THE CHARGE by Sharon Bayliss - Tour Stop! - PART THREE! - My Review

MY REVIEW:

Holy wowzers! I could not put this book down!!! I mean, I did, but that's only because someone expects me to feed my family and get my kiddo to and from school! And do the dishes. And fold the laundry. And feed the dogs. And shower. 

And . . . well, you know . . . just another day in the life. 

But anyway, WOW. This book gripped me from the very first page!!!  

I LOVED THE CHARGE! Absolutely loved it!! I was instantly drawn in, and curious about the alternate reality Sharon Bayliss created. 

And what an alternate reality it was! Imagining our country divided like it was in THE CHARGE, was a very strange concept to consider. My mind was constantly running through the scenes and picturing what it would be like to live in a place like the Texas Empire. When I read stories like this one, I always find myself wishing my imagination worked the way some of these authors' imaginations work. Creating such an alternate reality like that, down to even the smallest details, is something that always makes me shake my head in awe and wonder. It takes such a talent, and THE CHARGE was no exception. I never felt confused or lost--Sharon's Texas Empire was amazing and I could picture it as if it was so.

I can't wait to see this story continue, and watch Warren step into his new roll with Lena buy his side. I love the two of them equally, and can't wait to see their stories unfold. I'm assuming there's a second book in the works, right Sharon? RIGHT!?!

My only complaint would be that because I'm a huge fan of first person, I would have preferred to see this written in the dual POVs of Warren and Lena. I think it would have amped up a few of the scenes, particularly in the romance area. (Which, if I'm being honest, I would have liked more of. But I think we all know that I pretty much just want all romance all the time, with a small hint of paranormal or fantasy, and then back to the kissing. lol)

Regardless, this was easily a five-star read for me, and I can hope that we'll see a bit more romance in the next book! *hint hint* 

THE CHARGE

by Sharon Bayliss

When King of the Texas Empire kidnaps Warren's brother, Warren embarks into a still Wild West to save him. On his journey, he makes a discovery that changes his life forever—he and his brother are long-lost members of the Texas royal family and the King wants them both dead. 

He gets help from an activist Texan named Lena, who's itching to take on the King and happens to be a beautiful firecracker Warren can't stay away from. Convincing her he's not one of the bad guys becomes harder when a mysterious energy stirs in his body, turning his brain into a hive of emotions and memories—not all his own.

A legacy of violence is not all he inherited from the brutal Kings of Texas. The myth that the royal family possesses supernatural powers may not be myth at all.Gone are the days when choosing a major was a big deal. Now Warren must save his brother and choose whether or not to be King, follow a King, or die before he can retire his fake ID.

Sharon's Website

Twitter

Facebook

THE CHARGE on Goodreads

Purchase Links: 

Amazon 

Barnes & Noble

THE CHARGE by Sharon Bayliss - Tour Stop! - PART TWO! A deleted scene! YAY!

Here's an EXTRA SPECIAL DELETED SCENE from THE CHARGE, just for my blog followers!!! 

About this deleted scene, from Sharon: "Since I was right on the border of YA and adult, I struggled to classify The Charge. In an earlier draft, I had more scenes from the perspective of adult characters, like Jack and the President. In order to shift The Charge more towards the YA classification, I decided to cut most of the scenes from the perspectives of adult characters."

Jack leaned up against the car, playing lookout so he could finally have a moment alone.  He couldn’t see much of his surroundings under the new moon sky, but his other senses were working against him, making it impossible to ward off emotions he would rather not feel.  Every sensation, the warm night air on his face, the frogs singing, and worst of all the dusty, sweet smell of some flower that he hadn’t smelled in over thirty years transported him back to his childhood.  A lump grew in this throat and he thought he might cry without even knowing why.  He couldn’t remember the last time he had cried.  Twenty years ago?  That couldn’t be right.  Perhaps if he had allowed himself to care for anything…a pet maybe, or even the fate of a sports team…he might have had reason to cry in the last twenty years.  But his life was empty.  Still, an empty life was the least of what he deserved.

Part of him wanted to be found.  It would be relief to finally face his punishment – most likely death.  He felt bad for wishing it, as he was supposed to be protecting the two kids.  They surely wouldn’t hurt the boy.  He was one of theirs.  And the girl, she’s not important enough to kill.  He still didn’t even understand why Lorelei had been so insistent that he take her.  But who knows, they are savages.  They will kill anyone who threatens them. 

The image of his mother flooded into his mind as crisp and clear as if he had seen her yesterday – tough, tanned skin and hair bleached in defiance of her bloodline, singing out of date pop songs from her old life as she washed their clothes in the river.  He could almost picture her coming through the trees beckoning him to finally join her.  She would tell him she still loved him despite what he had become.  A childish thing to imagine, Jack thought.  The smell of that wretched flower was making him ten years old again.  The rustling of the trees above increased in volume and he was surprised the kids weren’t woken by the sudden roar of wind.  The air felt cooler and his skin crawled with the electric sensation that he hated.  They may not have avoided the storm after all.

THE CHARGE

by Sharon Bayliss

When King of the Texas Empire kidnaps Warren's brother, Warren embarks into a still Wild West to save him. On his journey, he makes a discovery that changes his life forever—he and his brother are long-lost members of the Texas royal family and the King wants them both dead. 

He gets help from an activist Texan named Lena, who's itching to take on the King and happens to be a beautiful firecracker Warren can't stay away from. Convincing her he's not one of the bad guys becomes harder when a mysterious energy stirs in his body, turning his brain into a hive of emotions and memories—not all his own.

A legacy of violence is not all he inherited from the brutal Kings of Texas. The myth that the royal family possesses supernatural powers may not be myth at all.Gone are the days when choosing a major was a big deal. Now Warren must save his brother and choose whether or not to be King, follow a King, or die before he can retire his fake ID.

Sharon's Website

Twitter

Facebook

THE CHARGE on Goodreads

Purchase Links: 

Amazon 

Barnes & Noble

Happy Book Birthday, @DawnaRaver! COLOUR WIELDERS is here!

COLOR WIELDERS  

Heirs of the Magykal Realm Series, Book One

By Dawna Raver

 Behind the Faerying Mysts, hidden from Mortal eyes, is a land where Gods, creatures of myth and legend dwell. And in the Mortal Realm, their Princess lives.

Quinn Sinclair is clueless to who she is. She thinks she's an ordinary young woman—well, mostly ordinary—living an ordinary life with her less than loving mother in Conifer, Colorado. On the night of her birthday, Quinn finds herself betrayed by a man who sends her life spinning out-of-control.

As she struggles to pick up the pieces, a vision of a man with haunting tourmaline-blue eyes begs her for help, and she finds herself transported into a Magykal battle forever changing her life.

Arik Morgaine—Demigod bad boy and outcast of the Magykal Realm—tried to avoid contact with Princess Quinn Sinclair for eighteen years, not wanting to make good on an old threat. But the fates have other plans. Arik can no longer deny his growing desire for Quinn, or the need to protect her from those wanting to control her burgeoning powers. Can the two of them come together and save the Magykal Realm from being destroyed by the Darkest of Magyks, or will powers beyond their control destroy them and their world forever?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

LINKS: 

Visit Dawna's Website

Find Dawna on Facebook

Follow Dawna on Twitter

Add COLOUR WIELDERS on GoodReads

BUY LINKS: 

(Coming Soon)

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Dawna Raver is an author of paranormal romance and urban fantasy. Colour Wielders, book one of the Heirs of the Magykal Realm series, is her debut novel. When she's not spending time in her fantasy world, Dawna loves football, reading, and pretending she's a top chef in the kitchen. Oh, and fawning over her dogs and husband, sometimes in that order.

COVER REVEAL TIME! #QueenKIYA One of my favorites of 2013! KIYA: Hope of the Pharaoh by Katie Hamstead

KIYA

:Hope of the Pharaoh:

by

Katie Teller, writing as Katie Hamstead

To save her younger sisters from being taken to the cruel life of the palace, Naomi intervenes and gives herself to be a wife of the erratic Pharaoh Akhenaten.

In the palace, Naomi finds herself thrust into the intrigues of the royal family, and has her name changed to Kiya. She becomes beloved by the Pharaoh, who declares that she will bear him his heir. But the Great Queen Nefertiti, furious with jealousy, schemes to destroy Naomi and even brings her fidelity into question, which could cost Naomi her very life.

Naomi must play the deadly game carefully. She is in a silent battle of wills, and a struggle for who will one day inherit the crown. And if she does bear an heir, she will have to fight to protect him as well as herself from Nefertiti who is out for blood.

***KIYA: Hope of the Pharaoh will be released on 

April 30th, 2013***

I STRONGLY urge you to check this book out! 

I was the Acquisitions Editor who had the immense pleasure of discovering KIYA. Instantly impressed with Katie's ability to weave a story, I could not put this book down, and every time I did, the story remained in my mind. I promise, you will NOT be disappointed!

Please stay tuned for KIYA's blog tour, beginning on release day (April 3oth)! 

You can find Katie at her website, follow her on Twitter, add KIYA to your GoodReads TBR shelf, and follow along with release day fun at hashtag #QueenKIYA! 

Congratulations on such a beautiful cover, Katie! I am so honored to be a part of your journey to publication, and so happy you chose me and Curiosity Quills! 

THE CHARGE by Sharon Bayliss - Tour Stop! - PART ONE

Hey y'all! Today I will be showcasing a fellow Curiosity Quills author, the fabulous Sharon Bayliss!! 

Her debut novel, THE CHARGE, released on March 2nd, 2013. Stay tuned for a deleted scene (coming later this week), and my review (coming next Monday)! 

THE CHARGE

by Sharon Bayliss

When King of the Texas Empire kidnaps Warren's brother, Warren embarks into a still Wild West to save him. On his journey, he makes a discovery that changes his life forever—he and his brother are long-lost members of the Texas royal family and the King wants them both dead. 

He gets help from an activist Texan named Lena, who's itching to take on the King and happens to be a beautiful firecracker Warren can't stay away from. Convincing her he's not one of the bad guys becomes harder when a mysterious energy stirs in his body, turning his brain into a hive of emotions and memories—not all his own.

A legacy of violence is not all he inherited from the brutal Kings of Texas. The myth that the royal family possesses supernatural powers may not be myth at all.Gone are the days when choosing a major was a big deal. Now Warren must save his brother and choose whether or not to be King, follow a King, or die before he can retire his fake ID.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

An avid daydreamer, Sharon Bayliss has lived in magical version of Austin, Texas for her entire life. So, using a fantastical, alternate history Texas as a setting for her debut novel The Charge, was just “writing what she knows”. To her, nothing goes better with barbecue and live music than robots and superhuman royalty.

As a child, Sharon lived on a 6 ½ acre patch of land with cows for neighbors. She enjoyed playing in mud, collecting frogs, and was so certain that there was a ghost in her closet that her mother admits that she half-expected to really find one there. She began writing her first novel at the age of fifteen (handwritten in a spiral marked ‘private’).

A proud Austinite, Sharon never saw much sense in moving anywhere else and got her degree in social work from the University of Texas at Austin. As an author and social worker, she has devoted her life to making the lives of real people better and the lives of fictional people much, much worse. In addition to her official credentials, she is also an expert in fictional Texas history and make-believe neuroscience.

When she’s not writing, she enjoys living in her “happily-ever-after” with her husband and two young sons. She can be found eating Tex-Mex on patios, wearing flip-flops, and still playing in the mud (which she now calls gardening).

Website

Twitter

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THE CHARGE on Goodreads

THE CHRONICLES OF BLOOD AND STONE by L.L. Hunter

Check out the second book in The Legend of the Archangel series, by L.L. Hunter:

THE CHRONICLES OF BLOOD AND STONE

Book Two of The Legend of the Archangel

The story continues in book two of The Legend of the Archangel.

After the death of Kat, Jacob flees and goes off on his own
But when he discovers that her soul is missing and being held captive by the Lucifites, he sets off on a mission to get it back.
Blackmail leads to revenge and revenge leads to blood.
Will he fulfill his task, or will the bloodshed reveal a new side of Jacob?

On the way he uncovers a secret plot, one that leaves the Nephilim race in danger of being wiped out. Will Jacob and his friends be able to stop the rebellion before it happens?

Is love stronger than revenge?

Buy link:

http://www.amazon.com/Chronicles-Blood-Legend-Archangel-ebook/dp/B00C0L3SZQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1364879806&sr=1-1&keywords=the+chronicles+of+blood+and+stone

And if you haven't yet read the first book, here it is:

THE CHRONICLES OF FIRE AND ICE

Book One of The Legend of the Archangel

Is love stronger than race?

The world is changing as we know it, the human race is dwindling, but so are the angels. In order to preserve their bloodlines they have bred with humans, creating a new race called Nephilim. But there is one race that is more endangered than humans or Seraphim, Archangels.

As most people believe the Archangels have become extinct, rumours surface of a Legend; that a baby was born out of flame, the offspring of an archangel.

Dyston Blackbell is tasked to find and protect this child. He sends her strange dreams in hope that she will find him. When he discovers that she has enrolled at his family’s angel academy in Melbourne, he will do anything to protect Scarlett. But when he finds himself falling for her the Heavenly realm rejects him thus turning his wings black.

But 21-year-old Scarlett Porter realises that being half Archangel has some advantages. She has developed a unique trait, one that marks her as an Archangel. Will she keep it to herself or use it to fight back?

When an old enemy resurfaces, The Lucifites, Scarlett discovers that Dyston’s older brother Lakyn is at the helm of their sinister plans; to destroy the Nephilim race or use Scarlett for their own selfish purposes when they find out who she really is.

And when Lakyn discovers that Scarlett had only seduced him to rescue Dyston from his prison in the Realm of Light, it sends him on a journey of self-discovery and destruction. One that sees him venturing farther off course than his father would like. Will he choose a new life of love or his old life of darkness?

Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/The-Chronicles-Fire-Ice-ebook/dp/B00A8GEUQQ/ref=pd_sim_kstore_2

ZARCONIAN ISLAND by Aja Hannah - Tour Stop and GIVEAWAY!!

ZARCONIAN ISLAND
by
Aja Hannah


My stomach knotted tighter, winding so hard it hurt.

Kate watched me, rubbing a piece of her hair between two fingers.

I bit my tongue, trying to work the words out.

"The boat …we're going under.”

Possessing powers that are feared and shunned, eighteen-year-old Alexandra “Attie” Hotep is no virgin to attacks. Her ancestors, the Zarconians-- mixed-blood inhabitants of Atlantis--were rumored to be the English fairies who kidnapped children, the Caribbean sirens that sunk ships, and the dream-like apparitions who broke into psyches. By the 1850s, they were hunted to near-extinction, leaving the existence of Atlantis and Zarconians little more than myth. 

When a class trip turns deadly, Attie and her friends become stranded on an uncharted tropical island in the middle of the Pacific, and Attie finds herself targeted once more. With a jungle full of extinct and prowling animals, she struggles to find a compromise between keeping her friends safe and keeping her family's secret. 

Enter Doug Hutchinson—the school’s soccer star, and a handsome boy with his own secrets. But Attie and Doug soon realize the animals aren't the only threat. There is a traitor amidst the group, one that plans to turn all Zarconians into permanent myths. And Attie is next on the list.

MY REVIEW:

Youalready know me well enough to know that when I love a book, I basically just fangirl all over it . . .  this review is no exception. 

This book is about Atlantis, hidden vortexes, and lost civilizations. For that fact alone, I loved it before I even began reading! And luckily, once I got into the story, it did not disappoint! 

I loved ZARCONIAN ISLAND! It was a great story with a very unique premise, and characters that were so easy to fall in love with.

Attie was a strong female lead, in a world where strong female leads are uncommon. Her best friend, Kate--though clearly the lighter-spirited of the two--wasn't just a boy-crazy blonde, but the class president, and very intelligent, witty, and loyal. (And believe me--I've been guilty of writing the quirky, boy-crazy blonde best friend a time or two!) 

Doug was a fantastic male lead, who was withdrawn and quiet, but I knew from the get-go how observant and in tune with everything he actually was. Once he set his sights on Attie, he was protective and loyal, and I was so excited to see where things would go!

As for the action and adventure, there were surprises around every turn! I was never bored with this story, and I can't wait to see what comes next for this group of characters! 

GIVEAWAY!

Have you read any books about Atlantis or the Bermuda Triangle? I'd love to read more like this one, so leave a comment below with your recommendations (or just your thoughts about this book/review), and I'll pick a random winner for a free e-book of ZARCONIAN ISLAND! 

Sound good!? 

GO!

EVER's 6-month Birthday Celebration! A GIVEAWAY!

*Before I get started, I want to do a special shout-out to my amazing critique partner, Tamara Mataya (Feaky Snucker), as well as my Uncle David, who both have birthdays today! 

Happy Birthday to youuuuuuuu!!!

*sings off key because I know how Feaks LOVES that*

And now, on to the other reason we're celebrating today! 

MY BABY IS SIX MONTHS OLD TODAY! 

HAPPY 1/2 BIRTHDAY, EVER!

So? What am I doing to celebrate? 

Well, I'm so glad you asked!! 

Inspired by the wonderful Ayden Morgen, who celebrated FADE's 1/2 Birthday just a few weeks ago (you can check out that awesome party HERE), I have decided to beg, borrow and steal so that I could put together this amazing giveaway for all of you! 

You guys! I'm kidding! I didn't have to do any of those things! My friends are just THAT AWESOME. 

So, let's get to it, so my birthday cake doesn't  get eaten while my back is turned. I mean, EVER's birthday cake. Silly me. 

ONE winner will receive this AWESOME Prize Pack, which includes the following:

Paperbacks:

EVER by Jessa Russo (me!)

FADE by A.K. Morgen

E-books:

BURIED by Gerilyn Marin

WILDE'S FIRE by Krystal Wade 

DARK MATTER (Book Two in the Elemental Enmity Series) by Christie Rich

18 THINGS by Jamie Ayres

THE CHARGE by Sharon Bayliss

THE GATHERING DARKNESS by Lisa Collicutt

DEVOUR by Andrea Heltsley

Swag:

EVER Swag

DEVOUR Swag 

Misc:

Query Critique by Sharon Bayliss

One Query + 1st Chapter Critique by Eliza Tilton

a Rafflecopter giveaway

***Due to shipping fees, this giveaway is open to residents in the US or CANADA ONLY. I apologize for excluding anyone outside of these two countries, but I frequently host giveaways that are open Internationally, so please check back often!***

Where to stalk me:

My Website

Twitter

EVER on Amazon

Barnes & Noble

GoodReads/EVER

GoodReads/EVADE