[Book Blast + Giveaway] Just Ella by Annette K. Larsen

Just Ella by Annette K. Larsen

Book Summary:

A Proper Romance

Ariella was only looking for a distraction, something to break up the monotony of palace life. What she found was a young man willing to overlook her title and show her a new and vibrant way of life. But when her growing feelings for Gavin spiral out of control and clash with the expectations of her station, she will discover that the consequences of her curiosity are far more severe than she’d imagined.

I watched in helpless horror as two guards hauled Gavin to his feet and dragged him from the room. My voice was frozen, unable to protest as another guard took hold of my arm, leading me upstairs. From the confines of my room, I stared into the darkness beyond my window, hoping to catch one more glimpse of Gavin. He was gone, and I wondered if he would have been better off if he had never met me.

I write clean romance. Why? Because that’s what I love to read, but over the years I’ve discovered it’s quite a challenge to find good clean romance. I believe it’s a genre that many people are looking for and too few authors are writing. My first novel, Just Ella, took me many years to write because I wanted it to be more than just a cutesy love story. I wanted it to have depth, to feel genuine. Hopefully I succeeded, but you’ll have to be the judge.

 Amazon Paperback * Amazon Kindle

Praise for Just Ella

“I fell in love with this book.  Treat yourself to something wonderful.  You can’t go wrong with Just Ella!” ~Inspired Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer

“By far one of the best romance novels I’ve ever read. Pulls you in with great, likable characters and keeps you going with a sweet and exciting love story–plus a good plot to give it even more substance. Full of those tender moments you want to go back and read again, plus exciting moments, clever humor, and some suspense as well.”  ~Jana Miller

“Annette Larsen writes a love story that takes time, is complicated, and yet still sweeps you up in the romance (without the cheese, thank you). It’s compelling and emotional and sweet and you will love every page.” ~Kimi

Excerpt

“Now, wait just a minute. You can’t just plunge into a pool of water.”
“Why not?” I should have said something cleverer, but I felt a bit scatterbrained, all thoughts having fled when Gavin’s arm went around me.
He made a noise of exasperation. “Why not, she asks. Because, Princess, what’s going to happen when you show up for your lessons completely drenched? Or, what happens when we both show up on the palace grounds completely drenched? I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to have to explain that to anybody.”
Unfortunately, he had a point. “Don’t call me Princess.” He had been so relaxed today, so willing to be himself and let me be myself. I hated that he felt the need to remind me of my rank. I was tempted to be angry and walk away but I also wanted to see how long he would keep his arms around me. Simply out of curiosity, of course.

Author Annette K. Larsen

I was born in Utah, but grew up in Flagstaff Arizona and St. Louis Missouri, the fifth of seven children. I attended college at Southern Virginia University and Brigham Young University where I studied English and Theater. I now live in Idaho with my husband and four children.

I have Charlotte Bronte to thank for the courage to write novels. After being bombarded with assigned reading about women who justified abandoning either their families or their principles in the name of love, I had the great fortune of reading Jane Eyre. And that was it: finally a heroine who understood that being moral and making the right choice was hard, and sometimes it hurt, but it was still worth it. After rereading it several years later, I realized that if I wanted more books to exist with the kinds of heroines I admired, then I might as well write a few myself. My books are about women who face hard choices, who face pain and rejection and often have to sacrifice what they want for what is right. The consequences are often difficult or unpleasant, but it the end, doing what’s right will always be worth it.

I believe there is no substitute for good writing or good chocolate. Fortunately, one often leads to the other.

Website * Twitter * Facebook

       

  BookBlast Giveaway $50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 10/31/13   Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.   a Rafflecopter giveaway

[Book Blitz + Giveaway] To Know Me by Marcy Blesy

To Know Me

by Marcy Blesy

Summary from Goodreads:

To know me is to die...

Seventeen-year-old Mae is convinced that the consequences of her poor decisions have caused the untimely deaths of her dad, sister Laura, and grandma who all die within a year, no matter how ludicrous her thoughts seem to those she loves. The solution? Run away so no one else she cares for gets hurt (even if she has to keep a GPS tracker on her phone at all times).

Desperate to earn her diploma and salvage something of her life, she transfers schools when people get too close. After switching to Woodson Prep with only two months to go until graduation, Mae keeps her goals in sight. But when she meets Ty, the "perfect boy" with his own secrets and a relentless interest in Mae, she must decide if she can stop running from the past and still protect those she loves.

Available from:

About the Author

I am a former elementary school teacher and currently run an elementary library which is the perfect job for my interests.

In October 2010 I  had an essay published in Chicken Soup for the Soul:  Devotional Stories For Mothers.   Another essay will be published in November 2013 in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Just Us Girls.

In 2012 my debut picture book was released by Bronze Man Books. Am I Like My Daddy? follows the journey of a child who seeks to learn if she is anything like the dad who died when she was young.

My middle grade novel, Confessions of a Corn Kid, as well a YA short story trilogy, The Lexie and Rhett Chronicles, and To Know Me, were released direct to kindle in 2013.


I am a great eavesdropper and person profiler which proves a fabulous advantage for a writer. As my favorite shirt says, Be careful or you’ll end up in my novel.

***Author Links***

  

GIVEAWAY

2 e-book copies of To Know Me (mobi) (US)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Blitz organized by:

[Release Day Blitz] Moirai by Ruth Silver

Moirai by Ruth Silver (Book 2)

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, Science-Fiction

Summary:

Olivia has been on the run from the government of Cabal since the marriage ceremony. Finally settling in and finding herself a place to call home, in Shadow, Olivia and Joshua are preparing for the uprising that they and the rebel alliance have been planning for months.

With new abilities and special talents, from Mindonsiphan, Olivia learns that she can do more than most ordinary eighteen year olds. Learning both to hide and perfect her skills will be one of the biggest challenges she'll be forced to face.

A constant rollercoaster of emotion and adventure await Olivia and Joshua, as they embark on a journey to the rebel city of Torv, and what was once home, Genesis.

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Excerpt 

“He wants her thrown in the dumpster.” I grimaced as I approached the mattress. “Help me.” I gestured towards the body. “I can't carry her on my own.” Even if I could, I wasn't doing this alone.

“I'm not throwing her away like garbage!” Lisa crossed her arms. “Think of something else, Jacqueline.”

“We could grab some wood, wrap her body, and burn her.” I glanced around the small bedroom. It was mostly empty, except for the dresser against the wall. There were no trinkets, no signs of another life outside of Genesis. I couldn't help but wonder if anyone missed her from back home.

“How are we going to do that without getting caught?” Lisa asked.

“I don't know. Craynor will know we did it.” We were the ones that were told to throw the body away.

“We could find a place in the far end of the lot and bury her.”

Lisa frowned. “No, I like the idea of burning her body. We'd be making a statement. Anita would have approved.”

“If we get caught, we'll be killed,” I reminded her. So much for staying out of trouble.

“He's killing his servants. You don't think that demands attention?” Lisa huffed. “I would have liked to know what I was getting involved in before I worked here.”

“It wasn't like you had a choice.” I reminded her bitterly. That was what we were fighting for: our freedom to make choices. Whether they were right or wrong, they were our choices to make.

“Even so,” Lisa scoffed, “she deserves more than being thrown away like a piece of trash.”

Footsteps clomped through the hallway, just outside the door. “Well whatever we decide, we need to do it fast.”

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Other Books in the Series

Aberrant by Ruth Silver (Book 1)

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, Science-Fiction

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Summary:

In the future Dystopian society of Cabal, the government instills equality for all and offers its citizens the perfect system. There is food, shelter and jobs for everyone. The one requirement is to follow the rules without question, including the government's match in marriage and "The Day of the Chosen", a lottery that randomly selects families to conceive children as natural means hasn't existed in generations. Following her eighteenth birthday, Olivia Parker accepts her requirement to marry her childhood best friend, Joshua Warren, and is eager to start her work assignment and new life when it all comes abruptly to an end as she's arrested and thrown in prison. The only crime committed, her existence. Olivia is unlike the rest of the world born not from "The Day of the Chosen." The truth haunts the government and puts her life in grave danger as one simple fact would destroy the perfect system. 

With Joshua's help, Olivia breaks free of prison and is forced on the run. Together they set out to find the promised rebel town in search of a new home and new life together. Their situation seems less than promising as they reach the town of Haven. New rules and customs must be adhered to in order to stay. Leaving would mean most certain death in the large expanse of the Gravelands. Time is running out as the government mounts an attack to destroy Olivia and bury her secret with her. Thrown into a world unlike their own, they must quickly adapt to survive.

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About the Author:

Ruth Silver attended Northern Illinois University and graduated with a Bachelor's in Communication in the spring of 2005.  While in college, she spent much of her free time writing with friends she met online and penning her first novel, Deuces are Wild, which she self-published in 2004.  Her favorite class was Creative Writing senior year where she often handed in assignments longer than the professor required because she loved to write and always wanted to finish her stories.  Her love of writing led her on an adventure in 2007 to Melbourne, Australia.  Silver enjoys reading, photography, traveling and most of all writing.  She loves dystopian and fantasy young adult stories.  Her debut novel published by Lazy Day Publishing, ABERRANT, was released April 2013.  The second novel in the series, MOIRAI, continues the saga. Ruth has been actively writing since she was a teenager.  She currently resides in Plainfield, Illinois.

Author Follow Links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Amazon

Giveaway

1 signed ARC Aberrant (US only)

1 Any book up to $10 from Amazon or Book Depository (Open Intl)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

[Book Tour] Escape from Eden by Elisa Nader

Escape from Eden

by Elisa Nader

Release Date: 08/18/13

Publisher: Merit Press

271 pages

Summary from Goodreads:

Since the age of ten, Mia has lived under the iron fist of the fundamentalist preacher who lured her mother away to join his fanatical family of followers. In Edenton, a supposed “Garden of Eden” deep in the South American jungle, everyone follows the Reverend’s strict but arbitrary rules—even the mandate of whom they can marry. Now sixteen, Mia dreams of slipping away from the armed guards who keep the faithful in, and the curious out. When the rebellious and sexy Gabriel, a new boy, arrives with his family, Mia sees a chance to escape.

But the scandalous secrets the two discover beyond the compound’s façade are more shocking than anything they ever imagined. While Gabriel has his own terrible secrets, he and Mia bond together, more than friends and freedom fighters. But is there time to think of each other as they race to stop the Reverend’s paranoid plan to free his flock from the corrupt world? Can two teenagers crush a criminal mastermind? And who will die in the fight to save the ones they love from a madman who’s only concerned about his own secrets?

Available from:

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Powell’s | IndieBound

Excerpt

After dinner service, the members of the Flock drained out the dining hall doors as I collected the breadbaskets from the long tables. I spotted Mama slipping outside. 

“Mama,” I called. I placed the stack of bread baskets on the gray cart and ran out the door after her. “Mama, wait.”

With a sigh, Mama turned. Her hair, a few shades darker brown than mine, hung in a braid that flipped over her shoulder. Ever since I was little, people told me I looked like her; same wide hazel eyes, same rosebud mouth, same golden complexion. But the stiff gray of her uniform dress sallowed her skin in the evening sun. At her hip, Max held her hand and grinned at me.

“Yes, Mia?” she said.

Her cottage-mate Jin Sang stopped as well. Bae John, her son, stood with his back up against her legs. Her arms were crossed over his chest protectively. She said nothing, but I saw the wariness in her almond-shaped eyes. She’d heard me argue with Mama the last few weeks, although I hoped she didn’t hear what we argued about.

“Can we talk later?” I asked Mama. “I’ll come by?”

She glanced over at Jin Sang. “Will you take the boys back to our cottage?” she asked her. 

Jin Sang took Max’s hand. “Of course,” she said in her tiny voice.

Max waved good-bye to me with a curl of his fingers.

Mama glanced around before chucking her chin to the outside corner of the dining hall. We walked behind a hibiscus bush studded with red blossoms. The perennial battalion of insects—mostly mosquitos—swirled in the evening air.

“You need to stop this, Mia,” Mama said to me quietly.

“All I want is to talk about it. Calmly and rationally. We don’t have to argue about it. Just discuss our options.”

The lines in Mama’s forehead deepened. “No. This conversation is over. And whatever you do, don’t talk about it to anyone, understand?”

“But Mama—“

She thrust her finger in my face and dropped her voice to a harsh whisper. “Look, you’re not the only one here who remembers life before Edenton.”

“I’m the only one of my friends.”

“It’s a life we left behind,” she said.

“A life you left behind! I was ten, what choice did I have?”

“What has come over you lately?”

What had come over me? I was finally doing what Papá had always told me to do before he left us all those years ago. Before he couldn’t deal with her anymore. I was thinking. Questioning. Something no one did in Edenton. I placed my hands on my hips and stared her down.

“Good God, Mia,” she said. “Stop it. Edenton is our home. This is where we belong. Bring this up one more time and I’ll—“

“You’ll what?” I said “Turn me into the Reverend because I want to leave?”

“Shhh!” she said, and took a step back away from me. “Get back to work before Agatha starts looking for you."

I spun away from her, slammed through the dining hall doors, and wheeled the cart with the breadbaskets back to the kitchen. I spent the next two hours during dinner clean-up simmering about Mama and her close-mindedness. I wasn’t asking for the moon tied up in a perfect red ribbon. All I’d wanted to do was discuss options. Options that would lead me on the path out of Edenton. Maybe I’d have to find another way, without Mama’s help. Without her knowledge.

About the Author

Hi. I’m Elisa. I like cheese and reading and TV show marathons. Writing is scary, but not as scary as, say, Civil War amputations. I’m an Aquarius. Uh… let’s see… I’m not very good at writing my own biography. Or autobiography. I guess this is reading more like a slightly incoherent personal ad.

Where to find Elisa:

    

[Book Blitz] After the Fall by L.G. Castillo

After the Fall

by L. G. Castillo

Release Date: September 15th, 2013

Contemporary Romance 

Summary from Goodreads:

There’s a Spanish proverb that says, “From the thorn and the pain, a flower is born.” Naomi Duran never really understood what that meant until she became an archangel. 

Finally reunited with the love of her life, Naomi thought she had everlasting love and happiness in Heaven. Even with the rebellious Lash by her side, she learns that life as an archangel isn’t easy. 

When secrets of the past are finally revealed, tempers flare, brother is pitted against brother, and Naomi and Lash face the greatest threat to their relationship: choosing among love, family, or duty.

In the end, can this family of broken angels forgive past mistakes, or will they carry the thorn in their hearts forever, ripping their family apart?

Previous books in the series:

About the Author

L.G. (Linda) Castillo wrote her first story when she was ten and has been writing ever since. She took a break from writing fiction and poetry to focus on obtaining her Ph.D. in counseling psychology. She is now a licensed psychologist and currently works as a professor at a Texas university. Although she has published her psychological research in several professional journals and books, her dream has always been to publish a novel. Lash is her debut novel and was written during the 2012 National Novel Writing Month event.

Author Links:

Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

[Feature & Follow] Children Picture Books

Q: What were your favorite picture books as a kid?

Definitely this book over here! I'm not really sure what it's translated in English but it's a Russian story about a girl named "Fedora" who was always very angry and all of her appliances were always running away from her lol It's actually kind of weird now that I think about it but I loved it! There were a lot more that I read as a kid but I couldn't find any graphics of it on Internet. 

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[Book Review] Tears of Tess by Pepper Winters

Tears of Tess
Pepper Winters

Tess Snow has everything she ever wanted: one more semester before a career in property development, a loving boyfriend, and a future dazzling bright with possibility. 

For their two year anniversary, Brax surprises Tess with a romantic trip to Mexico. Sandy beaches, delicious cocktails, and soul-connecting sex set the mood for a wonderful holiday. With a full heart, and looking forward to a passion filled week, Tess is on top of the world.

But lusty paradise is shattered.

Kidnapped. Drugged. Stolen. Tess is forced into a world full of darkness and terror. 

Captive and alone with no savior, no lover, no faith, no future, Tess evolves from terrified girl to fierce fighter. But no matter her strength, it can’t save her from the horror of being sold.

Can Brax find Tess before she’s broken and ruined, or will Tess’s new owner change her life forever?

*ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review*

Tess Snow is a college student who has a bright future for herself. Her parents always thought of her as a mistake and only her boyfriend Brax can feel her loved and safe. But she wished that things would be better, hotter. & it’s not like she didn’t enjoy their regular missionary position – she just wanted him to slam her against the wall and take her right there and then.

When Brax suprises her with a vacation to Mexico, she knows that this is what she needs to feel normal. Maybe when they are out for a vacation, they finally have that spark that will make Tess feel like she has everything. But vacation doesn’t go the way that she expected and she is kidnapped. Losing hope is not an option and she wants to fight. Fight for her life, for her dignity and her name. Being in Q’s possession was terrifying but her body betrayed her. 

All I can say is wow. This has definitely been a crazy read and I had to take few breaks from reading because my emotions could not handle the story. I didn’t think that the story was very dark, there were just a lot of emotions that were involved and the whole concept of abuse is very overwhelming. The sex scenes were definitely hot and yes, they made me blush a couple of times. This is the book that give me hangover. FINALLY! A book that made me crazy. I’m still trying to get over it. Tess was strong and her attempt to stay alive and fight whatever came her way was absolutely insane. 

Author Bio:
Writer, reader, sometimes wife. An avid devourer of sexy romance and angsty New Adult. Nothing beats lolling in a bubble bath with her array of book boyfriends, and plotting torturous stories to put her characters through.
Living Down Under means she writes in the Queen’s English, not Obama’s, and aims to have an entire catalogue of sexy books that keep you wanting more. Oh, and she may or may not be in love with Q from Tears of Tess.

Author Links:

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