I am so excited to have Sara B. Larson here today! I freaking loved DEFY you can see my review here. I fell hard for Damien and I loved Alexa's strength the was a badass character.And today we get a deleted scene from the book! Make sure to enter the giveaway below also there's 5 signed copies (US only) and 3 audiobooks (US & Canada) up for grabs!
Haven't heard of DEFY? Check it out!
DEFY (Defy #1)
Sara B.
Larson
Release Date:
January 7, 2014
Hardcover: 336
pages
Publisher: Scholastic
Press
A lush and gorgeously written debut, packed with action, intrigue, and a
thrilling love triangle.
Alexa Hollen is a fighter. Forced to disguise herself as a boy and serve in the
king's army, Alex uses her quick wit and fierce sword-fighting skills to earn a
spot on the elite prince's guard. But when a powerful sorcerer sneaks into the
palace in the dead of night, even Alex, who is virtually unbeatable, can't
prevent him from abducting her, her fellow guard and friend Rylan, and Prince
Damian, taking them through the treacherous wilds of the jungle and deep into
enemy territory.
The longer Alex is held captive with both Rylan and the prince, the more she
realizes that she is not the only one who has been keeping dangerous secrets.
And suddenly, after her own secret is revealed, Alex finds herself confronted
with two men vying for her heart: the safe and steady Rylan, who has always
cared for her, and the dark, intriguing Damian. With hidden foes lurking around
every corner, is Alex strong enough to save herself and the kingdom she's sworn
to protect?
Now on to the deleted scene!
This is from the beginning of the book. It was
cut to help keep the pacing up, which I agreed was the right thing to do. But
it is a tender scene between Alexa and Marcel, and one that I think sheds even
a little bit more light on their relationship. Hope you enjoy!
I
sat huddled on a log, chilled even though the heat of the humid day still clung
to the limp breeze that tugged at my newly shorn hair. I reached up
self-consciously, rubbing the back of my neck. Tears burned painfully close to
the surface, but I couldn’t let them out.
“Here
you go, Alex,” Marcel said as he took a seat next to me. He held out a plate
with some sort of hot, mashed up plantain concoction, one slice of mango, and a
hard roll next to it. “Army rations.” He shrugged and bit into his roll. “At
least it’s hot.”
I
stared at my twin, at the amazing nonchalance he pulled off so
effortlessly. How could he act like
that, as if this was some great adventure we’d embarked on? Instead of a
desperate decision made moments before the army showed up to collect the
orphans after the raid on our village. The one they were too late to stop.
“You
need to eat,” Marcel said, softer this time, nudging me with his elbow. “You
look too much like a girl.”
“That’s
because I am a girl,” I growled, my voice low. I stared into his hazel eyes and
noticed that they were bloodshot. He nodded encouragingly at my plate, and I
forced myself to take a bite of the plantains. They were almost tasteless, but
helped ease the ache in my belly that I hadn’t even noticed until then. Before
I knew it, I’d eaten everything on my plate.
A
whistle sounded in the distance, and all around us men began to stand, tossing
dirt on the fires, stomping them out. They seemed in a hurry to get to bed.
Within minutes, almost everyone had retired to their tents.
Marcel
stood next to me, watching the organized chaos of the army camp. We were close
to the same height, but he’d started passing me up in the last six months, and
my shoulder was just barely below his now.
The
sun had long since dipped behind the foliage surrounding us, sending shadows
sliding along the camp. In the distance a flock of macaws took flight, their
feathers a splash of vibrant color against the falling darkness. We’d marched
all day, straight in to the jungle, heading for Tubatse, the capitol city of
Antion. We’d heard rumors that once we reached the capitol, they’d hold
fighting competitions to decide where to place all the new recruits in the
army. If Marcel’s new friend Rylan was to be believed, the best fighters would
be placed at the palace and have a chance to train for a position on the
personal guard for the prince, or even the king. And I was very good at
fighting. Maybe if I could work my way into a position guarding one of the
royal family, I would be able to do something to put a stop to this war.
Before
the entire country of Antion became a nation of orphans and soldiers.
I
followed Marcel in to the tent we’d been given to share. We each had a thin,
gray bed roll to sleep on and a thin, gray blanket. No pillows. No kiss
goodnight from Mama. No murmur of our parents’ voices over the crackle and hiss
of the fire in our hearth as I drifted off to sleep.
Instead,
I lay across from Marcel, my chest so tight, it felt like someone had reached
in, past my ribcage, and gripped my heart in an iron-tight fist.
The
tears I’d worked to hold in all day finally leaked out, dripping across the
bridge of my nose, down my temple, to pool in my hairline. I squeezed my eyes
shut, against the tears, the pain, the loss and grief that consumed me. Mama
and Papa were gone, our home was gone, even Alexa was gone. For the rest of my
life I had to pretend to be Alex.
“Don’t
cry, Alexa,” Marcel’s whisper was my undoing. My whole body convulsed with
sobs. I buried my head in my blanket, trying to smother the sounds of my
crying. I felt him scoot up next to me, and put his arms around me, pulling me
close. “Sshh.” He stroked the hair—my short, ugly hair—back from my face. He
was all I had left. My twin, my other half. We’d grown up training side by
side, as if I’d been born a boy. But I never thought I’d have to pretend like I
was one.
“It’s
better this way, you know that, right?”
I
nodded, taking a deep breath of air, forcing myself to choke the tears back.
“I
couldn’t let them take you to one of the breeding houses.”
I
pulled back a bit, reached up to wipe the tears off of my face and let my hand
trail to the side, forcing myself to touch my short hair. “I know. I’m glad you
thought of this. I’ll be okay. I just have to get used to it.”
Marcel
scooted back over onto his own bedroll, but he still reached out, taking one of
my hands in his. I squeezed it tightly, then let go. “If someone walked in and
saw you holding my hand, we’d never hear the end of it.”
I
could see the guilt and pain on his face as he pulled his hand back and yanked
his blanket up over his shoulders.
“We’re
going to be okay,” I said, trying to convince myself as much as anything. “If
your new friend Rylan is right, we’ll have the chance to prove how good we are.
We’ll beat everyone and be in the personal guard for the king before you know
it.”
“I
never thought I’d say this, but now I’m glad you trained with me,” Marcel said.
“Me,
too.”
We
were silent for a minute, until Marcel’s breathing grew steady and deep. I rolled
onto my back and stared at the canvas ceiling above me. I was going to Tubatse.
If Mama knew we were going there now, after all the effort they’d made to live
as far away from there as possible—away from the king’s grasp, from his army
and breeding houses—what would she think?
It
didn’t matter. She was gone.
It
was just me and Marcel now.
Outside
our tent, a howler monkey screeched, somewhere above us in the trees. I pulled
the blanket tighter around my shoulders and scooted a little bit closer to Marcel.
At least I still had my twin by my side.
Thanks Sara that was awesome!!!
About
Sara:
Sara loves writing, reading, and dessert--but the order varies
by the day. She wrote her first book in second grade about a woman who had
a premature baby, complete with a "to scale" drawing of the baby's
size--while her mom was pregnant. To say she was a bit precocious is putting it
lightly. Now that she’s an adult, she writes books for teens that have magic
and romance and kick-butt girls (and very few premature babies). She lives in
Utah with her husband, two young sons and baby girl. She writes during naptime
and the hours when most people are sleeping. Her husband claims that she
should have a degree in "the art of multitasking." On occasion you
will find her hiding in a bubble bath with a book and some Swedish Fish. she is
represented by Josh Adams of Adams Literary and her YA debut DEFY is coming
January '14 from Scholastic!
Giveaway
Details:
5 Signed Copies of DEFY US ONLY
3 Audio book Downloads of DEFY US/Canada Only
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Check out
the Tour Schedule:
Week One:
Week Two:
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