Friday, April 8, 2016

Wrecked by Elle Casey - Excerpt & Giveaway



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Wrecked 
Wrecked, #1


Elle Casey

Publication date: January 1st 2012
Genres: Adventure, Romance, Young Adult

NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR, ELLE CASEY, brings readers the High Seas and High Adventure novel WRECKED.
If you liked The Breakfast Club and The Swiss Family Robinson, you’ll love WRECKED!
An ill-fated Caribbean cruise and four teenagers: a nerd, a jock, a mouse, and a beauty queen…an island, a treehouse, some nefarious interlopers…life and death…fear and loathing…love and laughter.
Follow Jonathan, Kevin, Candi and Sarah as they find their typical high school lives and their worlds totally WRECKED.

Content Warning: Contains some foul language and non-explicit sex scenes between older teens. May not be appropriate for younger, middle-grade teens.



EXCERPT:

“I can’t believe you roped us into this stupid cruise,” Sarah said in a tone of voice that clearly carried her frustration with parents who never appreciated her very important social calendar. She stood in the middle of her parents’ bedroom with her hands on her hips, chin stuck out for emphasis.

“Sarah, we don’t want to hear another word about this. You’re going, and that’s final. Now go pack your bag.” Sarah’s father turned his back on her to walk into his large bedroom closet. She lost sight of him as he turned the corner. The closet, trimmed entirely in dark cedar, was larger than many of her friends’ bedrooms.

Sarah’s mom stepped over and took Sarah’s hands in hers. “I’m sorry, sweetie, but your father is right. We’re all going, and you can’t stay behind. It’s important for your dad’s business that we all be there. But don’t look so glum – it’s going to be fun!”

Sarah knew her mother was trying to sell her on the idea by using her especially chipper, upbeat voice. The annoying one. She rolled her eyes and pulled her hands away. “Oh, please. Like being stuck out in the middle of the ocean with you guys and those loser Buckley kids could ever possibly be fun. Not in a million years, Mom. I’m not in the damn chess club, you know.” The thought of being on a cruise with the two Buckley nerds was too much. Sarah had a boyfriend and a convertible, neither of which was going on this cruise. What was so difficult for her parents to understand?

Sarah’s mom sighed and walked over to the dresser without responding, putting her fingers up to her temples to massage them. Confrontation wasn’t her strong suit, and Sarah used this to her advantage as often as possible.

Sarah’s father, on the other hand, wasn’t one bit shy about going head-to-head. He stepped out of the closet carrying an armload of things for his suitcase. Without even sparing her a glance he said,

“Don’t talk to your mother that way, Sarah. Just go pack.”

“But … ”

“Not another word, or you’re going to be very sorry.” He caught her eye, giving her one of his famous warning looks.

Sarah knew what that meant. Either he was going to take away the keys to her car and turn her into a social castaway or forbid her from seeing her boyfriend Barry.

“Fine!”

She turned and stormed from the room in a huff. She tried to stomp her feet for emphasis, but they didn’t make a sound on the heavily padded, ultra thick carpeting. It was very unsatisfying.

On her way down the hall she stopped off at her twin brother’s room and leaned in the doorway. Her eyes scanned the sports posters on the wall, the thirty or so perfectly arranged trophies on the shelves, and the small modern metal and glass desk with a computer sitting on it. He was always so neat with his stuff. “Kev, can you believe this crap? It’s total B.S., right?”

Sarah’s brother Kevin was packing a duffle bag he used for rugby. She watched him move back and forth, grabbing things from different places. He always looked so at ease with himself. His muscled arms and back showed how hard he worked out so he could excel at his favorite sport. He was like most rugby players – he laughed at football players because they had to wear pads and helmets. Rugby players had to worry every game about broken bones and ears being bitten off, or so he said.
He continued to open drawers, pulling out wads of clothes and shoving them into his bag as he responded. “Whatever. I’m gonna go to the all-you-can-eat buffets and put them out of business. Then I’m gonna drink beer until I puke. Then we come home. No big deal.” He didn’t bother looking up.

Sarah snorted in disgust, a look on her face as if she’d smelled something bad. “Is that all you ever worry about? Food and beer?”

“What else is there to worry about?” he asked, dead serious.

“What about Gretchen? She’s not going to be there.”

“But there will be other girls, and Gretchen isn’t the only fish in the sea.” He sniggered at his own poor cruise joke.

“I’ll bet she wouldn’t be so thrilled to hear you say that.”

He looked up at his sister to fix her with his threatening look. “She’s not going to hear anyone say that, or else.”

He sounded just like their dad. Sarah was sick of being threatened, but she knew that Kevin meant either he would share one of her secrets or he’d tackle her and mess up her hair – totally not worth it.
Gretchen probably had no clue that her brother was just using her like he did all the girls before her. The only thing he really cared about was rugby – and food and beer, of course. When he went to rugby parties, there was always beer there, provided courtesy of the older alumni of the team who still came to watch matches and party afterwards.

Sarah continued, “Whatever. I’m not going on this cruise and pretending like I’m having fun. We’re gonna be stuck with those Buckley idiots the entire time, I just know it.”

She paused in her ranting to carefully admire her latest manicure. Her nails were a rosy pink with white tips – flawless. Her skin was already very carefully bronzed to match her summer outfits. Her hair was expertly highlighted. All of it was going to be wasted on this stupid business cruise.

Kevin paused in his packing to spare her a glance. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll ditch ‘em as soon as Mom and Dad aren’t around, and I’ll make sure they keep it to themselves and don’t rat us out.”

Sarah stood up straight and took a step into the bedroom. “Ooh, are you going to threaten them? That should be entertaining.”

“No, I’m not going to threaten the twerp or his sister. I’m just going to explain to them that they’ll have much more fun doing things with other kids more their speed.” He stopped, pointing a finger at his sister. “And don’t take another step into my room, or I’m gonna tackle your scrawny butt and mess up your hair.”

She gingerly stepped back, knowing her brother wasn’t kidding. Then she continued, “Awesome. That’s one issue out of the way, at least.” Sarah was picturing Jonathan and Candace Buckley, who she saw from time to time at school in the hallways or at lunch. What is it with those people who can’t even look in the mirror and see what they’re wearing, anyway? she thought to herself.

“Consider it done.” Kevin finished packing his duffle bag, zipped it up with one quick, practiced motion, and threw it over his shoulder.

“Sounds like a plan,” said Sarah, holding her hand up for a high five as he came towards the door.
Their hands met with a loud crack. “I’m outta here. Tell Mom I’ll be back before four.”

“Tell her yourself. I have to pack for this disaster.” She pushed off the doorframe, stepped around him, and went into her room across the hall.

“You’re a serious pain in the ass, you know that?” he yelled after her, shutting his door behind him.
She didn’t bother to answer, other than to slam the door in his face as he walked by. She could hear him muttering behind the door, walking down the hallway towards the stairs.

She reached under her bed, pulled out her Louis Vuitton suitcase and carry-on make up case and put them on the bed. She turned towards her huge closet, throwing open the doors. So, what does a girl wear on a cruise from hell? As her eyes landed on the short, black skirt her aunt had bought for her on their last shopping spree, an evil glint came into her eye. Well, this little number for starters…

Her parents were going to be sorry they forced her to go on this stupid trip. She laughed out loud
thinking about her revenge.



Author Bio:
Elle Casey, a former attorney and teacher, is a NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY bestselling American author who lives in Southern France with her husband, three kids, and a number of furry friends. She has written books in several genres and publishes an average of one full-length novel per month.





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Thursday, April 7, 2016

New Release: Artificial by Jadah McCoy




Artificial
by Jadah McCoy
Genre: NA Sci-fi
Release Date: April 4th 2016
Curiosity Quills Press

Summary from Goodreads;

She struggles to feel human.

In 2256, the only remnants of civilization on Earth’s first colonized planet, Kepler, are the plant-covered buildings and the nocturnal, genetically spliced bug-people nesting within them: the Cull. During the day, Syl leaves her home in the sewers beneath Elite City to scavenge for food, but at night the Cull come looking for a meal of their own. Syl thought gene splicing died with the Android War a century ago. She thought the bugs could be exterminated, Elite city rebuilt, and the population replenished. She’s wrong.

Whoever engineered the Cull isn’t done playing God. Syl is abducted and tortured in horrific experiments which result in her own DNA being spliced, slowly turning her into one of the bugs. Now she must find a cure and stop the person responsible before every remaining man, woman, and child on Kepler is transformed into the abomination they fear.

He struggles not to.

For Bastion, being an android in the sex industry isn’t so bad. Clubbing beneath the streets of New Elite by day and seducing the rich by night isn’t an altogether undesirable occupation. But every day a new android cadaver appears in the slum gutters, and each caved in metal skull and heap of mangled wires whittles away at him.

Glitches—androids with empathy—are being murdered, their models discontinued and strung up as a warning. Show emotion, you die. Good thing Bastion can keep a secret, or he would be the next body lining the street.

He can almost live with hiding his emotions. That is, until a girl shows up in the slums—a human girl, who claims she was an experiment. And in New Elite, being a human is even worse than being a Glitch. Now Bastion must help the girl escape before he becomes victim to his too-human emotions, one way or another.



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About the Author

I currently live in Nashville and babysit attorneys for a living. My debut NA sci-fi, Artificial, is forthcoming from Curiosity Quills Press.


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Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Review: Princess of Tyrone by Katie Hamstead + Giveaway



Princess of Tyrone
Fairytale Galaxy #1

Katie Hamstead

Space Opera/Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Curiosity Quills Press
March 31, 2016


Apolline is happy hunting magical creatures on her pirate infested outer-perimeter planet. She is a fantastic shot, and doesn’t flinch at the blood and guts of her kills. Never once did she consider she could be the missing Princess of Tyrone.

All her life, she has heard the story of the Princess, cursed to sleep for eternity, unless her betrothed, the Prince of Oran, gave her true love’s kiss. Although Apolline knows she is betrothed, she thinks her fairy guardians arranged it out of ignorance of human ways. The thought she could be a princess is inconceivable.

Then Allard appears. Handsome, charming—but he’s not hers to have. He’s betrothed, too. Her guardians warn her against her new found friendship, but she and Allard meet in secret anyway. Despite her rough exterior, he sees beyond her gun-slinging bravado, and their love blossoms.


But the deadline for the sleeping curse is approaching. If Apolline falls in love with the wrong person, she could end up sleeping forever.

A quirky, adventurous retelling of Sleeping Beauty, with a less than princess-ly princess!




Review: I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review

Princess of Tyrone is a fun, imaginative Sleeping Beauty retelling with amazing character chemistry and lots of adventure.

Four Reasons You Should Pick Up Princess of Tyrone Right Now!

The Characters-- Apolline and Allard were wonderful both together and apart. Apolline was everything I love in a heroine: smart, sassy, and kickass. The relationship, how it developed, the interactions-- all aces.

The Setting-- Come on-- it's Sleeping Beauty in space. Cool gadgets paired with magical beings. All kinds of cool.

The Plot-- Sleeping Beauty is one of my favorite fairy tales. If you liked Sleeping Beauty but always wanted her a bit more hero and less damsel in distress, then I think you'll really like this retelling.

The Pace-- The story moves at a good clip through its entirety. I appreciate a good pace. So many books slog a bit in the middle, but you won't find that here.


About the Author


Born and raised in Australia, Katie's early years of day dreaming in the "bush", and having her father tell her wild bedtime stories, inspired her passion for writing.
After graduating High School, she became a foreign exchange student where she met a young man who several years later she married. Now she lives in Arizona with her husband, daughter and their dog.
She has a diploma in travel and tourism which helps inspire her writing.
When her debut novel, Kiya: Hope of the Pharaoh, climbed into bestselling status, she believed she was onto something, and now has a slew of novels now available, and is published through Curiosity Quills Press, Soul Mate Publishing, and REUTS Publishing.
Katie loves to out sing her friends and family, play sports, and be a good wife and mother. She now works as an Acquisitions Editor to help support her family. She loves to write, and takes the few spare moments in her day to work on her novels.


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Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Escape from the Past: The Duke's Wrath by Annette Oppenlander - Excerpt & Giveaway



Escape from the Past:
The Duke's Wrath

Annette Oppenlander

YA Historical Fiction/Time Travel
July 31, 2015


Buy Links:


Summary from Goodreads:

When fifteen-year-old nerd and gamer Max Anderson thinks he's sneaking a preview of an unpublished video game, he doesn't realize that 1) He's been chosen as a beta, an experimental test player. 2) He’s playing the ultimate history game, transporting him into the actual past: anywhere and anytime. And 3) Survival is optional: to return home he must decipher the game's rules and complete its missions—if he lives long enough. To fail means to stay in the past—forever.

Now Max is trapped in medieval Germany, unprepared and clueless. It is 1471 and he quickly learns that being an outcast may cost him his head. Especially after rescuing a beautiful peasant girl from a deadly infection and thus provoking sinister wannabe Duke Ott. Overnight he is dragged into a hornets' nest of feuding lords who will stop at nothing to bring down the conjuring stranger in their midst.




Excerpt

The guard yanked me to face the group. Not ten feet away
towered one of the largest horses I’d ever seen. Its humungous
head swung back and forth as if it were proud of the armored
breast and nose shields. On top soared Knight Werner whose
piercing blue eyes searched my face. For a moment, the world
retracted into stillness. I felt my knees wobble.
Any moment now they’d cut off my head. Hadn’t Bero said
the Lord would kill me? Yet, the Lord of Hanstein neither showed
anger, surprise nor fear. Nobody spoke as I stood pinned between
the guards, their hands iron cuffs on my arms. I smelled them,
their unwashed bodies and filthy hands. I wanted to leave the
game. Return to the safety of my former life. Now! I sucked air.
My room might as well have been on the moon. Werner’s men
waited, probably ready to charge on command.
“Your name is Nerds,” Werner finally said. The blue eyes were
unsettling.
I stared up in surprise. “I’m Max.”
“Then what is the odd script on your robe? Are you a ruler’s
son?” He pulled his sword and pointed toward my chest. I kept
my eyes on the tip of the blade when I remembered. The right
side of my T-shirt had a kind of logo showing the word Nerds
underneath a crown. Despite the filth, the printed word and
image were clearly visible. Bero hadn’t noticed because he
probably couldn’t read.
“I…it is a fashion where I come from,” I stumbled. I wanted to
kick himself, having opened the door to more disaster. Werner’s
knights broke into chuckles.
Werner retracted his sword. “Most interesting. Tell us, you
come from where?”
“A distant place, My Lord,” I said, attempting to buy time.
“I’ve traveled afar, a pilgrimage to Jerusalem ten years ago.”
Confidence radiated from the knight’s voice. “You speak like a
foreigner. Are you on a quest?” Werner’s expression was still
more curious than suspicious. A glimmer smoldered in his eyes
as if the blue had been turned into gas flames.




About the Author

Annette Oppenlander writes historical fiction for young adults and anyone who loves stories set in the past. When she isn’t in front of her computer, she loves indulging her dog, Mocha, and traveling around the U.S. and Europe to discover amazing histories.

"Nearly every place holds some kind of secret, something that makes history come alive. When we scrutinize people and places closely, history is no longer a number, it turns into a story."

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