Book Blitz + Excerpt and Giveaway: Ex-Factor by Elisa Dane

 

Ex Factor

by Elisa Dane

Release Date: 04/22/14

Summary from Goodreads:

Nevaeh Evan’s life is uprooted after her father’s death, when she moves in with her aunt and cousin, Livvie. Her plan to lay low at her new high school isn’t working. Her fri end’s jerky boyfriend keeps asking her out, the guy she likes treats her like garbage, and the though t of tumbling again makes her want to hurl.

So when her aunt pushes her into joining the elite X-FACTOR cheer le ading squad, Navaeh goes along with it.  But Nev feels she doesn’t deserve to be happy. Not after what happened the night her father died.

Bodie Scott knows about grief all too well. Critically injure d in an alcohol related accident the year before, Bodie struggles with the fact that he’ll never pl ay football again, and he’s so far behind in credits he can’t see straight. That is, until he mee ts Nev. Haunted by their bloody pasts and wary of a shared future, Nev and Bodie turn to one another fo r comfort and support, and realize they’re not so alone after all. And when the party scene at school threatens the life of a loved one, the two stop at nothing to keep the past from repeatin g itself.

Available from:
Amazon * Barnes & Noble

Excerpt:
Clueless as to what had her so excited, I sat quietly and waited for her to calm down. It was apparent she wore her emotions on her sleeve, and I knew right away she was a straight shooter. This girl couldn’t lie to save her life. The truth would always show on her face. She hooked a finger toward me and leaned in close again.“I cheer with Livvie on the Diamond team. She’s been talking you up, telling everyone what a great tumbler you are. Are you excited about your tryout tonight?”

My stomach fell as soon as the words “excited” and “tryout” fell out of her mouth. I was most certainly not excited. In fact, if I were being honest,I was dreading it. I’d lain awake most of the night, worrying the girls at the gym wouldn’t like, or accept me, and terrified I wouldn’t be able to meet the coach’s expectations. X Factor Cheer was looking for a ringer for their level five squad, an ace in the hole—someone with amazing acrobaticskill to “wow” the competition judges and audience.

Someone emphatically not me.

About the Author

I'm a lover of books (YA & Adult romance), chocolate, reality television, and am a proud mother to three All Star cheerleaders. Woot!

I write Contemporary YA romance with cheerleaders. Yep. I write what I know, and it's my hope that my stories will not only take you on a romantic journey that will warm your heart, but that you'll find a new respect and interest in the sport of Cheerleading you may not have had before.

Author Links:

   

***GIVEAWAY***

1 ebook of Ex-Factor & $10 Amazon gift card (INT)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Blitz Organized by:

 

Review: Lore: Tales of Myth and Legend Retold by Brinda Berry, Karen Y. Bynum, Laura Diamond, Jayne A. Knolls, Theresa DaLayne, and Cate Dean

Lore: Tales of Myth and Legend Retold by Brinda Berry, Karen Y. Bynum, Laura Diamond, Jayne A. Knolls, Theresa DaLayne, and Cate Dean

A collection of six folklore retellings that will twist your mind and claim your heart.

SHIMMER: A heartbroken boy rescues a mermaid... but is it too late to save her?

BETWEEN is about a girl, a genie, and a ton of bad decisions. 

SUNSET MOON: Eloise doesn't believe in Native American magic--until the dreamcatcher spiders spin her down an unknown path.

THE MAKER: An incapacitated young man bent on revenge builds a creature to do it for him.

A BEAUTIFUL MOURNING: The story of a Maya goddess torn between duty and love, and the ultimate sacrifice she must make to achieve true happiness.

THE BARRICADES: When a human girl risks everything to save the life of an Eternal prince, will their feelings for each other change the world they know, or tear it apart?

 

Pages: 294

Format: Ebook (only)

Published by: Sweet Biscuit Publishing LLC

Genre: YA

Overall Rating:

 

Reviews:

Shimmer: ✮✮✮
This story revolved around the love between a human boy and a mermaid who longs for more than what she has. I loved Cora's feisty spirit and Draven's persistence in wanting to help her. I loved the relationship between them, but I was not too fond of how the book ended. Don't get me wrong, it's not a horrible ending, but I would have preferred if it had ended a different way than how it had ended. Overall, it was a cute quick read with enjoyable characters.

Between: ✮✮
I was not a huge fan of this one, just because I felt like there was a lot left unexplained and I just kept think, "What does that even mean?", or "Why is this relevant?", or "What does this do to add to the story?",  but it was still a quick read. I also found myself just overall frustrated with the main character, I couldn't connect with her (I did at times feel bad for what she was going through though) and it kept me from fully enjoying the story. I did like the description of the djinn (or a genie for those who don't know the term we got genie from). The only person that I actually kind of liked was Sienna because nothing she did within the story irked me, and she seemed like the kind of person who genuinely cared about those she claimed to care about.

Sunset Moon: ✮✮✮✮

Scarlet Moon was a fascinating story with very well-written characters. It was a quick read that held my attention from the beginning until the end. It would have been nice to see Eloise have an amazing ending with all her issues resolved, but I will have to settle for the wonderful ending that had occurred. I enjoyed Ms. Wren and Ms. Morgan, but who wouldn't? Ven - Eloise's "love interest" - I wouldn't necessarily call it love because they had just met, but he was a pretty amazing character who wanted to help her without even knowing her.

 

The Maker: ✮✮

I couldn't get into this book and maybe that's because I'm not really into revenge (although I do understand why he was driven the way he was), it just felt lacking in my opinion with no real attention-grabbing point at all. I did like the myth involving the golem because it's not something that I normally read when I pick up a book, so that was refreshing to read.

 

 

A Beautiful Mourning: ✮✮✮✮

This story was beautiful and sweet. The characters were enjoyable, and I loved all but Nacon. I really wished I could have been in that story to shake him, and let him know that men don't own women!! The ending torn my heart to shreds, but it was also a satisfying ending.

The Barricades: ✮✮✮✮✮
This story was fascinating, and hard to put down. It was a borderline forbidden romance that bloomed between the two main characters that was sweet and adorable. The characters were very well written, and instead of there being a damsel in distress there was a prince in distress. I definitely enjoyed that little switch up, because usually it's the opposite. The ending was great, and this story was a great choice to conclude this anthology.

Week at a Glance Monday #2

I was really busy last week, so there are not many changes done to my goals.

This Week's Goals:

Currently Reading
Received: Amazon
Format: E-Copy
Review: Yes

Currently Reading
Received: Amazon
Format: Hardback
Review: Still Deciding



 

Reading Next
Received: Netgalley (Helene Dunbar)
Format: E-Copy
Review: Yes





Last Week's Accomplishments:




Finished Reading
Received: Author (Brinda Berry)
Format: E-Copy
Reviewed

Book Blitz + Excerpt and Giveaway: Lore: Tales of Myth and Legend Retold by Brinda Berry, Karen Y. Bynum, Laura Diamond, Jayne A. Knolls, Theresa DaLayne, and Cate Dean

Lore: Tales of Myth and Legend Retold

by Brinda Berry, Karen Y. Bynum, Laura Diamond, Jayne A. Knolls, Theresa DaLayne, Cate Dean

Release Date: 03/2014

Summary from Goodreads:

A collection of six folklore retellings that will twist your mind and claim your heart.

SHIMMER: A heartbroken boy rescues a mermaid... but is it too late to save her?

BETWEEN is about a girl, a genie, and a ton of bad decisions.

SUNSET MOON: Eloise doesn't believe in Native American magic--until the dreamcatcher spiders spin her down an unknown path.

THE MAKER: An incapacitated young man bent on revenge builds a creature to do it for him.

A BEAUTIFUL MOURNING: The story of a Maya goddess torn between duty and love, and the ultimate sacrifice she must make to achieve true happiness.

THE BARRICADES: When a human girl risks everything to save the life of an Eternal prince, will their feelings for each other change the world they know, or tear it apart?

 

Excerpt

Shimmer by Brinda Berry:

Draven Manning watched the naked female wade into the inky waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Silent as a hermit crab, he sat on the sand hidden by tall sea oats and studied her petite body, long hair thickly draped to the waist. She held a backpack, an odd addition to her nakedness, which she dropped on the sand. He could have loudly cleared his throat or walked back up to the house. But he didn’t.

Not that he was a total creeper. She’d appeared from nowhere like some magical mist formed in a female shape. The wind lifted strands of her hair away from her body increasing the otherworldly feel of the scene.

He continued to watch and acknowledged that wishing he could see better or had binoculars did fall into creeper territory. His friends always talked about what a nice guy he was. Maybe he didn’t want to be a nice guy.

Being the nice guy had landed him here in this tiny Gulf Coast town with his dad for the summer. He had no choice, because he couldn’t stand to look at the people he’d trusted. They had betrayed him, and he’d pretended it was no big deal. He lowered his forehead to his bent knees and pulled air into his lungs. A deep exhale steadied the shaking. He was eighteen, not eight. It was time to man up. Move on with life. Forget what had happened and quit feeling sorry for himself.

For a week, he’d strolled the beach by himself. In the daylight hours, families cluttered the sand so he waited for nightfall. He always returned to this spot on the sand to sit and think. He could’ve sat on the deck with the same view, but that’s where his dad always sat and smoked cigars.

His dad would already be in bed at this hour.

The girl swam farther and farther out to sea. Her moonlight swim went beyond his seeing range. She was far enough out that he couldn’t tell if a glint on the water might be her head or a fish or a buoy. She had to be an excellent swimmer.

Clouds moved across the moon to dim his view of her even more. A gust of wind blew sand into his face. He jumped from his spot and ran, his bare feet pounding on the packed sand. He saw the crashing wave deliver her body to shoreline and teasingly pull her back. Why hadn’t he noticed that she was in trouble?

He stomped into the chilly ocean. “Shit.” His jeans sucked up the water and clung to his legs. “Shit, shit, shit.” Waves pushed against his thighs, whipping him off balance until he braced himself for the tide.

She floated face down with her hair billowing out in thin tentacles. He grabbed her upper arms, flipped her body, and pulled her to shore. Her lower body dragged in the sand, so he picked her up. She probably didn’t weigh much, but her limp body sagged as he carried her like a sleeping child.

Out from the tide’s reach, he placed her on the sand and pressed two fingers against her neck. Not dead. Not dead. Not dead. But not breathing, either. He couldn’t remember the steps. His heart slapped against his chest like paper caught in moving bicycle spokes. People learned CPR just in case. He never expected to actually need it. He squeezed his eyes shut, heard Coach Vorlosky’s calm instructions, visualized each step, and began chest compressions.

One push, two, three, four…one push a second how many times? Maybe thirty. He’d barely passed the test and wished he’d paid more attention. “You better not die. I’ve had a shitty week. Come on, come on.” Her head lolled to the side. He grabbed her chin, tilted her head back, pinched her nose, covered her mouth with his and blew.

He hovered above her mouth to see if she breathed. Strands of long, dark hair draped over her face. He brushed the hair out of the way and started again. On his fifth round of administering CPR, he glanced around for help, which wouldn’t happen at 2:00 a.m. on a deserted strip of beach in the middle of nowhere.

Her loud gasp, sounding like the reverse of a balloon losing air, startled him.

She turned her head to the side and coughed out water. “What…” She coughed again.”…do you think you’re doing?”

He barely heard her. The girl must be out of her mind, which would explain why she thought a night swim by herself was a good idea. “Saving you.”

“I didn’t need your help,” she muttered.

He scooted back on the sand several inches—his heart starting to slam again—and rubbed his face. Sand coated his hand and clung to his eyelashes. “Not the way I see it.” His voice sounded strangled and loud.

She sat up and pulled her knees to her chest. Anger flashed in her eyes. “What’s your deal?”

“You weren’t breathing.” He wiped dripping water from his forehead with the back of his hand. “I was scared that you’d…never mind that thought. You’re alive.”

“Um hmm. Sure am. Back here on the shore whether I like it or not.” She was all hair and limbs with her arms wrapped around her knees.

 

Buy Links:

Amazon * Barnes and Noble * Kobo * iTunes

Author Bios:

Brinda Berry:

Brinda Berry lives in the southern US with her family and two spunky cairn terriers. She's terribly fond of chocolate, coffee, and books that take her away from reality.  She doesn't mind being called a geek or “crazy dog lady”. When she's not working the day job or writing a novel, she's guilty of surfing the internet for no good 

Find Brinda at www.brindaberry.com .

Karen Y. Bynum:

Dragons, unicorns, genies…oh my! NA/YA author, coffee-lover, olive-hater, tea-drinker, music-listener. Random becomes me. Easily distrac— Blog

Laura Diamond:

Laura Diamond is a board certified psychiatrist and multi-published author of all things young adult paranormal, dystopian, and horror. When she’s not writing, she is working at the hospital, blogging at Author Laura Diamond--Lucid Dreamer, and renovating her 225+ year old fixer-upper mansion.

Jayne A. Knolls:

Jayne A. Knolls lives and works in New York City.  The Maker is her first published work of New Adult Fiction. Jayne can reached at JAKnolls@optonline.net

Theresa DaLayne:

My name is Theresa DaLayne and I’m a new adult author with Bloomsbury Spark, an amazing digital imprint of Bloomsbury publishing. Website

Cate Dean:

Hi there - thanks for checking in. My name is Cate Dean, and I write romantic suspense and paranormal, with some action packed YA paranormal and fantasy thrown in. I love to write, and I have been doing it most of my life. I've made up stories in my head for as long as I can remember, and I am thrilled to be able to write them down and share them with you. If you want to be the first to know when the next book is released, or be in on some fun, exclusive contests and giveaways, join my list here: http://catedeanwrites.com/join-my-list. You can learn more about me and my books at my website: http://catedeanwrites.com

***GIVEAWAY***
 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Blitz Organized by:

Review: Witch's Brew by Heidi R. Kling

Witch's Brew by Heidi R. Kling

The Spellspinners of Melas County is a fantasy YA romance series about a witch, a warlock, and their fight for their forbidden but prophesied love.

Once soulmates, the witch and warlock covens of the California coast have been estranged for a century. Raised to hate each other, their teenagers meet in the Solstice Stones, a magical battleground where they draw energy from each other to maintain their balance. 16 year olds Logan and Lily have spent years training for their first Stones…only to discover just days before that the enemy may not be what either of them had thought.

In Witch’s Brew, Lily is torn between her feelings for Logan and her coven’s need to know who—or what—he is. The young lovers race against time, their distrust for each other, and the powerful influence of their elders to unravel the mystery of their pasts before their future is destroyed. 

This is an Active Fiction title
"Active fiction" is a new type of e-reading experience that allows the reader and the author to interact with each other and the text in new and different ways.

In Witch’s Brew, Lily and Logan's fate is already decided, but Heidi explores several different possible pathways for how they get there. She shares scenes that wouldn’t normally fit in a book format and gives readers more precious moments between the two young lovers. As the series progresses, you'll see some normal narrative forms, interspersed with smaller scenes, alternate points of view, and a lot of "what if" scenarios.

Pages: 342

Format: Ebook (only)

Published by: Coliloquy LLC

Genre: YA Fantasy + Paranormal

 

Rating:

Review:

This story is engaging from the moment you start reading. It grabs your attention and doesn't release until you have finished reading, and that just leaves you begging to get your hands on the next story to see where the story takes you next. I loved Lilly, Daisy, Orchid, Logan, and even Chance. Lilly and Logan have personalities that connect so well together, which makes there developing relationship one that you can actually believe in. Orchid is probably my favorite character overall because she has this feisty attitude and she supports Lilly completely (even when she doesn't necessarily agree). The ending of the book was phenomenal, even with a cliffhanger and questions that I need to be answered. This is one story that you can't just read the first book and be satisfied.

I definitely recommend getting your hands onto this book as soon as possible, because this is one story you do not want to miss out on reading.

Note: I received this book free from Heidi R. Kling and Coliloquy in exchange for an honest review.