glitter with sweat. She glances at me like she didn’t know I was there. She licks her upper lip, her eyes not leaving mine. Then she says something I can’t hear.

I point to my ear and shake my head.

She smiles and laughs, lighting up the space around her. She rests her hand on my arm, like we’re friends and I just told her the most hilarious joke, and then she gets up and disappears into the mass of bodies again.

My arm tingles, my body reacting to the moment of contact in a sudden and disconcerting way. I think I’ve had my fill of watching people indulge their baser instincts. I need to get out of here.

The beat of the music speeds up, vibrating faster as I move through the crowd. I try not to touch anyone, which is nearly impossible. All the emotions and appetites are overwhelming, as if the rising rhythm of the music makes their yearnings rise, too. Lust buzzes in the air. A hunger stirs in me, a gaping hole, needing to be filled. With touch.

The touch of female fingers. A hand on my arm, taking my wrist, pulling me into the fray, into the pressing bodies. And I don’t try to escape. I let her take me.

Because I’m tired.

Because I’m a dumbass.

A girl moves in front of me—not the Hurley girl, not the one I was hoping for. She presses closer, so close I can almost taste the salty perspiration on her skin. She has thin, birdlike shoulders, a swan neck, a heart-shaped face, and black hair, long and tangled, turning blue and green with the light. Her hands slide up my chest. She wraps her arms around my neck and tilts her head to look up at me.

Her lips are full and painted dark purple. There’s a dimple in her left cheek that gets deeper with her growing smile. And her eyes . . .

Fog fills my head for a second, interrupting my thoughts.

“Hi,” she mouths, calling attention to her lips again.

And then she’s rising up on her toes, pulling me down to her, twisting her fingers in my hair, her lips smashing against mine.

My body buzzes from her touch, and my hands react, drawing her into me. I drink her in. She tastes like the air around me, hunger and urgency, and—

Green apple Jolly Ranchers?

I grip her sides, her ribs so delicate beneath my fingers. The sweet tang of her teases me, the hunger becoming a monster deep inside. I have to press her closer, tighter, try to feed it, as I feel the fire of her need link with mine.

She pulls back a little and looks at me with wide eyes, like she’s shocked. That’s when I see the mark, a glowing, blue-inked line of what looks like Chinese symbols, trailing down the nape of her neck to her shoulder blade. Symbols that I’m suddenly sure mean: touch this girl at your own risk.

It’s the only thing I see for a second: Beware. Beware.

Until her energy reaches for me, wispy tendrils of blue light wrapping their way around my wrists and snaking up my chest.

I jerk away, into the guy behind me, stepping on his girlfriend’s toes. I get shoved— thankfully farther from the hypnotic girl—through a space in the crowd, saying a hundred excuse-me’s even though I know no one can hear them. I find my way out of the press of bodies to the edge of the room again where it’s safe.

It’s time to leave. I should’ve left an hour ago.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rachel A. Marks is a cancer survivor, a writer and artist, a surfer and dirt-bike rider, chocolate lover

and keeper of faerie secrets. Her four kids and amazing hubby put up with her nerdiness with tremendous grace, even when she makes them watch Buffy or Smallville re-runs for days on end. She was voted: Most Likely To Survive A Zombie Apocalypse, but hopes she'll never have to test the theory. Darkness Brutal is her first novel.

               

Excerpt: Cut Here by Azzurra Nox

Today we are excited to share an excerpt from CUT HERE, a new YA Paranormal/Urban Fantasy novel by Azzurra Nox! But first, let me just say WHAT A GORGEOUS COVER! Okay, now that that's been said, here's a little about the book.

CUT HERE
By Azzurra Nox
Release Date: 02/13/15
YA Paranormal/Urban Fantasy

Sixteen-year-old Lena Martin's idyllic world shatters the night her mother dies due to a hit and run
accident. Two years later, her dad relocates her from Italy to Los Angeles to help her put behind the time spent in a psychiatric ward following her mother's death. But the move only proves to be a fatal mistake. Shortly after her arrival, the classmates of her new private school begin to commit suicide under mysterious circumstances after reading a cult book called Cut Here.

Determined to unravel the mystery behind the suicides, she bands together with loner Jonathan Russe and outcast Hope Peters to figure out exactly what is happening, not realizing that this places them under a dangerous radar. During this same time, Lena falls for a mysterious and attractive guy named Michael, who is as equally disarming as he's dangerous.

As her attraction grows, so does the body count at St. Lucy Academy. Soon, Lena needs to decide whether to stay away from the guy she's falling for, or to trust him. Is Michael behind the suicides, or is he the key that can unlock the mystery that can stop the bloodshed? Deceptions run high and Lena soon learns that nothing is what it seems.

     

EXCERPT

Bethany had pulled her bob into a tiny tight bun. She positioned herself in the center of the room, avoiding her reflection and waited for her cue to begin. Her mother rummaged through sheets of music before she began to play the intro of the dance.

The steps came automatic, without much thought. Her legs and arms moved with a mind of their own, as she did pirouettes around the room. She had been dancing for eleven years, and her limbs knew exactly how to move without any technical errors. Bethany knew that her dancing was impeccable. Error-free. Perfectly flawless. What had her losing out the lead for many recitals was her lack of emotion. She concealed her feelings so well that even whilst dancing no one could understand what her character was emoting.

Bethany continued her graceful dance, the music flowing into her, as she responded to every note. The tortured tune took her back to her stay in Florence, when she spent her days reading books on folklore and listening to all the sad, sad songs that reminded her of home.

One time she found herself walking the streets of the city near dusk. She crossed the Old Bridge, looking over the stone medieval majesty and gazed at the Arno River. Florence was said to be a magical city and she believed it. Everything about it breathed a sense of enchantment. The doctors had told her mother her body was very weak. She was too underweight. At sixty-six pounds she was at risk of heart failure and respiratory problems. Her body felt exhausted. Every step she took was an excruciating effort. But she knew that she had to cross the bridge at that exact hour. Her hands clutching a little bottle as she inhaled the Autumn air. That's when she collapsed to the ground, and the world dropped dead.

“Are you all right?”

The music had stopped. Bethany was jerked back to the present.

“Why did you stop?” she questioned her mother.

“Honey, your foot....” her mother stood up from the piano, and approached her.

She looked down to see that the white en pointe slipper was soaked in red. A bloody trail sketched the macabre dance on the floor.

“It's no big deal,” she shrugged it off. For a seasoned dancer, seeing a little blood never alarmed her. 

She should've felt the pain, but after many years of abusing her feet all she had was scar tissue and unhealed fractured bones. In a matter of moments she swiftly untied the silk ribbons and pulled her foot out of the slipper. It was bloody. A cracked nail. Multiple blisters around her toes. Something caught her eye. A strange black thing protruded from the side of her foot had caused the bleeding. She pulled it out without even wincing, as her mother gasped. Her heart was still, and the world dropped dead.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Born in Catania, Sicily, she has led a nomadic life since birth. She has lived in various European cities and Cuba, and currently resides in the Los Angeles area. Always an avid reader and writer from a young age, she loved entertaining her friends with ghost stories. She loves horror movies, cats, and a good rock show. She dislikes Mondays and chick-flicks. CUT HERE, her debut paranormal urban fantasy was inspired by a nightmare the writer had a few years ago. Some of her favourite authors include Anne Rice, Oscar Wilde, Chuck Palahniuk, and Isabella Santacroce.

                 

Cover Reveal: Gods of Chaos by Jen McConnel

Welcome to the Cover Reveal for

Gods of Chaos (Daughter of Chaos #2) by Jen McConnel

presented by Month9Books!

Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!

The gods of chaos cannot be trusted. 

When Darlena Agara declared to follow Red Magic last fall, she had no idea what she was getting into. Since then, however, she's had a crash course in danger, deceit, and destruction. In an effort to gain an ally, Darlena heads to Scotland in search of another Red Witch, but she didn't count on the new obstacles (and crazy gods) that await her.

Title: Gods of Chaos (Daughter of Chaos #2)
Publication date: March 31, 2015
Publisher: Month9Books, LLC.
Author: Jen McConnel

Jen McConnel now lives and writes in the beautiful state of North Carolina. When she isn't crafting worlds of fiction, she teaches writing composition at a community college. Once upon a time, she was a middle school teacher, a librarian, and a bookseller, but those are stories for another time.

Author Links: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

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Book Blitz: Isla's Oath by Cassandra Page

Happy Monday! Welcome to the Book Blitz for ISLA'S OATH by Cassandra Page, the second book in the Isla's Inheritance Series. Check it out!

Isla’s Oath by Cassandra Page 

(Isla’s Inheritance #2) 

Publication date: January 20th 2015

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult

Australia is a long way from the Old World and its fae denizens … but not far enough.

Isla is determined to understand her heritage and control her new abilities, but concealing them from those close to her proves difficult. Convincing the local fae she isn’t a threat despite her mixed blood is harder still. When the dazzling Everest arrives with a retinue of servants, Isla gets her first glimpse of why her mother’s people are hated … and feared.

But Isla isn’t the only one with something to hide. Someone she trusts is concealing a dangerous secret. She must seek the truth and stop Everest from killing to get what he wants: Isla’s oath.

EXCERPT

Jack led me to one side of the walkway, against the window of a bank. After looking around to make sure we weren’t being watched, he reached into his messenger bag and pulled something out to show me.

Cupped in his hand was a creature the size of a large mouse. It—no, he—was dressed in ragged, miniature clothes; his hair was a tangled mass of gold and his eyes were little blue flecks of summer sky. On his back, a pair of diaphanous wings like a dragonfly’s beat slowly, only visible because of the tracery of veins. Around his neck, strung on a piece of cotton, was a glossy pink bead.

The creature resembled Tinkerbell, if she were down on her luck and had grown sharp around the edges. A fairy made from mosquitos rather than butterflies.

“Isla, this is Welkin. He is a piskie.”

“Uh. Hi!” I said brightly, trying to pretend I’d heard of a piskie before now.

“Hello,” Welkin piped. Jack held his hand up so that the tiny fairy was at eye level with me. Welkin bobbed his head in gratitude.

“Please tell Isla what you told me,” the hob said.

He looked me up and down, a gesture that only took in my face. He pursed his lips, eyes narrowed. “Okay,” he said after a moment, putting his hands on his hips. The gesture was adorable but also reminded me of my year seven science teacher. “Do you know about energy flows?”

“Pretend I don’t.”

He craned his neck to frown at Jack before looking back at me. “Right. Every living thing in the world sheds energy. It’s a lot like air. Sometimes it pools, still, and sometimes it flows and you get a breeze or a storm.”

“Like water?”

Welkin scowled. “Like air. This is my metaphor, lady.”

I bit my lip so I didn’t laugh, nodding to indicate he should continue.

“Well, some aosidhe are like mountains. The air bends around them and continues on, but becomes more turbulent. And if there are a bunch of them together you can get wind tunnels and it gets really tricky to fly…” He trailed off, staring distractedly through Jack’s fingers at a passing couple, absorbed in their conversation.

“And other aosidhe?” I reminded him gently.

“Oh, yes. Other aosidhe are more like cyclones, throwing everything around and making a mess.” He sniffed in disapproval.

I wondered which type I was, but decided not to ask. “So you can sense the presence of aosidhe based on this energy movement.”

“Yes. There was one here—” he narrowed his eyes at me “—and now there are two.”

“When did the other one arrive?”

“Today.”

AUTHOR BIO

Cassandra Page is a mother, author, editor and geek. She lives in Canberra, Australia’s bush capital,

with her son and two Cairn Terriers. She has a serious coffee addiction and a tattoo of a cat—despite being allergic to cats. She has loved to read since primary school, when the library was her refuge, and loves many genres—although urban fantasy is her favourite. When she’s not reading or writing, she engages in geekery, from Doctor Who to AD&D. Because who said you need to grow up.

              

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Book Excerpt: Spell for Sophia by Ariella Moon

Blog Tour Schedule

Spell for Sophia Sophia Perez-Hidalgo’s survival depends upon her mastering magic and the supernatural before her lawless parents and their vengeful boss catch up to her. How far must she flee to escape them forever? Sophia runs until she’s out of stolen money, then…Fate delivers her into the arms of Louisiana teen Shiloh Breaux Martine, and his grand-mère, a voodoo priestess living deep in the bayou. Breaux knows Sophia is trouble — but he’ll travel through time, battle zombies, and risk his bright future to protect her. While Ainslie, best friend extraordinaire, will jeopardize her sanity to find and aid Sophia. When friendship, magic, and love are not enough, Sophia will have to save herself. But first, she must believe she’s worth saving. Sometimes the worst scars are the ones you cannot see.  

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 The Teen Wytche Saga by Ariella Moon Think magic will solve your problems? Bring you love? Cure you? Protect you? Help you find someone who is lost? Think again. Magic tests friendships. It hisses, chirps, stinks up the room, backfires, and explodes. Magic forces you to make tough decisions. Shatter limitations. Discover your true self. When you use magic, expect results in the ultimate triple-un—unpredictable, uncontrollable, and so undeniable. And you thought navigating high school was tough.

EXCERPT

"I will not drop you off at the nearest town," Breaux insisted the next morning. We stood in the small sitting room where I had slept on the sofa and he had snored into a pillow on the floor. Neither of us had felt comfortable disturbing Mam'zelle's bed. "You're coming home with me. Maman will want to hear about Grand-mère."

I knew what he was thinking — you owe her. I crossed my arms over my chest. "You can tell her."

The vein above his left eyebrow throbbed. I could tell he was clenching his teeth. He always clenched them when he was angry. I jutted my chin so he wouldn't know how much I wanted to go with him. Finally he said in a low voice, "I never figured you for a coward."

"Excuse me?" My tone sharpened.

He widened his stance and crossed his arms over his chest. We had dressed in jeans, long-sleeved knit tops, and hoodies. "You're afraid Maman won't believe you."

I averted my gaze and ran my hand down the fuzzy scarlet scarf Ainslie had given me one Christmas. He was right; that worry had been in the back of my mind. But mainly it would shatter my soul to be surrounded by Miss Wanda's motherly kindness. Worse, to be under the same roof as Breaux knowing Mam'zelle would disapprove. No point further scarring my heart or angering a deceased mambo queen. I still had a little pride and a large desire for self-preservation.

Breaux's voice softened. "Don't run away. Tell Maman about Grand-mère. She'll want to hear about the soul path. I won't be able to do it justice."

A boulder of resolve tumbled from my shoulders. I searched for an excuse. "Your mother is a foster parent. I'm underage. Won't she be obligated to report me to the authorities?"

"She hasn't so far. Besides, they could help you get home."

I blinked back tears. "You don't get it. I have no home. I can't go near anyone I care about." I lifted my backpack off the floor and glanced at the front door. "I need to find a safe hideout—"

He stepped closer and reached for my backpack. His fingers brushed mine, sending tingles up my arm. "Tell me why you need to hide."

"I can't. You'll hate me."

"Did you kill someone?"

I shook my head.

Breaux placed the backpack on the floor beside us and took my hand. Palm to palm, our fingers laced together. A thrill shivered my stomach. "Rob a bank?" he asked.

"No."

"Harm an animal?"

I glared at him. "Of course not."

He wrapped his free arm around my waist as though we were slow dancing. "Buy more than fifteen items at the grocery express line?"

I laughed. "Maybe."


His eyebrows arched. He waited. I knew him. He could wait until the next hurricane hit.

  

Author Ariella Moon Ariella Moon is the author of the Teen Wytche Saga, a sweet Young Adult paranormal series. Ariella writes about magic, friendship, high school, secrets, and love in Spell Check, Spell Struck, and Spell Fire from Astraea Press. Ariella spent her childhood searching for a magical wardrobe that would transport her to Narnia. Extreme math anxiety, and taller students who mistook her for a leaning post, marred her youth. Despite these horrors, she graduated summa cum laude from the University of California at Davis. Ariella is a Reiki Master, author, and shaman. She lives a nearly normal life with her extraordinary daughter, two shamelessly spoiled dogs, and an enormous dragon.

       

Blog Tour Giveaway $25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 1/19/15 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.

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