Archive for Giveaways

 

 

 

I recently finished reading LOVE IS DARKNESS by Caroline Hanson and really enjoyed the relationship between its heroine, the snarky Valerie Dearborn, and her dark and mysterious vampire…blackmailer?  It’s sexy and dysfunctional and intriguing all at the same time.  I jumped at the chance to ask Caroline some questions about the book and series as part of her Bewitching Book Tour.

 

  

 

Please welcome Caroline to the blog as she discusses the first book in her Valerie Dearborn series,

LOVE IS DARKNESS.

 

***

 

1.  For those who haven’t yet read LOVE IS DARKNESS, can you tell us a bit about the story and the Valerie Dearborn series as a whole? 

I’d love to! My goal was for Valerie to be relatable. I had read a lot of urban fantasy where the heroines were always brave and willing to die and that didn’t seem to bother them. To me that didn’t make any sense because I wouldn’t react that way. If a vampire threatened me I’d be terrified and probably wet myself. I’d own stock in Depends if vamps were real.

Anyway,  Val is a normal girl who is expected to join the family business of hunting vampires. She has no desire to do that and leaves for graduate school which pisses off her father and the guy she’s been in love with for years. That’s when Lucas shows up. He’s hot, afraid of the sun and emotionally unavailable.

He also blackmails her and tells her he’ll kill her family if she doesn’t help him. She gets drawn into vampire politics and learns that she has a little bit of her own supernatural ability. She’s part empath which means that if a vampire drinks her blood he’ll feel emotions. Empaths scared the crap out of vampires and Lucas spent centuries killing them all. He’s drawn to her because he hasn’t felt anything in a very long time and yet he’s also enough of a realist to know that the best thing to do would be to kill her.

I wanted him to have a weakness because he is the King of all vamps and basically indestructible. She’s his weakness. There’s action, sex and swearing. It was the book I was waiting to read having exhausted all the vampire books.

 

2.  Do you already know the arc of the series?  How many books are planned or are you keeping it open?

Ugh. I had hoped I was done with the main series after completing the trilogy, but it’s no longer looking that way. There will be another book and from what little of it I have written, I think the fans are gonna be happy.

 

3.  What was your inspiration for the world and what came first – the world or the characters?

The initial idea was Lucas as the vampire villain and he had Valerie and Jack in a dungeon. The story that emerged had absolutely nothing to do with that scenario, but that was the image I saw first.

 

4.  I loved Lucas.  Hot, cold, mysterious, dangerous and hard to trust in a very real way.  What do you think are the ingredients for a strong vampire-hero-love interest and why does Lucas stand apart from the pack?

That’s a great question! I like my vampires Anne Rice style. Smart, ruthless, worldly, maybe even wise but amoral. They’re not heroes or good. Whenever someone has to die so that they can live, that has ethical murkiness. I love that. They’re monsters but deep and tortured. I love exploring that.  

 

5.  Roanoke.  This really intrigued me.  How did you come to the idea of including the lost colony in your storyline and will it play a larger role in the next books?

I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of the Lost Colony and it just made sense in my mind. It’s one of those weird things where my brain sorted it out and I was just kind of taken by surprise. Oh yes, we see more of Roanoke.

 

6.  Who would be in your dream cast for the Valerie Dearborn TV series or feature film?

The tricky character for me is Valerie. For Marion I’d love Florence Welch. Lucas would be Nikolaj Coster-Waldau from Game of Thrones (Jamie Lannister) That’s all I got. The fans keep suggesting Chris Hemsworth. Obviously, I wouldn’t kick him off the casting couch if you know what I mean

 

7.  LOVE IS DARKNESS is your first published full-length novel.  How long did it take to write from conception to publication and what did it feel like to finally let your baby out into the world?

That book took me about a year. I wasn’t working but my kids were in school and it became a full-time job. I gave up hobbies and anything else I could to work on it. When I finished Love is Darkness publishers were no longer buying vampire books. It sucked. So I self published it. I’ve sold about a hundred thousand copies now, so it’s been a great experience.

 

8.  How did a California girl find herself in London and what about the city made you want to set Valerie’s story in it?

This might be shallow but I loved English music and wanted to move there so I could dance and meet Englishmen. Valerie’s story is about figuring herself out and learning what’s important in life and to her. What, if anything, is actually worth dying for. I think I started to figure myself out when I was in London so it just made sense. I also love history and London has so much of it that it was a great setting.

 

9.  What’s the last book you read that you would recommend to a friend?

I’m a big fan of the cliffhanger. They make me miserable and angry but it also means that something super-exciting is happening. I just finished SE Pacat’s Captive Prince and was smiling when I read the last page. That was a hell of a cliffhanger.

 

10.  I’m a big fan of Game of Thrones where every family has a motto – the Starks have “Winter is coming” and the Lannisters have “Hear me roar!”  What is the Caroline Hanson motto?

I thought the Lannister’s was ‘Lannister’s always pay their debts.’ J I’m a huge GOT fan too! Can I steal  ‘the night is dark and full of terrors?’ If I have to come up with my own it’d probably be something like, ‘Never out of the woods.’  Neither characters nor authors should ever be complacent, there’s always something around the corner and the goal of every author has to be to put their soul on the page and just keep running.

 

GIVEAWAY 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

***

 

Book Information

 

AMAZON | B&N | BOOK DEPOSITORY 

 

 

GOODREADS SUMMARY:

Valerie Dearborn wants a cotton candy life, but it’s more like a puffer fish: pointy, unusual, and—if not prepared exactly right—deadly.

In London for graduate school, Val knows she’s finally free. Her father and ex-almost-boyfriend are back in California and she’s out of the Vampire hunting biz for good. Or is she?

She draws the attention of Lucas, a 1600 year old Vampire, and King to his kind. He’s also wicked hot. As golden as Lucifer, and just as tempting, he makes Valerie an offer she can’t refuse— help him find out if the Others (Empaths, Fey and Werewolves) still exist or he’ll stop protecting those she loves.

Lucas tells her that Empaths were a Vampire’s biggest weakness before going extinct hundreds of years ago. While the Fey or a Werewolf might kill a Vampire, an Empath could enslave them, seducing or harming with emotions at will. The one detail he leaves out? Valerie is an Empath.

And after 1600 years of an emotionless existence, Lucas wants Valerie like a recovering alcoholic wants a wine cooler.

Can she keep those she loves alive, stop Lucas from munching on her, survive a fanged revolution and still find a way to have that boring, normal life she’s always wanted? Probably not, but boy is she gonna try! 

 

 

 

• Tags: Caroline Hanson, Giveaway, Love is Darkness, Valerie Dearborn•

 

 

The Artist’s Den is a new feature here at SWR where I showcase something I’m obsessed about – fantasy art.  Though I’m no expert, I truly appreciate the beauty, originality, and pure creativity of this genre of art. 

This feature is inspired by my previous posts under the SHELF CANDY meme which was hosted by the wonderful Maria at A Night’s Dream of Books.  I loved doing interviews with cover artists under that meme but found that I often wanted to feature the work of artists who had not done traditional covers but still did work related to fantasy and science fiction.  I plan to feature an artist at least twice a month and, while I realize this is not always going to be book related, I do hope you enjoy these posts as much as I do.

 

Please note that all images are subject to copyright protection and are property of today’s featured artist – Julie Dillon.

 

*** 

To kick off this new feature, I’d like to welcome the Hugo nominated artist JULIE DILLON to the blog.  Julie has done incredible work for the Tor.com online series of shorts and for science fiction magazines such as Apex.  Recent projects include new covers for the reissue of the Darkness is Rising Sequence from Simon and Schuster and the 2014 Llewellyn Astrological Calendar.  Her work is full of energy, vibrant color, and interesting compositions; Dillon’s compelling images always make me want to know the narrative that inspired them.

Please welcome Julie to the blog as she discusses her process and her influences.  And stick around for the giveaway at the end of the interview!

 

 

1.  When did you know you wanted to be an artist?  Is there an experience that stands out as being a defining moment for you as an artist?

There wasn’t any one particular moment. I’ve always been drawing off and on for most of my life, but I had other interests as well, and it took me a lot time and a lot of soul searching to figure out what it was I wanted to do. For a while I thought I was going to be a computer science major, but that didn’t work out; I then tried technical theater, but that didn’t work either. Each time I kept coming back to art, because I could make a little side money doing private commissions for people. Eventually I decided I’d give art a real try, and I started training and working harder at it. But even after taking classes and eventually getting pro work, I still doubted myself and still wondered if I’d made the right choice. It’s hard to support yourself as a freelance artist, especially when starting out, and there were several times I almost gave up. Even after winning a few awards, I still have a lot of self doubt and have trouble calling myself an artist sometimes. I’m doing okay for the moment and starting to feel like I might have a chance at an okay career, but there definitely has not been any one defining moment that clarified things; just lots of hard work that hasn’t ended in complete failure (yet) X) 

 

 

 

 

GIVEAWAY

 

To purchase prints of Julie’s work, please check out her store here.  And now for the giveaway…one 8×10 print of one of my favorites – Planetary Alignment. 

Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below!

• Tags: Artist's Den, Fantasy Art, Julie Dillon•

 

 

Alicia Wright Brewster’s new book ECHO just released on April 25th.  Take a moment to read an excerpt from the book and then enter for a chance to win a copy!  The world-building sounds original and complex.  Can’t wait to read this one! 

 

 

ECHO EXCERPT

 

Muscles I’d never noticed before screamed at me as I slid into the transport next to Rey. The suns had set a few minutes earlier. Loken had dismissed us to spend the short darkness hours with our families.

Elis objected to not training all night. Ashara needs it, he’d said. But Loken insisted all of us needed sleep and time to unwind if we were to perform at our best.

I was really beginning to dislike Elis.

Rey flashed me his trademark lopsided grin. “So how was your first day as an Ethereal?”

I considered flinging an ether ball at his smug face. Sadly, I had no idea how to do that. So instead, I leaned back into the vehicle cushion. The leather sighed as it accepted my weight. “I’m the worst Ethereal ever.” The exhaustion that had chased me most of the day finally caught up. I let my eyes drift shut.

“But you are an Ethereal?” Excitement rang in his voice.

“That’s what they tell me.”

The smooth motion of the vehicle lulled me into something that resembled relaxation. It was hard to be completely at ease with my comm pressed against my waist. Its countdown clock ticked closer and closer to the end with each second that passed.

Rey shook me so hard I thought my brain would smash into my skull.

“What?” My eyes flew open and I shoved him away.

“Why aren’t you excited about this?”

“It’s not that I’m not excited.” I yawned and stretched my arms. The yawn went on longer than expected, and Rey stared at me with raised brows as he waited.

“Are you done?”

“Maybe. It’s just that I’m more tired than I am excited. Did you know you have to channel your own energy into elemental manipulations?”

He gave me a blank expression.

“Right, of course. You knew that. You’ve been a practitioner most of your life.” My gaze scanned up and down his body; his excited expression, the nervous drumming of his fingertips against the armrest. “How come you’re not exhausted?”

“You get used to it.”

 

***

 

 

BOOK INFORMATION

 

 

TITLE: Echo
AUTHOR:  Alicia Wright Brewster
PUBLISHER:  Dragonfairy Press
PUBLICATION DATE:  April 25, 2013
ISBN:  0985023023  
PURCHASE BOOK: 

Amazon | B & N | IndieBound 

GOODREADS SUMMARY: 

The countdown clock reads ten days until the end of the world. The citizens are organized. Everyone’s been notified and assigned a duty. The problem is . . . no one knows for sure how it will end.

Energy-hungry Mages are the most likely culprit. They travel toward a single location from every corner of the continent. Fueled by the two suns, each Mage holds the power of an element: air, earth, fire, metal, water, or ether. They harness their powers to draw energy from the most readily available resource: humans.

Ashara has been assigned to the Ethereal task force, made up of human ether manipulators and directed by Loken, a young man with whom she has a complicated past. Loken and Ashara bond over a common goal: to stop the Mages from occupying their home and gaining more energy than they can contain. But soon, they begin to suspect that the future of the world may depend on Ashara’s death. 

 

• Tags: Alicia Wright Brewster, Echo, Giveaway•

 

 

I love steampunk and can’t wait to dig into A.W. Exley’s new release, NEFERTITI’S HEART.  Please welcome A.W. to the blog as she discusses gadgets and steampunk!  

 

 

 

Steampunk – The Victorian Science Fiction

by

A.W. Exley

 

I’m going to talk to you today about steampunk. Let’s start with the basics, what the heck is it? Think of steampunk as Victorian science fiction. There are no laser weapons, Terminator type cyborgs or spaceships. The science fiction components can be mechanical, steam powered or even clockwork. Flying in the skies are airships, like hot air balloons on crack. Feisty heroines in steampunk novels are most definitely NOT well behaved Victorian ladies. They have a tendency to hide weapons about their corsets and can deliver either a verbal lashing or land a well-aimed punch, depending on the situation.

 

 

One of the most common questions I get asked, is why steampunk? What do I find so appealing about the genre? For me, I love the alternate history aspect of steampunk. I get to ask myself “what if?” questions and play with history. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good epic sword wielding fantasy, but there’s something about having the freedom to mess with the past, create gadgets and set mayhem loose on uptight Victorians.

For me, one of the hardest things about writing a steampunk novel is the gadgets. I find them really difficult, because they have to have a purpose, a reason for being there and they must be feasible. My brain needs to know how they work. I spent ages figuring out how to wire Cara’s family home with electric lights in 1861 (did you know the incandescent light bulb was invented in 1835?). Now I’m not saying I sat down and drew schematics, but I researched what inventions were around at the time, and figured out a possible way to make it happen.

If you were going to create a gadget, what would it be?

 

 

***

 

 

BOOK INFORMATION

 

 

TITLE: Nefertiti’s Heart
AUTHOR:  A.W. Exley
PUBLISHER:  Curiosity Quills Press
PUBLICATION DATE:  Feb 14, 2013
ISBN:  9781620071786  
PURCHASE BOOK: 

Amazon | B & N

BOOK DESCRIPTION: 

 

Cara Devon has always suffered curiosity and impetuousness, but tangling with a serial killer might cure that. Permanently.

London, 1861. Impoverished noble Cara has a simple mission after the strange death of her father – sell off his damned collection of priceless artifacts. Her plan goes awry when aristocratic beauties start dying of broken hearts, an eight inch long brass key hammered through their chests. A killer hunts amongst the nobility, searching for a regal beauty and an ancient Egyptian relic rumored to hold the key to immortality.

Her Majesty’s Enforcers are in pursuit of the murderer and they see a connection between the gruesome deaths and Cara. So does she, somewhere in London her father hid Nefertiti’s Heart, a fist sized diamond with strange mechanical workings. Adding further complication to her life, notorious crime lord, Viscount Nathaniel Lyons is relentless in his desire to lay his hands on Cara and the priceless artifact. If only she could figure out his motive.

Self-preservation fuels Cara’s search for the gem. In a society where everyone wears a mask to hide their true intent, she needs to figure out who to trust, before she makes a fatal mistake.

• Tags: A.W. Exley, Giveaway, Nefertiti's Heart, steampunk•

 

 

As a big Jane Yellowrock fan, I’m excited to participate in the BLOOD TRADE Blog Tour. This is the sixth book in the Yellowrock series by the wonderful Faith Hunter.  The series is one of my auto-buys and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in strong and complex female characters, dynamic world-building, and exciting action.  I love Jane Yellowrock as a heroine.  She continues to grow over the course of the series; she’s flawed and complex with a unique relationship to her other half – Beast – the mountain lion who inhabits are part of her and into whose form she can shift.  This is great series.  Take a look at the excerpt below and don’t forget to enter the giveaway!   

 

 

 

 BLOOD TRADE EXCERPT

 

 

“I’m depressed,” I murmured into the wind, trying the words on for size. Yeah. Depressed. I felt a shadow lift off me just admitting it to myself.

 

I knew why I was depressed. I’d screwed up so bad, so often, in the past year that I’d lost friends, lovers, and, well, that was enough. Wasn’t it? Now that I knew what was wrong, I could do something about it. If I could figure out what to do. This moodiness was uncharted territory.

 

Letting that thought simmer on the back burner of my mind, I wended my way through the city, heading uptown, which meant upriver, as everything in New Orleans was about the Mississippi River—uptown was upstream; downtown was downstream (something new I’d learned about the city that was my temporary home). I needed to cross the river, and though I could have taken the newer Crescent City Connection, part of I-90, I took the older, narrow, dangerous, two-lane hell of the Huey P. Long Bridge. I liked the old bridge, maybe because it was so dangerous; it had character, like an old noir film, a bridge leading out of the Land of Shangri-La.

 

On the other side of the Mississippi, I headed through Westwego and then vaguely west, like the town’s name suggested. Unsurprisingly, I found myself headed to Aggie One Feather’s place, adjacent to the John Lafitte Preserve, a wilderness area where the Cherokee elder who was my personal shaman—and probably my personal counselor too, now that I knew my emotional state—lived. But I could tell that she was still out of town. No car in the drive, shades pulled, no smell on the still air of coffee or bacon cooking, and the sweathouse out back had no smoke seeping from the chimney.

 

I slowed to a stop and set my boot soles on the shell-based asphalt, thinking about going into the sweathouse by myself, but I’d had some difficult experiences going it alone in there and wasn’t ready to try that again, even with the depression to motivate me. Even though I had some really heavy stuff to deal with. And so did my Beast.

 

 

***

 

 

BOOK INFORMATION

 

 

TITLE: Blood Trade Jane (Yellowrock #6)
AUTHOR:  Faith Hunter
PUBLISHER:  Roc
PUBLICATION DATE:  April 2, 2013
ISBN:  0451465067  
PURCHASE BOOK: 

Amazon | B & N | Book Depository 

GOODREADS SUMMARY: 

Jane Yellowrock is a shape-shifting skinwalker who’s always up for a fight—even if it means putting her life on the line… 

The Master of Natchez, Mississippi has a nasty problem on his hands. Rogue vampires—those who follow the Naturaleza and believe that humans should be nothing more than prey to be hunted—are terrorizing his city. Luckily, he knows the perfect skinwalker to call in to take back the streets. 

But what he doesn’t tell Jane is that there’s something different about these vamps. Something that makes them harder to kill—even for a pro like Jane. Now, her simple job has turned into a fight to stay alive…and to protect the desperately ill child left in her care. 

• Tags: Blood Trade, Faith Hunter, Giveaway, Jane Yellowrock, Urban Fantasy•

 

 

Today, I’m pleased to hand the blog over to author Jennifer Harlow.  I just read her book, WHAT’S A WITCH TO DO? (review here) and really enjoyed her smart, funny, and refreshingly normal heroine, Mona McGregor, who also happens to be one of the most powerful witches in the world.  Please welcome Jennifer to the blog as she discusses witchcraft and how it inspired her to write this book!

 

 

 

 

It’s Witchcraft

by

Jennifer Harlow

 

“Write what you know.” Besides, “Just keep writing,” the later is the most common piece of advice given to aspiring novelists.  It makes sense but what if you wish to write of goblins or vampires? I don’t know about you, but I’ve never made the acquaintance of either. I have no magical powers besides the ability to keep fish alive for years and the perfect witty comeback for any occasion yet I write about a woman who can move matter with her mind. I had to use my “powers” of imagination, empathy, and common sense to tell her tale (To see if I succeeded, read Mind Over Monsters and To Catch A Vampire, and you be the judge.) For my latest, What’s A Witch To Do? about, you guessed it, witches, I had far less need of my “powers” because…wait for it…I was once a witch. For a week. Oh, and I have witches on both sides of my family. So witches, I know them. Kind of a family tradition.

 

I didn’t know about this magical family tradition until I was immersed in my own witchy ways while in middle school. Like quite a few impressionable young adult girls, I went to see the now cult classic The Craft about four teenage girls who became witches and attempted to kill each other. I walked out of the theater and straight to the bookstore to buy as many spell books as I could find. (They had two.) For a week after, I attempted multiple spells ranging from getting this girl to stop hating me at school to a love spell. Not a damn one worked. So out went spell books and in went…I think my next phase was serial killers. I never had a My Little Pony phase.

 

Anyway, during my unsuccessful dabbling my father informed me that my Great-Grandmother Honey on my father’s side was a witch. A real live, had a coven and performed rituals Wiccan. I was gobsmacked. I remembered her as a tiny, gray haired old woman who smelled of lavender and liked to knit. And this was in the 1970s and 80s before everyone became massively P.C. (or just hide it better.) It was simply not done. The fact she was a true witch stayed with me for years, as did the “Rule of Three,” where every cruelty you do is given back to you three times over. I live by that rule just as much as the Christian Golden Rule of “Do unto others.” (Yet a few times when I told my Christian friends about my grandmother I was told Wiccans were evil, that they worshiped the devil. Go figure.) Then, a few years ago, I learned my aunt on my mother’s side is a Wiccan too. She hadn’t told anyone except my mother about it in fear of how my grandfather and uncle would react. From speaking to my family, and my own research, I learned that Wiccans are about as evil as kittens, that they worship nature and energy. Evil doesn’t factor into it. So when in college there was a class called, “The History of Witchcraft” I signed right up. There I learned not only about further Wiccan traditions like the Sabbaths and what herbs and colors symbolize, I also learned that “witches” were often burnt at the stake or drowned just on the basis that they someone accused them of it or they were old and unfertile. It was cringe worthy what happened to those women and few men, worse than what any serial killer has ever put his victim through. All because these people were viewed different. Other. Freaks. And I know something about F.R.E.A.K.S.

 

The idea of writing a book with a witch as the main focus has been stewing for years. To me witches are earth mothers, invoking nature to help others and themselves like regular mothers do. If werewolves represent the masculine side of the supernatural, then witches are the feminine. If vampires represent death then witches are life. You need both. That’s just nature. My main character Mona McGregor is the High Priestess of the largest coven in America. She can control earth, air, fire, water and is the physical embodiment of the fifth, the aether or spirit all living things possess. She is a surrogate mother, a fighter, a lover, and capable leader. I’ve been asked what I want people to take away from this book. First and foremost I want people to be entertained, but if one person changes their mind about my family’s traditions, I will be a happy non-witch indeed. 

 

***

 

 

BOOK INFORMATION

 

 

TITLE: What’s a Witch to Do?
AUTHOR:  Jennifer Harlow
PUBLISHER:  Midnight Ink
PUBLICATION DATE:  March 8, 2013
ISBN:  0738735140  
PURCHASE BOOK: 

Amazon | B & N | Indiebound 

GOODREADS SUMMARY: 

A suspenseful brew with a dash of passion

High Priestess might sound like an ’80s hair band, but its Mona McGregor’s life. She runs the Midnight Magic shop in Goodnight, Virginia, and leads a large coven. She’s also raising two nieces and hasn’t been with a man for fifteen years…until a handsome doctor takes an interest in her. But Mona’s life really heats up when Adam Blue, a sexy werewolf, arrives at her door. Adam informs her that someone wants her dead and he is there to protect her. Hell’s bells! When a demon begins stalking her, Mona has to suspect her coven members, and even her family.

With two handsome men and a determined demon after her, Mona teams up with Adam to find out who really wants her dead . . . and who really wants her.

 

• Tags: Jennifer Harlow, What's a Witch to Do?•

 

 

 

 

TITLE: What’s a Witch to Do?
AUTHOR:  Jennifer Harlow
PUBLISHER:  Midnight Ink
PUBLICATION DATE:  March 8, 2013
ISBN:  0738735140  
PURCHASE BOOK: 

Amazon | B & N | Indiebound 

GOODREADS SUMMARY: 

A suspenseful brew with a dash of passion

High Priestess might sound like an ’80s hair band, but its Mona McGregor’s life. She runs the Midnight Magic shop in Goodnight, Virginia, and leads a large coven. She’s also raising two nieces and hasn’t been with a man for fifteen years…until a handsome doctor takes an interest in her. But Mona’s life really heats up when Adam Blue, a sexy werewolf, arrives at her door. Adam informs her that someone wants her dead and he is there to protect her. Hell’s bells! When a demon begins stalking her, Mona has to suspect her coven members, and even her family.

With two handsome men and a determined demon after her, Mona teams up with Adam to find out who really wants her dead . . . and who really wants her.

 

**A review copy of this book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.**  

• Tags: Jennifer Harlow, What's a Witch to Do?•

 

One of my favorite new series is the Weird Girls by Cecy Robson.  The first book in the series, SEALED WITH A CURSE, was action-packed, funny, and romantic.  It featured four unique sisters with an unbreakable bond and kickass abilities.  To say I’m looking forward to its follow-up would be an understatement.  So I’m truly excited to present the cover for the next book in the series, A CURSED EMBRACE, which releases on July 2, 2013.  If you haven’t started this series, please do so.  You won’t be disappointed.

 

OFFICIAL BLURB:

Celia Wird and her three sisters are just like other twentysomething girls—with one tiny exception: They are the products of a curse that backfired and gave each of them unique powers that made them, well, a little weird.…

After Celia Wird and her sisters help master vampire Misha save his family, their powers are exposed to the supernatural community of the Lake Tahoe region. But fame comes at a price, and being “weird” isn’t always welcome.
 
To make matters worse, Celia desires the love of Alpha werewolf Aric, but his pack is bent on destroying their relationship to preserve his pureblood status. And once weres start turning up dead—with evidence pointing to the vampires—she must face the prospect of losing Aric forever. But the chaos only masks a new threat. An evil known as the Tribe has risen—and their sights are set on Celia and her sisters.

 

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | iTUNES

 

 

GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

• Tags: A Cursed Embrace, Cecy Robson, Cover Reveal, Giveaway, Sealed with a Curse, The Weird Girls•

First, I’d like to thank the lovely ladies at Talk Supe for organizing and hosting this very cool New Adult Blog Hop!  If you haven’t already done so, please stop by their blog and see what other good stuff they have going on.

 ***

I’ve chosen Jes Young’s Princess of Twilight and Dawn series to give away today!  Its heroine, Tab Bennett, is 25 years old.  Yes, she’s on the cusp of the age range that defines this genre so I might be pushing it, but I think it’s her character growth that really makes these books perfect for the hop.  

Tab has to learn some hard truths about who she is and what she’s destined to become.  Over the course of these two books, we see Tab go from sheltered to independent; powerless to empowered.  She’s also a smart ass which makes her lots of fun to read.  Of course, this wouldn’t be a giveaway at She-Wolf Reads if the stories didn’t have some supernatural/paranormal/fantastical aspect to them and these books certainly do.

The Princess of Twilight and Dawn series is only available for Kindle so I’m giving away one Kindle copy each of TAB BENNETT & THE INBETWEEN (Book #1) and THE UNDERNEATH (Book #2) – you can read my reviews here and here!

 

 

  &

 

 

Please enter the Rafflecopter widget below for your chance to win and

don’t forget to stop by the other blogs participating in the hop!

 

 

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• Tags: Crazy Stupid Love New Adult Giveaway Hop, Jes Young, New Adult, Tab Bennett and the Inbetween, Talk Supe, Underneath•

 

She-Wolf Reads is very excited to be participating in Chloe Neill’s HOUSE RULES Blog Tour!  This is one of my auto-buy UF series so it’s a special treat for me to be a part of this tour.  I recently read HOUSE RULES and loved it (read my review here) and I can’t wait to see what’s up next for Merit and the rest of Chicago’s supernaturals.

 

As part of the tour, Chloe created special images of her favorite quotes from the series.  Here’s the exclusive quote for She-Wolf Reads!

 

 

Is that not a perfect quote for this blog?  One, I love shifters.  Two, read HOUSE RULES and Jeff Christopher’s shifter animal will finally be revealed to you.  And it’s pretty damn cool.

 

 

TITLE: House Rules
SERIES:  Chicagoland Vampires #7
AUTHOR:  Chloe Neill
PUBLISHER:  NAL
PUBLICATION DATE:  Feb 5, 2013
ISBN:  0451237102
PURCHASE BOOK: 

Amazon | B & N | Book Depository |  

Books-A-Million, IndieBound

GOODREADS SUMMARY: 

At the tender age of 27, Merit became a sword-wielding vampire. Since then, she’s become the protector of her House, watched Chicago nearly burn to the ground, and seen her Master fall and rise. Now she’ll see her mettle—and her metal—tested like never before.

It started with two . . . Two rogues vanishing without a trace. Someone is targeting Chicago’s vampires, and anyone could be next. With their house in peril, Merit and her Master, the centuries old Ethan Sullivan, must race to stop the disappearances. But as they untangle a web of secret alliances and ancient evils, they realize their foe is more familiar, and more powerful, than they could have ever imagined.

 

• Tags: Chicagoland Vampires, Chloe Neill, House Rules, Urban Fantasy•

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