The Crescent and Giveaway

The Crescent by Jordan Deen
Young Adult, Paranormal
190 pages; published January 14th, 2010

Becoming a werewolf is not an option for seventeen-year-old Lacey Quinn, but death can be a strong motivator.

Lacey is so focused on her future that everyday life has passed her by. Counting down the days to her eighteenth birthday, Lacey is almost home free. But when she falls for the mysterious Alex Morris, she lands in the middle of an ancient war between two enemy wolf packs. Tempting dreams, tantalizing lies and a dangerous love triangle ensues leaving Lacey heartbroken and confused.

Lacey's fate rests in the hands of Alex and Brandon, but both are pulling her strings for their own agendas. Even as she slips further into the dark world of werewolves, Lacey struggles to find the truth and save the only family she's ever known.

Amazon

A cool breeze shook Mom’s rose bushes and the few hedges that surrounded one side of the patio. But when the wind stopped, the bushes didn’t. I froze staring into the darkness trying to see the threat that was waiting just to the side of my family home. I held my breath trying to decide whether or not to make a run for it. I couldn’t hesitate much longer. Rising slowly from the swing, I lingered again trying to judge the distance between the swings and the safety of the kitchen door.

Can I make it before it gets me? IT! Coming outside again tonight was a bad idea.

 Jordan Deen is an Award-Winning Young Adult and New Adult Author from East St. Louis, Illinois. Her debut novel, THE CRESCENT was a 2010 Reader's Favorite Award Winner. Her second novel, HALF MOON released in 2011. BREAKING LAUREN is her third novel and was a finalist in the Texas Literary Awards. The sequel, LOSING LAUREN will be released on 12/5/2013.

She can usually be found curled up in her favorite chair with a book or her laptop. She is the proud mother of one crazy little boy and an even crazier teacup Yorkie.

Jordan is Indie published, as well as traditionally published with Black Rose Writing.
'Life is about the journey...'

Website | Twitter | Facebook

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Hosted by Good Choice Reading Blog Tours

Character Interview: When the World Was Flat (and we were in love)

WHEN THE WORLD WAS FLAT (and we were in love)
by Ingrid Jonach
Publisher: Strange Chemistry
First Publication: September 3, 2013

Looking back, I wonder if I had an inkling that my life was about to go from ordinary to extraordinary.

When sixteen-year-old Lillie Hart meets the gorgeous and mysterious Tom Windsor-Smith for the first time, it’s like fireworks — for her, anyway. Tom looks as if he would be more interested in watching paint dry; as if he is bored by her and by her small Nebraskan town in general.

But as Lillie begins to break down the walls of his seemingly impenetrable exterior, she starts to suspect that he holds the answers to her reoccurring nightmares and to the impossible memories which keep bubbling to the surface of her mind — memories of the two of them, together and in love.

When she at last learns the truth about their connection, Lillie discovers that Tom has been hiding an earth-shattering secret; a secret that is bigger — and much more terrifying and beautiful — than the both of them. She also discovers that once you finally understand that the world is round, there is no way to make it flat again.

An epic and deeply original sci-fi romance, taking inspiration from Albert Einstein’s theories and the world-bending wonder of true love itself.

Two Fantasy Floozies is happy to welcome Ingrid Jonach, author of When the World Was Flat (and we were in love). She's here today as part of her blog tour, with a guest post, in which she interviews one of the characters from her book, Deb Hart. Deb is the mother of the main character, Lillie. Ingrid imagines Deb to be like Sissy Spacek.


Now I'm going to turn the floor over to Ingrid. At the bottom of the post, you can enter her giveaway for one of two prize packages, which each include a signed copy of her book, a pair of earrings, and a bookmark. Enjoy!

CHARACTER INTERVIEW: DEB HART

Thanks for joining us today Ms Hart.

Please, call me Deb. And thanks so much for having me. I have only been interviewed once before, but that was about my past lives.

I have heard a lot about your daughter Lillie. How would you describe your relationship?

We used to be like sisters or maybe more like best friends, because the great goddess knows I never liked my own sister. [Laughs] Lillie even came to the Rainbow Retreat with me one year with her bestfriend Jo. I remember them bathing in the river during the cleansing ritual, covered in mud from head to toe.

But it is like we are worlds apart now. [Sighs] Maybe it is because she is a teenager, but I am starting to wondering whether it is more than hormones. She told me she is having nightmares about dying, which is supposed to mean a new beginning, but... I think it may be a bad omen. I just feel it in my bones.

You seem very different to each other. Do you think Lillie has inherited anything from you?

My eyes. [Smiles] If I was chalk, my daughter would be cheese. She is very practical, whereas I... well, I live for the moment. For example, Lillie often fills in for me at Tree of Life when I want to go fire dancing. Although, last week she told me she was going to call the fire department and warn them I was going to end up burning down the State Forest.

Who of her friends is your favourite?

Jo. [Grimaces] Sorry Sylv. I love you too, but Jo is like another daughter. I think she spent most of her childhood here after her poor mother... you know. But Lillie and Jo seem to be fighting at the moment. Maybe they need to go back to the Rainbow Retreat.

How long have you lived in Green Grove? Do you like it?

I was born here – my mother actually had me in the living room! – and I have lived here my entire life, although I did think of moving before I had Lillie. I had been… [Sighs] I guess you would say I had been unlucky in love and this town is too small for a broken heart. There is no privacy for a start and there are reminders on every corner. But then I started filling my house with friends and I have never been lonely again.

What do you think of Tom?

I would rather not talk about Tom.

Can I ask why not?

[Hesitates] Because I think my daughter is headed for a broken heart too.

Let's move on to a safer topic then. What music do you like?

I like relaxation music, because I meditate three times a day. I like tracks with a melody and I am actually learning the pan pipe at the moment. Did you know it is one of the oldest musical instruments in the world? Listening to it is like listening to stories from the past thousand years.

And what about books. Do you read many books?

I mainly read non-fiction books. I guess you would call them spiritual books, about dreamology and alternative medicines. I would like to write my own book one day. Maybe on fire dancing. I could illustrate it as well.

Or you could have Lillie take photographs.

[Hesitates] Maybe. I just... I know it sounds stupid, but it was a photographer who broke my heart. It brings back bad memories when I see Lillie walking around clutching a camera all the time. I know it makes her sad that I am not more supportive, but I am a woman as well as a mother.

Going back to the fire dancing.... You do seem to have a lot of hobbies. Which is your favorite?

I love them all, but there are not enough hours in the day to do them all unfortunately. I really like wood carving. I carved a duck out of cottonwood bark once. Lillie said it looked more like a dog. [Laughs] It is still on her shelf though. I used to like basket weaving, but I could never get the hang of triple twists. I paint as well. Mainly abstracts. And I am learning Reiki at the moment. I told you there were not enough hours in the day!

Well, thanks sharing some of your time with us today Deb.

Thanks again. Lillie asked me not to do the interview, because I think she was worried I would embarrass her like last time. I am glad I did though, because it was very therapeutic.

GIVEAWAY DETAILS

Enter below for your chance to win one of two awesome prize packages as part of the Around the World in 80 Days Blog Tour for When the World Was Flat (and we were in love), by Ingrid Jonach.

There will be two winners worldwide. Each prize package includes:
· a signed copy of When the World Was Flat (and we were in love)
· a pair of silver plated key-shaped earrings in a When the World Was Flat (and we were in love) gift box
· a When the World Was Flat (and we were in love) bookmark.

The giveaway runs until October 21, 2013, and the winners will be announced on www.ingridjonach.com.

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Ingrid Jonach writes books for children and young adults, including the chapter books The Frank Frankie and Frankie goes to France published by Pan Macmillan, and When the World was Flat (and we were in love) published by Strange Chemistry.

Since graduating from university with a Bachelor of Arts in Professional Writing (Hons) in 2005, Ingrid has worked as a journalist and in public relations, as well as for the Australian Government.

Ingrid loves to promote reading and writing, and has been a guest speaker at a number of schools and literary festivals across Australia, where she lives with her husband Craig and their pug dog Mooshi.

Despite her best efforts, neither Craig nor Mooshi read fiction.

Movie Tickets Giveaway: City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1)

City of Bones is in theaters on August 21, 2013
GET YOUR MOVIE TICKETS HERE

Set in contemporary New York City, a seemingly ordinary teenager, Clary Fray (Lily Collins), discovers she is the descendant of a line of Shadowhunters, a secret cadre of young half-angel warriors locked in an ancient battle to protect our world from demons. After the disappearance of her mother (Lena Headey), Clary must join forces with a group of Shadowhunters, who introduce her to a dangerous alternate New York called Downworld, filled with demons, warlocks, vampires, werewolves and other deadly creatures. Based on the worldwide best-selling book series.

As you likely already know, this movie is based on the rather popular YA urban fantasy novel of the same name, by Cassandra Clare. I'd love to spend this blog post talking about how awesome the book is, but honestly…I haven't read it. Still, I'm excited about the movie. And it's a great opportunity for us to give crap away. We so enjoy giving crap away!

So let's cut to the chase, shall we?

The winner of this giveaway will get a $25 e-gift certificate to the online movie-ticket vendor of your choice, but you must choose a vendor that allows online purchase via a website that's in English. You can use the gift to buy tickets to City of Bones…or any other movie of your choice!

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Review: All Our Yesterdays, by Cristin Terrill (5 stars)

ALL OUR YESTERDAYS
by Cristin Terrill
Publication: September 3, 2013
Genre: Young Adult Science Fiction
My Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Imprisoned in the heart of a secret military base, Em has nothing except the voice of the boy in the cell next door and the list of instructions she finds taped inside the drain.

Only Em can complete the final instruction. She’s tried everything to prevent the creation of a time machine that will tear the world apart. She holds the proof: a list she has never seen before, written in her own hand. Each failed attempt in the past has led her to the same terrible present–imprisoned and tortured by a sadistic man called the doctor while war rages outside.

Marina has loved her best friend, James, since they were children. A gorgeous, introverted science prodigy from one of America’s most famous families, James finally seems to be seeing Marina in a new way, too. But on one disastrous night, James’s life crumbles, and with it, Marina’s hopes for their future. Marina will protect James no matter what, even if it means opening her eyes to a truth so terrible that she may not survive it… at least, not as the girl she once was. Em and Marina are in a race against time and each other, and only one of them can win.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

When the story opens, we find the main character, Em, held captive in a cell, staring at a drain. This may sound dull, but I found the tension to be wonderfully done. As captive, held in a dark room, Em found something to obsess about. It was dark and psychological, and I was immediately hooked. Then she finds a message that a prior version of herself left for her, saying she has to kill him.

Em goes back in time to do as the note says. I figured out pretty much right away who Em goes back in time to kill, but that's fine. I don't think it was meant to be a big secret. I was still invested in the story and in watching it unravel.

You won't find any Mary Sues here. Em was conflicted every step of the way. She was a good person, on a mission to do a bad thing. I found her struggle with her task to be both believable and compelling.

This book had just the right amount of romance—enough that I could latch onto it and root for it, but not so much that I got frustrated with the emphasis on romance as opposed to important, world-saving tasks. I found Em's love interest, Finn, to be likable in both his past and future selves. He was loyal and considerate, but tough enough to give Em a kick in the pants when she needed it.

I will admit though: On a couple occasions, I referred to Finn in my head as "cool Peeta." He has some similarities to Peeta from The Hunger Games, but I liked Finn better. Finn and Peeta are both blond, and both play sidekick to their love interests. But Finn was plenty kick-ass on his own, hence the "cool" label even though I found myself comparing him to a character in a different book.

I think it's a given with a serious time travel story that there will be paradoxes. All Our Yesterdays does a solid job of laying the groundwork with respect to how paradoxes are handled. And this groundwork starts early in the story, which adds some credibility to the resolution of paradoxes after the book's conclusion. I appreciate that.


An excellent book. One of my favorite reads of 2013! I'll be looking for more work by Cristin Terrill.

My thanks to Disney Hyperion for the free review copy.

Blog Tour: Guest Post from Kriston Johnson + Giveaway

Author Kriston Johnson is here today with a guest post, as part of the tour for her young adult fantasy novel Awakened. Since I'm a big YA reader, I asked her to choose and discuss five YA and other books that inspired her. Her guest post is below, and check the bottom for a giveaway!

AWAKENED
by Kriston Johnson
Series: The Legends Of Elyndia #1
Publication date: April 25th 2013
Genre: YA Fantasy

Can fighting for the right side be the wrong thing to do?

Draven, the tyrant ruler of Elyndia for the last one thousand years, searches for the one who can fulfill his prophecy.

The Paladins, an elite band of warriors sworn to protect their way of life at all cost, search for the one with the ability to bring their world crumbling down.

An innocent girl, tormented by demons only she can see, lives on the brink of insanity and longs for a life of peace.

When seventeen-year-old Jade Rosenberg reads from an antique book, she has no idea she just read an incantation awaking her inherited power. But when opposing—and equally terrifying—groups invade her home, she learns she is descended from an enchanted realm and a member of a powerful race thought to have been hunted to extinction.

Ripped from her world, Jade is forced to seek refuge from those who want her dead. She is given one of two options and the time has come for her to make a choice: assassinate their sworn enemy…

Or sacrifice her soul.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

GUEST POST
Hello ladies, I want to start with saying thank you for having me on your blog and chatting with me about Awakened.

Writers are often asked where they get their inspiration. The truth is, inspiration comes from a little of everywhere. I’ve had ideas come to me from real life people, movies, certain objects, and a lot of the time other books. Here are some examples of works that have inspired me during my journey as a writer.

I’m just going to get this one out of the way…*covers mouth and mumbles* Smimight. What did she say? Twilight…I said Twilight, okay! *insert collective moan* I know, I know, how many times have we heard new YA authors say they started writing after they read Twilight? But it really was one of the first steps in my journey to writing Awakened. I had been writing before I read Twilight, but that is the book that introduced me to YA. You can say Twilight was my gateway book.

The Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder. I read this story years ago and it is one of my favorite reads. I would have to say the main character, Yelena, in a way helped me to find my own leading lady, Jade. Not so much in personality, but in both stories the protagonists are despised by a society they are forced to live in and death is a constant threat.

The Hunger Games. I love the writing style and the fast paced plot brought to us by the talented, Suzanne Collins. When writing we need to make sure everything we write is for a reason, and Collins does an excellent job foreshadowing future events. For instance, ****spoiler alert****when Katniss sees that Peta has picked nightlock berries, she gets upset and stops him from eating them. Then in the next scene she finds the berries have poisoned Foxface. That was a complete scene and we could have lived without hearing about the berries ever again. But no, they come into play at the very end and literally saves their lives. ***end of spoiler*** So how did this affect Awakened? Well I planted several easter eggs that may have little affect on the progress of the story, but gives us little clues to future events. I can’t really point out to many examples without spoiling things, but I can share one. There is a scene where Jade notices a painting with a beautiful angel and little blonde girl. Well, that angel and little girl are the protagonists in a future book.

Story Engineering, by Larry Brooks. This one is for the writers. If you are a newbie writer in need of direction, this may be the best thing you could read. This is the closest thing you will ever get to a step-by-step on how to craft a novel. It doesn’t tell you how to write, but what it does do is explain the components of a story and where to place certain types of scenes to keep a steady pace. It explains themes, concepts, how to craft the perfect three-act structure, and how to keep conflict going without losing the plot.

Last but not least, I have to give a mention to…every single fantasy story I have ever read. It’s books like The Hobbit, Harry Potter, The Wizard of Oz, and everything in between. I think back to when I was a kid and imagined myself playing with Christopher Robin in the Hundred Acre Wood, to now, listening to Puck and Ash bantering back and forth over a girl. Though these stories are at complete opposite ends of the spectrum, the one thing they have in common, is that they transport the reader to a make believe world. A world far from ordinary and far from our own mundane lives. These are the stories I dream of, escape to, and wish I could live in. These stories may only exist on the page, but they come to life in our minds. If it had not been for these tales, and the magic it taught me, Awakened probably would not exist.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kriston Johnson lives in Southwest Washington with her husband, teenage son, and miniature Australian Shepherd. Her home rests at the fringe of an old growth forest that she insists is the home of Jason Voorhees. Her husband thinks that’s a ridiculous assumption, because everyone knows it’s really Bigfoot. Every summer Kriston participates in the annual pilgrimage to Faerieworlds, a real life faerie realm here on Earth, and has an unhealthy obsession with Star Wars, The Vampire Diaries, and Iron Man. Awakened is her first novel.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads


GIVEAWAY
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Blog Tour: The Photo Traveler by Arthur J. Gonzalez - Excerpt & Giveaway

This is a stop on Arthur J. Gonzalez's tour for his young adult time travel novel, The Photo Traveler. There's a giveaway toward the bottom of this post!

Check out the other blogs participating in Arthur's blog tour.

THE PHOTO TRAVELER
by Arthur J. Gonzalez
Genre: YA Paranormal, Time Travel

Seventeen-year-old Gavin Hillstone is resigned to being miserable for the rest of his life. Left alone in the world after his parents died in a fire when he was four, he was placed in foster care, which for him meant ending up in an abusive home with an alcoholic adoptive father.

Gavin’s only escape is in taking and creating images. His camera is his refuge from the unending torture and isolation of daily life in his “family.”

Until he learns by accident that he isn’t alone in the world after all. His father’s parents are still alive and living in Washington DC.

When he takes the plunge and travels 3,000 miles to find his grandparents, he learns that they—and he—are part of something much bigger, and more dangerous, than he could ever have imagined. Something that has always put his family at risk and that will now threaten his own life, while forever changing it.

He learns that he is one of the last descendants of a small group of Photo Travelers—people who can travel through time and space through images. But his initial excitement turns to fear, when he soon discovers that he and his grandparents are being pursued by the fierce remnants of a radical European Photo Traveler cult, the Peace Hunters. What Gavin has, they want!

His adventure will take him to past eras, like The Great Depression and the Salem Witch Trials. Gavin will have to discover who he really is and must make choices that spell the difference between life and death for himself, for the relatives he now knows and loves, and for the girl he will come to love.

For Gavin Hillstone, life will never be the same.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble

EXCERPT
What do you do when a sudden gust of wind forces your boat totally off course and into the unknown? When from one moment to the next, the life that you thought you’d always be living morphs into one you’d never imagined?

Ever since I could remember, I believed there had to be something more to life than the one I’d been thrown into as a child. Even though I sometimes told myself I had to be crazy because just the idea seemed so hard to imagine—given how things had gone so far, anyway.

I would ask myself if it was wrong for me to feel this way. If I was being naïve to think there was something greater out there. Something that really belonged to me. But what do you if you feel an unknown force pulsating through your blood, constantly reminding you of it? Are you just supposed to ignore it?

I suppose that most of the time that’s what they teach us to do. You know, “Forget it. Take the easy way out.” Sure. Never the right one.

That’s what they kept telling me. “You’re kidding yourself if you think you can have a better life. Learn to live with what you’ve got.” Things like that.

Maybe that’s why I started taking photos as soon as I got my hands on my first camera. It was a way I could distance myself from the life I was being forced to live. It let me create images of the world around me, finding life in the most ordinary moments…like when the sun makes a lonely tree sweat and it in turn gives water to a struggling, thirsty grasshopper below. Those things were real. Not the crappy life I’d always been trapped in.

And then, just a few weeks ago, my life took a turn for the unexpected. And now all I have to say to you is—believe in your gut instinct. Intuition is what kept me alive. It’s what made me believe. At the end of the day, it was all I really had that was mine. And you can find what’s really yours, too.


GIVEAWAY!

This giveaway is open internationally. Thank you, Arthur!

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MEET THE AUTHOR

WEBSITE
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
GOODREADS

My name is Arthur J Gonzalez. I’m 28 years old, born and raised in Miami, FL. I graduated from the University of Florida. I am currently releasing my debut novel, The Photo Traveler. The premise surrounds 17 – year old Gavin, who discovers he is part of a small group, called Photo Travelers, who can time travel through photos and images.

ECHO Book Tour Kick-Off + Int'l Giveaway

ECHO BLOG TOUR hosted by Xpresso Book Tours & Good Choice Reading Blog Tours

Today is the kick-off for the virtual tour featuring my novel Echo, a young adult science fiction adventure. Click on the above image to see the Goodreads page.

Over the next three weeks, Echo will be featured on 50-70 different blogs. Each tour stop will feature a guest blog post written by me, review (not written by me), interview, excerpt, teaser, character highlight, or character interview. It should be a lot of fun, with lots of information being revealed about Echo and its characters.

There will be two big giveaways, offering bookstore gift cards, paperbacks, and ebook copies of the book. Plus, some blogs may hold their own mini-giveaways for one ebook each.

You can find links to this week's tour stops here. These will be mostly reviews. Sometime during the next week, I'll update this post to link to the remaining tour stops. Those will be mostly non-review posts. I intend to visit each blog, so feel free to ask me questions in post comments throughout the tour.

Here's the first of the two big giveaways. It's international.

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Blog Tour: Saving Casey by Liza O'Connor

We're pleased to host Liza O'Connor as part of her virtual book tour for Saving Casey, a young adult suspense thriller. There's a giveaway at the end of this post!

SAVING CASEY
by Liza O'Connor

Eighty-year-old Cass wakes up in the body of a troubled seventeen-year-old girl named Casey, which all believe has survived a suicide attempt. Cass intends to turn the girl’s life around, only it’s harder than she expects. All Casey’s troubles have now become Cass’s and someone wants her dead.

Pick it up: Bonobookstore / Amazon / Barnes & Noble




Check out the book trailer!



EXCERPT
Any chance you’d be willing to go to a different doctor to get another treatment on your face?”

“I really like Dr. Grey.”

“I know, but we can’t take the chance. You’d visit a doctor in Montana after office hours.”

“Does he have the equivalent experience and skills as Dr. Grey? Because I already have nightmares where I’m blind and irreparably scarred.”

“He won’t touch your eyes. He’ll just work on the cheeks.”

“And if I’m scarred, causing little children to scream at the sight of me, will you still love me?” She expected him to flounder with his response because it required him to actually admit he loved her, something he’d refused to do. To her shock, he replied at once.

“Absolutely.”

“No hesitation?”

“Nope.”

“So explain why you’ll love me without hesitation if I’m hideously scarred, but won’t even kiss me when I’m just ghoulishly tattooed?”

“Simple. Dan wouldn’t mind if I’m the only man in the world who still thinks you’re beautiful. But as long as millions of better alternatives exist, Dan would never forgive me for stealing your future.”

She hated it when he nailed the truth. If she were really seventeen, she would agree a hundred percent. Sighing heavily, she muttered, “I’ll see the doctor.”

“He’s not going to leave you scarred, Cass.”

“I hope not, but if he does, I’m holding you to your word.”

“You have it.”

She smiled at the turn of this conversation. “So you think I’m beautiful?”

“Inside and out,” he replied. “We need to change the conversation now.”

“Why? I like this conversation.”


MEET THE AUTHOR

WEBSITE
FACEBOOK
TWITTER

I live in Denville, NJ with my dog, Jess. We hike in fabulous woods every day, rain or shine, sleet or snow. Having an adventurous nature, I learned to fly small cessnas in NJ, hang-glide in New Zealand, kayak in Pennsylvania, ski in New York, scuba dive with great white sharks in Australia, dig up dinosaur bones in Montana, sky dive in Indiana, and raft a class four river in Tasmania. I’m an avid gardener, amateur photographer, and dabbler in watercolors and graphic arts. Yet through my entire life, my first love has and always will be writing novels. I love to create interesting characters, set them loose, and scribe what happens.

GIVEAWAY!
The author, Liza, will award prizes to randomly selected commenters during her tour—which means that every comment on this blog post counts as an entry. A $25 Amazon gift card goes to one commenter chosen from all blogs participating in the tour. Other randomly drawn commenters will receive: $5 Amazon gift cards, tattoos like Casey’s, or offers to place tattoos like Casey’s in a digital image for the winner.

The more you comment on the tour, the better are your chances to win! Check out the other tour stops here.

Review: Parallel by Lauren Miller (5 stars)

PARALLEL
by Lauren Miller
Publication: May 14, 2013
My Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Abby Barnes had a plan. The Plan. She'd go to Northwestern, major in journalism, and land a job at a national newspaper, all before she turned twenty-two. But one tiny choice—taking a drama class her senior year of high school—changed all that. Now, on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, Abby is stuck on a Hollywood movie set, miles from where she wants to be, wishing she could rewind her life. The next morning, she's in a dorm room at Yale, with no memory of how she got there. Overnight, it's as if her past has been rewritten.

With the help of Caitlin, her science-savvy BFF, Abby discovers that this new reality is the result of a cosmic collision of parallel universes that has Abby living an alternate version of her life. And not only that: Abby's life changes every time her parallel self makes a new choice. Meanwhile, her parallel is living out Abby's senior year of high school and falling for someone Abby's never even met.

As she struggles to navigate her ever-shifting existence, forced to live out the consequences of a path she didn't choose, Abby must let go of the Plan and learn to focus on the present, without losing sight of who she is, the boy who might just be her soul mate, and the destiny that's finally within reach.

Parallel blew my mind.

I went into this book thinking it would be young adult science fiction, which is a genre I love. It was. But it was also a romance novel that was both heart-breaking and heart-mending. I stayed up all night to finish this book because I had to know that Abby would find her soulmate in the end.

The primary complication to Abby's love life is the fact that her world collided with a parallel one a year ago. As a result, her present state is determined by choices her parallel self made in the past. Unfortunately, Abby suspects that her parallel self isn't exactly like her, so her parallel's choices don't always land Abby where she wants to be. She fears that one day she'll wake up and her love life will have been rewritten, and she'll be the only one who remembers how things are supposed to be. In the end, will she find her soulmate regardless of the path she's on?

It was 1:00 in the morning, and I was just about to put this book down after promising myself I would do so an hour earlier. Then this happened:


Yep, Parallel ripped my heart out and crushed it. So I had to keep reading until I finished the book, fighting with myself not to flip to the end to make sure everything was going to be okay.

Luckily, at the the conclusion, I was here:


Otherwise . . . well, let's just say I had a plan to hunt down and harass author Lauren Miller until she rewrote the ending. Lucky for her, I was more than satisfied.

I don't think all readers will enjoy the science babble explaining the entanglement of two parallel worlds. Personally, I thought this was a pretty cool aspect of the book. But even those who get a giant headache from the science babble can still enjoy the intensity of feelings that Abby has for her boyfriend—and that Abby's parallel has for her boyfriend.

The one thing I didn't absolutely love love love about Parallel is that I think I found a small glitch in the rubber science. If Abby and everyone in her world are getting the memories of their parallels, as theorized, then their parallels shouldn't be able to affect their physical properties. Abby shouldn't have scars from her parallel's injuries, and she shouldn't be in Connecticut just because her parallel went there instead of moving to California. This little glitch bothered me a bit. But you know what, Parallel? I still love you.


Most of my favorite books are action-heavy fantasy and science fiction novels. Parallel is now added to my favorites as one of the few romance novels I absolutely adored. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to young adult science fiction readers who like romance, as well as to contemporary romance readers. Just be prepared to put your heart on the line.

Thanks to HarperCollins for the free ARC of this title, provided through Edelweiss.

Book Blitz: Blood and Snow by RaShelle Workman

We're happy to participate in RaShelle Markman's book blitz, hosted by Xpresso Book Tours, for Blood and Snow. This is a young adult paranormal omnibus work, containing the twelve volumes of Markman's Blood and Snow series.

There's a giveaway at the end of this post! A big giveaway.

 

BLOOD AND SNOW
by RaShelle Workman
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal

Every thousand years the Vampire Queen selects a new body, always the fairest in the land, and this time she's chosen Snow White.

Snow isn't an ordinary girl. She doesn't know that yet.

When Snow gets bitten by a Hunter, her life is thrown into a whirlwind of change where instead of worrying about what to eat, she has to fight not to drink the blood of fellow high school students. She becomes a revenant - not quite human, not quite vampire.

With the help of an eccentric old Professor, his seven adoptive sons, and her best friend, Snow learns to control her blood craving. Sort of. She drinks a bloodlust tea, but she'd rather drink from her Hunter.

Or, a human.

She also discovers a whole other realm, one filled with fairies, dragons, and magic. And not only does the Vampire Queen want her, but there's a pendant called the Seal of Gabriel created for Snow by the Vampire Queen's twin sister. And Snow's supposed to use it to restore balance to all magical creatures. Including vampires.

EXCERPT
“Welcome to my secret fortress, Silindra,” Titan said.

I grunted my response, walking past him to the doorway in the mountain, its entry bursting with light. The surface my feet touched was smooth and hard, like polished rock. But it wasn’t rock. It was some kind of iron. It swayed slightly, and I grabbed hold of the rails.

This is incredible, Snow White said.

I agreed wholeheartedly. Metal catwalks crisscrossed each other, reminding me of a spider’s web. Tall beams rose to the ceiling where millions of lights shone. It was as though Titan harnessed a portion of the sun, and somehow held its ray’s captive within.

In the center of the mountain, and vertical, reaching the top and I guessed touching the bottom, was a thick grated tube. Inside the tube were two sets of stairs. One used to walk up, and the other for down. A steady flow of occupants used them; exiting through archways onto walkways like the one I was on. The walkways led to large, cylinder-shaped holes carved into the mountain.

Cautious, I glanced over the side and felt my throat drop into my stomach. A seemingly endless amount of walkways weaved from the center stairs, and downward.

I took a deep breath, noting the tang of something sour, like curdled milk. The voices of thousands echoed as trolls, fairies, gremlins, and other magical creatures busily rushed around. Like a strange city.

“What is this place,” I finally asked.

“This is Varden. The place where all the scientific magic happens,” he responded, pushing his bulky body past me, walking briskly along the path. The metal shuddered under his weight, and I held my breath. Snow let out a tiny scream.

I tried to calm my nerves and Snow’s.

It’ll hold him, I told her and myself. And I hoped I was right.

When he reached the stairs, he turned. “Do you want the strength of a troll or not?” Lifting my chin, I said, “Of course I do.”

GIVEAWAY
The author, RaShelle, is kind enough to give away a Kindle Fire! You can enter using the Rafflecopter form below.

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MEET THE AUTHOR

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

RASHELLE WORKMAN lives on a mountain with her husband, three children, and three dogs. From her back porch she can see the city lights and imagine... She's the bestselling author of the Dead Roses series (Sleeping Roses is being translated into Turkish, and will be available in print wherever Turkish books are sold in 2014), the Immortal Essence series, and the Blood and Snow series.

March New Releases Giveaway Hop (International)

I truly love blog hops! It's a great way to discover new blogs and books as well as WIN STUFF!

From March 15-31

Fantasy Floozies will be participating in the 

New Release Giveaway Hop (International)!

Floozies and Floozers! 

There are some hot books coming out this March, baby! 
I wanted to keep it down to three books, but F%*# that! 

How can I pick?

Somehow I narrowed it down to SEVEN hot books from different genres! (Sadly) The winner must pick ONE from this tribe of ripe entertainment. You may pick ebook or print (if it is available in print).

Note: An international winner can pick print only if the Book Depository ships to them.

So what am I offering to you sexy book addicts?

In Adult Fantasy we have:

As the son of the forgotten fourth Fate, Lady Fortuna, Nyx has been hunted his entire life by the three Sisters of Fate that murdered his mother.

New York Times bestselling author Anne Bishop creates a world inhabited by the Others, unearthly entities—vampires and shape-shifters among them—who rule the Earth and whose prey are humans. 

Mercy Thompson returns in the seventh novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling series. Mercy Thompson’s life has undergone a seismic change. 

In YA FANTASY/SCI-FI, we have:

Descended from witches, Nadia senses a dark and powerful magic at work in her new town.

A heart-stopping Sci-fi story of love, death, technology, and art set amid the tropics of a futuristic Brazil.

In search of the truth, Mia discovers a past life of forbidden love, jealousy and revenge that tore an angel from Heaven and sent her to an early grave. 

New Adult Paranormal Romance:

College student Rena finds herself nose-to-chest with the campus outcast. Too curious for her own good, Rena vows to uncover the truth behind Wallace’s madman reputation--and how two seconds of contact had left her with bruises. 

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CHECK OUT ALL THE OTHER BLOGS IN THE HOP!!!