Lady Renegades Book Review

Today, Claire reviews the final book of Rachel Hawkins' Rebel Belle trilogy, Lady Renegades.



 

Book Spotlight: Between Now and Never by Laura Johnston

Blog Tour Schedule

Today we're joining the BETWEEN NOW AND NEVER blog tour. Take a look at Laura Johnston's book and be sure to read the excerpt at the end of the post. There's also a cool prize you could win!

Between Now and Never by Laura Johnston

Buh boom, buh boom.

My heart thrusts with a force that takes me by surprise. Telling me something I don’t understand. A splitting pain, a longing to slip back under. They tell me I was in a hit-and-run, but I can’t remember what happened that night. All I know is that I woke up with pictures in my pocket, a card from one of those photo booths in the mall. And I’m in the pictures. Cody Rush. Me and…

Julianna.

Her brother was there that night, and my dad, the FBI agent, was the one who put her mom behind bars. What’s the connection? And why won’t Julianna talk to me now? Somehow, she holds the key to it all, and getting close–real close—to her for the answers I need will be no hardship at all…

Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Kobo

Praise for Between Now & Never
“A romance that will keep teens turning pages.” ~ Janette Rallison

"This was a lot different than I was expecting and I was honestly surprised with how much I enjoyed it. The cover led me to believe this would be a cute, love story but it was a suspenseful and gripping read." ~ Review from Goodreads

“Best book I read all year! On the edge of your seat suspense, heartwarming romance, and characters to cheer for—Between Now and Never is one you won’t want to miss.” ~Kelly Nelson, author of The Keeper’s Saga

"I had the privilege to read BETWEEN NOW AND NEVER when it was in manuscript form. I loved loved loved it from page one! Laura Johnson is such a talented author -- really looking forward to reading more of her work!" ~Kay Lynn Mangum, author of The Secret Journal of Brett Colton



Author Laura Johnston

Laura Johnston lives in Utah with her husband and two children. Growing up with five siblings, a few horses, peach trees, beehives and gardens, she developed an active imagination and always loved a good story. She fell in love with the young adult genre both through her experience in high school as well as her job later as a high school teacher. Laura enjoys running, playing tennis, sewing, traveling, writing, and above all, spending time with her husband and kids.

Website * Twitter * Facebook

Excerpt

Dinner Conversation Gone Wrong

CODY

“So, Julianna . . .” I say at the dinner table forty-five minutes later, “the girl who tutors me—”

“She’s purty,” Lizzy says with a mouth full of mashed potatoes. “Can I have some chocolate milk, Mom?”

“You’ve got a tutor?” Dad asks, his forehead gathering up over a confused stare. “Since when do you need a tutor?”

“He needs help in art, honey,” Mom cuts in with a light whack on his arm. “There’s no shame in that. Rachel, take out your earbuds.”

Rachel doesn’t hear. It’s almost six o’clock and Julianna still hasn’t woken up. She’s been asleep upstairs for over an hour and a half. I’ve checked on her several times, wondering if I should wake her. Each time I chicken out.

“Ryan, say something,” Mom whispers, her eyes shifting between Dad and Rachel.

“Rachel. Earbuds. Out,” Dad orders.

Rachel’s eyes snap up to meet his gaze and she yanks the earbuds out.

“Anyway,” I say, “she’s sleeping in my bed.”

Now all eyes are on me.

There’s a real possibility Julianna might walk down any minute, so I figured it was best to get this out in the open. It was either this or wake her up and sneak her out. Now, with everyone staring at me and Lizzy’s mashed-potato-covered mouth hanging open, I wonder if that wasn’t the better option.

Dad drops his silverware and directs a firm hand toward me to emphasize whatever point he’s about to make. “Son, I know we’ve discussed the importance of using protection, but I figured it went without saying that bringing a girl into our home—into your bedroom!—is out of the question.”

“Ryan!” Mom snaps. “Lizzy, cover your ears. Cody, save it for marriage.”

This is the first dinner conversation Rachel has been interested in for months. She snorts back a laugh.

“It’s not like that,” I say, hardly able to hold back a laugh myself as I realize I should have phrased this better.

Dad’s lips form a stern line. “This is not a laughing matter, Cody.”

“She fell asleep in the living room, okay? While I was working on my art project.”

“Your art put someone to sleep?” Rachel says. “What a surprise.”

“Rachel, cut it out,” Dad barks.

Mom simply looks grateful to have Rachel participating at the dinner table.

“How did she end up in your bed?” Mom asks.

Lizzy’s wide eyes ping-pong from Mom to me.

“I carried her.”

“And she didn’t wake up?” Rachel asks.

“She was pretty out of it,” I say. “I think she isn’t feeling good. Had a fever.”

Mom looks at the clock. “Won’t her parents be worried?”

“They—” I say and pause. “Aren’t home.”

A muscle in Dad’s jaw flinches. He picks up his fork and knife and starts cutting into his meat again. An awkward silence with no end in sight falls over the table.

“Can I have my chocolate milk now?” Lizzy asks. I’m not sure how I figured this conversation would go, but this certainly wasn’t it.

Blog Tour Giveaway

$50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Ends 4/26/15

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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Review & Giveaway: The Silver Sickle by Ellie Ann

In a world oppressed by false gods who seem to see to the heart of one's every impulse, Ellie Ann constructs a brilliant cogwork puzzle of characters, technology, motives, and hope. I don't use the term cogwork lighty here. When I'm not reading you can probably find me tinkering with something steampunk. Yes, we have conventions. Yes, I attend them. So, when the opportunity to review a somewhat steampunk YA science fiction novel came across my desk, I was oddly enough, a little terrified. Nonetheless, my curiosity won out, and thank goodness, because the World Building made me want to squee like a fangirl. Ellie Ann's writing didn't take me by the hand and explain every detail of her created society to me, instead she sat me down in it and made it so rich and full that while it was different, and oh, was it ever different, there were enough details that I could quickly merge with the story and enjoy learning about the culture she'd created, rather than feeling thrown from the book with tired explanations.

It wasn't just her world building though. Her characters have depth, idiosyncrasies, and world views that are simultaneously easy to relate to, but entirely foreign. Within the first three chapters I was emotionally invested, not only in the fate of Farissa and Zel, as individuals but also as a pair, but also in Gira - in trying to better comprehend these alien would be gods who had set themselves above even the rulers of men - and also the cogsmen, whose unique position somewhere between man and machine both intrigued me and raised so many ethical and technical questions.

I like this book because it was exciting, and it gives the reader something to talk about. Any YA book clubs out there? Looking for good science fiction that will provide ample ammunition for long conversations about civic duty and personal responsibility, individual versus group ethics, imperialism, exploitation, agency, and cultural
oppression. I like this book because it raised my heart rate and kept me up far later than I wanted to be up, despite the fact that I had class the next day.

Best of all, I love that when I finished this book, it was over. It is a stand alone novel, and while I'd love to read more about the Amar, I am a big fan of stand alone novels. This is definitely a good book for readers who not only enjoy science fiction, but like their female main characters adventurous, quick witted, and big hearted, and their male main characters  to be made of the awkward but loyal and mechanically brilliant sort of stuff that other heroes only dreamed of while trying to fix the hinge on a door.

The Silver Sickle is available through Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

     

Synopsis:

The end of humanity will come through the Silver Sickle . . .

Farissa lives every moment with reckless abandon, for it may be her last. Any day now, the alien goddesses will harvest her and take her to the mysterious Silver Sickle, never to return. She’s accepted that. What she can’t accept is this new idea of freedom Zel has planted in her head. She’d give almost anything to be with Zel, but how can she run from her destiny if it means putting the whole kingdom in danger?

Everyone in the desert kingdom believes the goddesses are immortal, but Zel has invented a way to kill them. Now all he has to do is convince Farissa to run away with him and plant a seed of hope in her heart that she’s not destined to die. Little does he know that one seed of hope could change the course of the future.

About the Author:

Ellie Ann is a New York Times and USA Today bestseller of science fiction, comics, and thrillers.

I was born in the jungles of Thailand, was raised in a small farming village in Iowa, lived in the middle of a Texan desert, and now abide in the Ozarks.
I like writing fairy tales, tall tales, thrillers, science fiction, and am seriously interested in transmedia storytelling.

I’m a creative editor for Stonehouse Ink. I’m a producer of interactive books at Noble Beast.

Come say hi! I don’t bite. Unless I’ve been turned into a zombie.

      

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Review: Awakened: The Legends of Elyndia, by Kriston Johnson

Awakened: The Legends of Elyndia, is the story of Jade, a girl who was just trying to make it through high school without anyone causing trouble or sending her back to a shrink over the otherwise not too horribly-unusual detail that she kinda sorta sees demons starts out with an average day of drama filled school and goes down hill rapidly when her makeshift family is attacked in an abduction attempt and Jade is pulled into another realm by her would be assassin. From there, it doesn't really let up until the end.

Awakened surprised me. Just when I would start to decide that it was altogether becoming predictable, Johnson would throw a curve ball that I didn't see coming, and I admit, I liked that. Well, usually. Most of the time even. All but one. You can make up your own mind, but I sort of wanted to slap someone for acting without thinking just that once.
If you're reading this, you like fantasy, so it's not really a spoiler to say, "when dealing with faeries, choose your words wisely."

Yes, faeries. Faeries, demons, elves, elementals, angels, and all the beings of myth and high fantasy that you've learned to love over the years enmeshed in a struggle to save a world within a world from the vile tyrant Draven who would use Jade's latent powers to unleash all of the demons into the world in order to regain something once lost.

All in all, I liked the characters, and the world seems interesting, though Johnson left me with a lot of questions about Elyndia that I'm hoping she answers in the second installment in her series. I also hope to see more character development on the part of Jade and to learn more about the rakish Elemental who betrayed her.

Enjoy.

Check out more reviews on Goodreads. Awakened: The Legends of Elyndia is also available on Amazon and from Barnes & Noble. 

I received a copy in exchange for my review.

Book Blitz: Falling from the Sky by Nikki Godwin @NikGodwin

Today we're taking part in the FALLING FROM THE SKY book blitz. Take a look at this young adult novel from Nikki Godwin, read an excerpt from the book, and enter the giveaway!

Falling From The Sky

by Nikki Godwin

Release Date: 02/21/14

Summary from Goodreads:

All stability in sixteen-year-old Ridge McCoy's life crashed and
burned in the plane crash that killed his dad. This summer-long basketball camp
is his chance to improve his skills and escape his problems back home. But his
summer plans take a turn in an unexpected direction when he meets Micah
Youngblood, the guy who runs the carousel at the local mall and has a
reputation for devouring straight boys' heterosexuality for breakfast,
alongside his chocolate chip pancakes.



Ridge needs a way to avoid the guys at camp, whose only quest for the summer is
to drown in beer and hook up with girls. So when Micah offers to explain how
the ten unique horses on the carousel are significant to his tribe, Ridge takes
him up on it. Still, Ridge can't decide if this is a bad thing or not. All he
knows is that he hasn't felt this alive since his dad fell from the sky, and as
the horse adventures come to an end, Ridge finds himself falling as well – for
Micah.

Available from:

Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Smashwords

About the Author

Nikki Godwin is a Young Adult author from the southern USA. She is a city girl who can't live without Mountain Dew, black eyeliner, Hawthorne Heights, and candles from Bath & Body Works. When not writing, she's not-so-secretly internet-stalking her favorite bands. She is slightly obsessed with rock stars and surfers. She no longer hides her love for One Direction.

***Author Links***

   

Excerpt

He reaches an arm out from under the towel and grasps my forearm. He pulls me closer to him,

and everything in my brain says to fight him off, but my body screams out for him to just hold

me close to him and not let me go. His other hand brushes over my bare shoulder, and I glance

toward the sky to avoid eye contact with him. I see the towel fall from his shoulder out of the

corner of my eye, and I know he’s inches away from pulling his bare chest against mine.

In this second of almost touching, I realize that falling for Micah – or any guy for that matter –

will be a thousand times worse than falling from the sky. I have a girlfriend, and never in my life

have I been attracted to a guy. At least not before now. No one has ever gotten to me like Micah

does. His hands run along my arms, and I take the chicken way out.

“Will you jump with me?” I spit the words out quicker than I process them in my head.

Micah pulls back and inhales deeply. He’s not smiling with excitement or dragging me to the top

of the bridge. He just stares at me with those sad puppy dog eyes filled with disappointment. He

almost had me, and he knows it. That’s the point of a toxic green elephant – everyone sees it, but

no one talks about it. However, he’s not talking at all, and the hurt in his eyes actually hurts me

in return.

I look back to the bridge so if those brown eyes of his start pouring, I won’t see the raindrops.

His hands leave my arms, and he steps beside me. He’s in my peripherals, but I don’t dare turn

my head. It looks like he’s staring at the bridge, which means he’s either debating jumping with

me or he’s refusing to look at me for the same reasons I won’t look at him.

“You sure you’re brave enough?” he asks.

I nod, even if he isn’t looking. “Yeah. As long as I don’t have to jump alone,” I say.

“If you jump, I jump,” he replies.

I really wish this hadn’t made me laugh. “Did you like Titanic?”

He laughs too, and I feel a world better. “I admit, I did…except for when Jack died. I mean, I get

that it kind of made the movie, but I prefer happy endings.”

Hopefully this falling from the sky experience will have a happy ending for me, as in not

smashing my head against a rock or drowning or being eaten by an alligator. Now is a good time

to let my “what if” scenarios play out, and it’s an even better time to talk myself out of this.

I look over at Micah to suggest my many wild reasons on why I shouldn’t jump, but he’s

smiling. Damn it. Why does he have to smile and actually want to jump off a bridge?

***GIVEAWAY***

2 ebook copies of Falling from the Sky (INT)

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Book Blitz Organized by:

Cover Reveal: Reflection Pond by Kacey Vanderkarr

We Do Write is happy to take part in the cover reveal for REFLECTION POND by Kacey Vanderkarr. Looks cool, right? Check out what the book is about!

Reflection Pond

By Kacey Vanderkarr

Release date: April 1, 2014

Sometimes you find home, sometimes it comes looking for you.

Callie knows a lot more about pain than she does about family. She’s never belonged, at least, not until she falls through a portal into her true home. The beautiful faerie city of Eirensae doesn’t come free. Callie must find her amulet and bind herself to the city, and most importantly, avoid the Fallen fae who seek her life. Seems like a small price to pay for the family she’s always wanted.

Then she meets cynical and gorgeous Rowan, who reads the darkness of her past in her eyes. He becomes Callie’s part-time protector and full-time pain in the ass. He has secrets of his own for Callie to unravel. What they don’t know is that the future of Eirensae lies with them, and the once peaceful city is about to become a battleground for power.

Author Bio:

Kacey Vanderkarr is a young adult author. She dabbles in fantasy, romance, and sci-fi, complete with faeries, alternate realities, and the occasional plasma gun. She’s known to be annoyingly optimistic and listen to music at the highest decibel. Kacey is the president of the Flint Area Writers and the Social Media Director for Sucker Literary. When she’s not writing, she coaches winterguard, and works as a sonographer. Kacey lives in Michigan, with her husband, son, crazy cats, and two bearded dragons. Kacey’s debut novel, Antithesis, is available from Inkspell Publishing.

Links: Goodreads | Author Facebook Page | Blog | Twitter

Seven Awesome Books Launching Tomorrow (February 11th)

Have you got some room on that book shelf? Well, start making space, because tomorrow there are seven awesome book releasing! Just take a look at all these goodies.

ALL THAT GLOWS

by Ryan Graudin

Publisher: Harper Teen

Amazon, B&N, Goodreads

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Emrys—a fiery, red-headed Fae—always embraced her life in the Highlands, far from the city’s draining technology, until she’s sent to London to rejoin the Faery Guard. But this isn’t any normal assignment—she’s sent to guard Prince Richard: Britain’s notorious, partying bad boy and soon-to-be King. The prince’s careless ways and royal blood make him the irresistible for the dark spirits that feed on mortals. Sweet, disheveled, and alive with adventure—Richard is one charge who will put Emrys’s magic and heart to the test.

When an ancient force begins preying on the monarchy, Emrys must hunt through the London’s magical underworld, facing down Banshees, Black Dogs and Green Women to find the one who threatens Richard’s life. In this chaos of dark magic, palace murders and paparazzi, Emrys finds herself facing an impossible choice. For despite all her powers, Emrys has discovered a force that burns brighter than magic: love.

THE GLASS CASKET

by McCormick Templeton

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Amazon, B&N, Goodreads

----------------------------

Death hasn't visited Rowan Rose since it took her mother when Rowan was only a little girl. But that changes one bleak morning, when five horses and their riders thunder into her village and through the forest, disappearing into the hills. Days later, the riders' bodies are found, and though no one can say for certain what happened in their final hours, their remains prove that whatever it was must have been brutal.

Rowan's village was once a tranquil place, but now things have changed. Something has followed the path those riders made and has come down from the hills, through the forest, and into the village. Beast or man, it has brought death to Rowan's door once again.

Only this time, its appetite is insatiable.

FATES

by Lanie Bross

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Amazon, B&N, Goodreads

-----------------------------

One moment. One foolish desire. One mistake. And Corinthe lost everything.

She fell from her tranquil life in Pyralis Terra and found herself exiled to the human world. Her punishment? To make sure peoples' fates unfold according to plan. Now, years later, Corinthe has one last assignment: kill Lucas Kaller. His death will be her ticket home.

But for the first time, Corinthe feels a tingle of doubt. It begins as a lump in her throat, then grows toward her heart, and suddenly she feels like she is falling all over again - this time for a boy she knows she can never have. Because it is written: one of them must live, and one of them must die. In a universe where every moment, every second, every thing has already been decided, where does love fit in?

LADY THIEF

Scarlet, Book Two

by A.C. Gaughen

Publisher: Walker Children's

Amazon, B&N, Goodreads

----------------

Scarlet’s true identity has been revealed, but her future is uncertain. Her forced marriage to Lord Gisbourne threatens Robin and Scarlet’s love, and as the royal court descends upon Nottingham for the appointment of a new Sheriff, the people of Nottingham hope that Prince John will appoint their beloved Robin Hood. But Prince John has different plans for Nottingham that revolve around a fateful secret from Scarlet’s past even she isn’t yet aware of. Forced to participate at court alongside her ruthless husband, Scarlet must bide her time and act the part of a noblewoman—a worthy sacrifice if it means helping Robin’s cause and a chance at a future with the man she loves. With a fresh line of intrigue and as much passion as ever, the next chapter in Scarlet’s tale will have readers talking once again.

SPLIT SECOND

Pivot Point, Book Two

by Kasie West

Publisher: Harper Teen

Amazon, B&N, Goodreads

-----------------------

Life can change in a split second.

Addie hardly recognizes her life since her parents divorced. Her boyfriend used her. Her best friend betrayed her. She can’t believe this is the future she chose. On top of that, her ability is acting up. She’s always been able to Search the future when presented with a choice. Now she can manipulate and slow down time, too . . . but not without a price.

When Addie’s dad invites her to spend her winter break with him, she jumps at the chance to escape into the Norm world of Dallas, Texas. There she meets the handsome and achingly familiar Trevor. He’s a virtual stranger to her, so why does her heart do a funny flip every time she sees him? But after witnessing secrets that were supposed to stay hidden, Trevor quickly seems more suspicious of Addie than interested in her. And she has an inexplicable desire to change that.

Meanwhile, her best friend, Laila, has a secret of her own: she can restore Addie’s memories . . . once she learns how. But there are powerful people who don’t want to see this happen. Desperate, Laila tries to manipulate Connor, a brooding bad boy from school—but he seems to be the only boy in the Compound immune to her charms. And the only one who can help her.

As Addie and Laila frantically attempt to retrieve the lost memories, Addie must piece together a world she thought she knew before she loses the love she nearly forgot . . . and a future that could change everything.

THREE

Article 5, Book Three

by Kristen Simmons

Publisher: Tor Teen

Amazon, B&N,  Goodreads

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The conclusion to Kristen Simmons’s postapocalyptic YA trilogy that began with Article 5

Ember Miller and Chase Jennings are ready to stop running. After weeks spent in hiding as two of the Bureau of Reformation’s most wanted criminals, they have finally arrived at the safe house, where they hope to live a safe and quiet existence.

And all that’s left is smoking ruins.

Devastated by the demolition of their last hope, Ember and Chase follow the only thing left to them — tracks leading away from the wreckage. The only sign that there may have been survivors.

With their high profile, they know they can’t stay out in the open for long. They take shelter in the wilderness and amidst the ruins of abandoned cities as they follow the tracks down the coast, eventually finding refugees from the destroyed safe house. Among them is someone from Chase’s past — someone he never thought he’d see again.

Banding together, they search for a place to hide, aiming for a settlement a few of them have heard about... a settlement that is rumored to house the nebulous organization known as Three. The very group that has provided Ember with a tiny ray of hope ever since she was first forced on the run.

Three is responsible for the huge network of underground safe houses and resistance groups across the country. And they may offer Ember her only chance at telling the world her story.

At fighting back.

WHITE SPACE
Dark Passages, Book One
by Ilsa J. Bick
Publisher: Edgmont USA
Amazon, B&N, Goodreads
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In the tradition of Memento and Inception comes a thrilling and scary young adult novel about blurred reality where characters in a story find that a deadly and horrifying world exists in the space between the written lines.

Seventeen-year-old Emma Lindsay has problems: a head full of metal, no parents, a crazy artist for a guardian whom a stroke has turned into a vegetable, and all those times when she blinks away, dropping into other lives so ghostly and surreal it's as if the story of her life bleeds into theirs. But one thing Emma has never doubted is that she's real.

Then she writes "White Space," a story about these kids stranded in a spooky house during a blizzard.

Unfortunately, "White Space" turns out to be a dead ringer for part of an unfinished novel by a long-dead writer. The manuscript, which she's never seen, is a loopy Matrix meets Inkheart story in which characters fall out of different books and jump off the page. Thing is, when Emma blinks, she might be doing the same and, before long, she's dropped into the very story she thought she'd written. Trapped in a weird, snow-choked valley, Emma meets other kids with dark secrets and strange abilities: Eric, Casey, Bode, Rima, and a very special little girl, Lizzie. What they discover is that they--and Emma--may be nothing more than characters written into being from an alternative universe for a very specific purpose.

Now what they must uncover is why they've been brought to this place--a world between the lines where parallel realities are created and destroyed and nightmares are written--before someone pens their end.

Book Launch: MINDERS by Michele Jaffe

Today marks the release of the young adult thriller/mystery/sci-fi/dystopian/romance MINDERS by Michele Jaffe. This book sounds so good, and it seems like it has everything! Take a look.

"A dark, dangerous and twisty near-future mystery from the incomparable Michelle Jaffe. Don't miss this book!"--Melissa de la Cruz, New York Times Bestselling Author of Blue Bloods

Q: If the boy you love commits a crime, would you turn him in?

Sadie Ames is a type-A teenager from the wealthy suburbs. She's been accepted to the prestigious Mind Corps Fellowship program, where she'll spend six weeks as an observer inside the head of Ford, a troubled boy with a passion for the crumbling architecture of the inner city. There's just one problem: Sadie's fallen in love with him.

Q: What if the crime is murder?

Ford Winters is haunted by the murder of his older brother, James. As Sadie falls deeper into his world, dazzled by the shimmering pinpricks of color that form images in his mind, she begins to think she knows him. Then Ford does something unthinkable.

Q: What if you saw it happen from inside his mind?

Back in her own body, Sadie is faced with the ultimate dilemma. With Ford's life in her hands, she must decide what is right and what is wrong. And how well she can really ever know someone, even someone she loves.

A high concept, cinematic read with a surprising twist, MINDERS asks the question: who is really watching who?

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Goodreads