Saturday, March 29, 2014

I am Forever Tour

http://www.darkworldbooks.com/i-am-forever-tour/


Today I'm proud to be a part of the 'I am Forever', hosted by Dark World Books. You can view the rest of the tour spots by clicking on the banner above. 


I Am Forever
(What Kills Me #2)
Axelia fought an army of vampires and survived. Once fated as the destroyer of the vampire race, she is now welcomed into the immortal empire and revered as a god.
But instead of relishing her victory, she faces a dangerous new world and an empire at war. Axelia is thrust into the position of supreme vampire and caught in the crossfire of battle. To make matters worse, her role alienates Lucas, the one vampire that she trusts.
Her power spawns evil enemies. And they know how to get to her — by hurting those whom she loves most.
Amazon US – Amazon UK – Kobo – Smashwords
Add I Am Forever to your Goodreads list!
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About What Kills Me (Book #1)
So when 17-year-old Axelia falls into a sacred well filled with blood and emerges a vampire, the immortal empire believes she is this legendary destroyer. Hunted by soldiers and mercenaries, Axelia and her reluctant ally, the vampire bladesmith Lucas, must battle to survive.An ancient prophecy warns of a girl destined to cause the extinction of the vampire race.
How will she convince the empire that she is just an innocent teenager-turned bloodsucker and not a creature of destruction? And if she cannot, can a vampire who is afraid of bugs summon the courage to fight a nation of immortals?
Amazon US – Amazon UK – Barnes & Noble – Kobo – iTunes
Guest Post

How to avoid the curse of the bad sequel

No one sets out to do a bad sequel. But there are a lot of them. Especially movie sequels (The Hangover 3, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights).
So here’s how I tried to make I Am Forever a worthy sequel to my best-selling debut novel What Kills Me.

Make sure the story evolves. Readers love franchises because they want to spend more time with your characters and see what happens next. In What Kills Me, Axelia aka Zee dies and unwittingly becomes the most feared vampire in the world. She’s hunted across continents. At the end of the novel, a stunning revelation changes everything.
I Am Forever picks up from where we left off. It answers several key questions: How does Zee further evolve as the most powerful vamp in history? How does the vampire Monarchy handle her? What happens to her human family?

Don’t just redo the first. So many sequels are a rehash of the first story. What Kills Me was simply an introduction to a new world. The formula for Zee was simple: run, fight, survive. I Am Forever is so much more complicated. Zee stops running and her emotions and the weight of everything that has happened catch up to her. She faces new dangers, new powers and new rules.

Create new conflict. Conflict drives every story. A sequel needs new threats and more difficult struggles. Your characters may have overcome challenges in the first installment but as in life, there are always new surprises in store.

Stay true to the characters... The chemistry between Zee and Lucas is a fan favorite. I was careful to honor their connection in I Am Forever. But Lucas and the Monarchy don’t mix. So the more entangled that Zee becomes with the Monarchy, the more she alienates the love of her undead life.

...but flesh them out more. Zee’s been through a lot. I threw her down a well filled with blood and then sent vampires and soldiers with pointy objects after her. (And I’m not sorry!) In I Am Forever, she’s just as out of her element as she was in the first book. The Monarchy is a messed up place. And they’re at war with rebels. This place will test Zee like never before.
There's no cure for the pox, the deadly disease that's decimated most the population. Kat, one of the lucky survivors, trying to get to her last living relative, has decided the best way to stay alive is to stay alone. But that is until she meets Dylan who has no one else to live for. Convincing Kat that it's safer to stay in numbers, they start off on a journey through the barren wasteland to a new life. That's only if they can survive the disease, bands of armed and deadly children, and piles of burning pox-infested bodies.

Shauna Granger has written a different post-apocalyptic story and I was surprised at how the story turned out. Kat is also a different heroine in this type of story. She wasn't born and raised for this life. Far from it. As it does say Kat would 'rather drink lattes and read magazines' than be in a fight for survival. This is what I really liked about the story. She is just an average teenager who has really had to learn and adapt to her new environment in order to survive, which is especially hard since she doesn't have anyone to help her out but her own mistakes (which she can learn from) and instincts (which she develops).

Granger's writing is beautifully descriptive and she was able to describe all the settings and actions wonderfully, which kept me engrossed in the story. The only part of the story that I found a bit lagging were the beginning chapters where Kat is alone. I just wanted her to do something, but alas nothing much happened. And then two things occurred. Kat met Blue and Dylan, and the story really picked up the pace and held my attention all the way to the end, giving plenty of twists and turns with an ending that has me beginning for the next story.

I definitely look forward to the next story from Gardener, and I would recommend World of Ash to anyone who loves post-apocalyptic stories.

About the Author
Wynne Channing
Wynne Channing is a national newspaper reporter and award-winning young adult novelist. Wynne loves telling stories and as a journalist, she has interviewed everyone from Daniel Radcliffe and Hugh Jackman to the president of the Maldives and Duchess Sarah Ferguson. The closest she has come to interviewing a vampire is sitting down with True Blood‘s Alexander Skarsgard (he didn’t bite). She briefly considered calling her debut novel “Well” so then everyone would say: “Well written by Wynne Channing.”
Website – Blog – Twitter – Facebook – Goodreads
Google+ – Pinterest – Youtube – Amazon Author Page

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Emily's Heart Book Tour

http://yaboundbooktours.blogspot.com/2014/01/blog-tour-sign-up-emilys-heart-by.html

Today I'm proud to be a part of the 'Emily's Heart tour', hosted by YA Bound. You can view the rest of the tour spots by clicking on the banner above. 

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Emily's Heart
Release Date: 11/26/13

Summary from Goodreads:
**The long-awaited final book in this popular magickal, action-packed teen series! Seventeen-year-old Emily Adams unintentionally unleashed a shadow god's dark energy power into the world and started an Apocalypse. But Emily is also the only one that can end the dark god's reign. Though the powerful faerie magic of the golden torc is still coiled around her arm, self-doubt threatens to undo her.

Emily wants nothing more than to feel the soft kiss of her one true love, but he won't even speak to her. Her first crush is still quite dead and her best friend remains a prisoner in the dark god's house of nightmares. A growing legion of black-eyed shadow people, devoid of conscience, roam the streets. Emily needs help now more than ever, but redemption seems far off indeed as she faces the expanding darkness alone. Emily will need an army of her own if she is to save the world from being taken over by pure evil.

But will a small band of Lucent geeks and freaks be enough to send the dark god packing? Amidst chaos and ruin, will love blossom in Emily's Heart?


Links to books in this series:

Buy Links:
Amazon U.S.:


Barnes & Noble:


Smashwords: *Please use discount code WX85L for 25% off Cover Price!


 














My Review

Natalie Wright has created a fantastic end to an exciting trilogy. Emily, now seventeen, has been isolated from all of her friends as the apocalypse has been unleashed. People are losing their souls, turning away from the light and being consumed by the darkness. Emily knows she needs to fight to end the darkness, but with only a small group of Lucents to help, she has her doubts whether she'll be strong enough. Will it be enough?

The one thing I really liked about this story was Emily. She's a strong heroine to follow through the series. She has really grown and evolved through the three books, and throw her into a daring situation and she is not afraid to do what needs to be done.

The strong action scenes, mixed in with teen angst and a hint of romance makes this story a thrilling page-turner with lots of twists and turns. 

I thoroughly enjoyed Emily's Heart, and would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a good apocalyptic action.

 About the Author
Natalie Wright

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Natalie is the author of The Akasha Chronicles, a young adult paranormal fantasy trilogy. When not
writing, blogging, Facebooking, Tweeting, Wattpadding or eating chocolate, Natalie nurtures her young daughter, plays with her two young cats, and feeds her dog too many treats.

Natalie enjoys walking in the high desert, snorkeling in warm waters, travel, and excellent food shared with family and friends. She was raised an Ohio farm girl, now lives in the desert Southwest, and dreams of living in a big city high rise.

Natalie enjoys chatting with readers, so stop by and say hi:


***GIVEAWAY***
$20 Amazon gift card + winner’s choice of ebook or audiobook of Emily’s Trial (book 2)


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RULES AND RESTRICTIONS: 
Contest is void where prohibited. Entrants must be 13 or else have parent or guardian’s permission to enter. Winners will be notified via email and will have 48 hours to respond  or another winner’s name will be selected. Winning entries will be verified for authenticity.

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Sanctuary book tour

http://www.yaboundbooktours.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/blog-tour-sign-up-sanctuary-by-pauline.html

Today I'm proud to be a part of the 'Sanctuary tour', hosted by YA Bound. You can view the rest of the tour spots by clicking on the banner above. 

Sanctuary
by Pauline Creeden
Release Date: 09/10/13

Summary from Goodreads:


In a heart-racing thriller described as Falling Skies meets The Walking Dead, Jennie struggles to find a safe place for what’s left of her family. But it seems as though there is no place sacred, no place secure. First the aliens attacked the sun, making it dimmer, weaker, and half what it used to be.

Then they attacked the water supply, killing one-third of Earth’s population with a bitter contaminate. And when they unleash a new terror on humankind, the victims will wish for death, but will not find it…When the world shatters to pieces around her, will Jennie find the strength she needs to keep going?


Buy Links:



http://www.bookdepository.com/Sanctuary-Pauline-Creeden/9781491072066 
 
My Review

Sanctuary was definitely not the kind of story I expected when I first picked it up, but I certainly wasn't disappointed. It starts with the world still anxiously waiting to see what's going to happen six weeks after aliens invaded Earth, still hovering in their space crafts without causing much harm except for contaminating the water supply. Everyone's waiting for that devastating moment to happen, and when it does, it's a roller coaster ride of action and suspense (mixed in with horror from alien creatures and zombies) as the three characters the novel follows (Hugh, a teacher, Jennie, the main girl and Brad, Hugh's brother) fight to survive.

I liked how Creeden used multiple perspectives to show the reader different angles of the story, and add another element to the character. All characters added an interesting slant to the story, and even though Brad was my least favourite, and sometimes I had to wonder about his purpose in the story, it was no less enjoyable reading. 

Sanctuary is a fast and chilling read, with plenty of twists and turns, I definitely didn't want to put it down until I was finished. Blending elements of sci-fiction, horror, thriller with a little bit of romance, and I would definitely recommend this to any fan of zombies or post-apocalyptic stories.

 About the Author
Pauline Creeden

In simple language, Pauline Creeden creates worlds that are both familiar and strange, often pulling
the veil between dimensions. She becomes the main character in each of her stories, and because she has ADD, she will get bored if she pretends to be one person for too long.

Pauline is a horse trainer from Virginia, but writing is her therapy.

Armored Hearts, her joint effort with author Melissa Turner Lee, has been a #1 Bestseller in Christian Fantasy and been awarded the Crowned Heart for Excellence by InDtale Magazine. Her debut novel, Sanctuary is scheduled for release September 30, 2013, and has already been nominated for two awards in YA Science Fiction.

One of Pauline's short stories has won the CCW Short Story contest. Other short stories have been published in Fear & Trembling Magazine, Obsidian River and Avenir Eclectia. An urban fantasy short will appear in The Book of Sylvari: An Anthology of Elves from Port Yonder Press, and a vampire short will appear in Monsters! from Diminished Media Group.

Author Links:

***GIVEAWAY***
$25 Amazon gift card (INT)

a Rafflecopter giveaway



 RULES AND RESTRICTIONS: 
Contest is void where prohibited. Entrants must be 13 or else have parent or guardian’s permission to enter. Winners will be notified via email and will have 48 hours to respond  or another winner’s name will be selected. Winning entries will be verified for authenticity.
 
 
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