Re-Release Blitz: SLUMBER by Christy Sloat An Excerpt & Giveaway!

I am so excited that SLUMBER by Christy Sloat is available now and that I get to share the news!

If you haven’t yet heard about this wonderful book by Author Christy Sloat, be sure to check out all the details below.

This blitz also includes a giveaway for a finished copy of the book courtesy or Christy. and Rockstar Book Tours. So if you’d like a chance to win, enter in the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post.

About The Book:

Title: SLUMBER (Slumber Duology #1)

Author: Christy Sloat

Pub. Date: January 12, 2018

Publisher: CHBB Publishing 

Pages: 234

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Find it: Amazon, B&N, TBD, Goodreads

Not all princesses get their happily ever after...

They tell me I killed my boyfriend Phillip in cold blood. I stabbed him twenty one times. I’m only seventeen years old, and I am serving life in Spindle Ridge Asylum for the Criminally Insane.

I don’t remember killing him, so it’s really hard to believe I’m capable of murder. In fact I don’t remember anything before I came to Spindle Ridge, not even my boyfriend.

I can only grasp onto my realistic dreams while the madness of the asylum threatens to pull me under. I dream I’m a beautiful princess and there is an evil faerie named Maleficent who is bent on my destruction. The dreams are the closest thing I have to memories of my life, except they aren’t real.

I’m crazy. I’m not a princess.

They’re the mad illusions of an irrational teenage girl, right?

They’ve assigned me a new doctor, and she says I can trust her, and that she’ll help me see the truth of who I really am.

When she arrived she brought a new patient, Sawyer, who is everything Spindle Ridge isn’t: exciting, mysterious and beautiful. He promises he’s here to rescue me. Trusting either of them frightens me.

Could it be possible that my dreams are more than just the imaginings of a delusional girl? Could they be truth?

Excerpt:

I woke in the middle of the night hearing screams fill the air. This was not uncommon at all, but tonight I wasn’t expecting it. Normally when Adele’s meds are changed, she wakes screaming that she can’t sleep. Adele’s room is across from mine. She is roughly in her twenties and I never learned how she ended up here. I try not to talk to the other patients. I don’t know why it is, but I don’t fit in with these people. To them I’m the murderer and they tend to think less of me. That’s fine. I am what they say I am. That’s why I’m here, right?

They told me I stabbed my boyfriend, Phillip, but I don’t remember doing it. I actually don’t remember Phillip at all. No recollection of having been in a relationship either. I must have killed him or else I wouldn’t be in Spindle Ridge.

Dr. Altman says that I have to believe that I did it or we will never get anywhere. I’ll admit it’s hard to believe that these hands could stab a person twenty times. No matter how I imagined it, it is always hard to believe. 

I sat up listening hard for the screams. When they came again I noticed they were not female, they were male. The screams were deeper and reached a longer distance than Adele’s cries ever could. I wondered if the whole building could hear him.

I pulled my covers up over my neck and covered my face. I just wanted to sleep and fall back into the dream I was having. It was beautiful, and if I had my way, I would stay there forever.

Wait!

I sat up fast. Closing my eyes, I tried to remember the dream to the last second. It wasn’t the same dream as the one’s prior. This dream was different! This dream was me and a boy.

I never dreamt of anyone but my parents and the evil woman. The dream’s soft lullaby came back to me as I remembered where I was.

The smell of fresh grass came across my senses.

The sky so blue as I lay on a blanket. I rolled over and saw the face of a boy. He was everything that Spindle Ridge wasn’t; he was beautiful. He had long, shaggy, but not unruly, hair that touched his collar. When he smiled at me, he looked like a boy in love. In love with me.

“Get up you lazy sack!”

I opened my eyes and was pulled back into the now. I was forced to leave the dream behind as I was being pulled out of bed by two nurses.

About Christy: 

I am Southern California native, now living in New Jersey! How did that happen? I am married and have  two beautiful little girls who love to read just like Mommy. I have had a passion for books since I was a little girl and an imagination for just as long. I hope my books can inspire others to read and to write too.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will win a finished copy of SLUMBER US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Dying To Read (163)- SPINDLE FIRE by Lexa Hillyer

Hey y’all thanks for stopping by to see my Dying to Read post and of course as always I have to give credit to the lovely Jill over at Breaking the Spine for the Waiting on Wednesday Meme!

Most of you know by now I am a huge fantasy fan! Also I am a huge fan of Fairy Tale retellings/re-imaginings so when I heard about this one I had to add it to mt TBR!  

Title: SPINDLE FIRE

Author: Lexa Hillyer

Release Date: April 11, 2017

Publisher: HarperTeen

Pages: 368

Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Find it: Goodreads | Amazon 

Perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas and Leigh Bardugo, Spindle Fire is an enthralling, wholly original re-imagining of a classic faerie story.

Half-sisters Isabelle and Aurora are polar opposites: Isabelle is the king’s headstrong illegitimate daughter, whose sight was tithed by faeries; Aurora, beautiful and sheltered, was tithed her sense of touch and voice on the same day. Despite their differences, the sisters have always been extremely close.

And then everything changes, with a single drop of Aurora’s blood, a Faerie Queen who is preparing for war, a strange and enchanting dream realm—and a sleep so deep it cannot be broken.

Spindle Fire is a tour de force fantasy set in the dwindling, deliciously corrupt world of the fae, and featuring two truly unforgettable heroines. 

So what do you think? Will you be adding this to your pile? What are you dying to read this week?

Blog Tour- KINGDOM OF ASHES by Rhiannon Walker an Interview and Giveaway!

I am so excited to be hosting a spot on blog tour for KINGDOM OF ASHES by Rhiannon Thomas I loved this series!!!! I have an interview with Rhiannon to share with you today! And make sure to enter the awesome giveaway for a finished copy of the book! 

Haven't heard of KINGDOM OF ASHES? Check it out!

Title: KINGDOM OF ASHES

Author: Rhiannon Thomas

Release Date: February 23, 2016

Pages: 368

Publisher: Harper Teen

Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook

Find it: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks

Asleep for a hundred years, awoken by a kiss, Aurora’s life was supposed to be a fairytale. But since discovering that loyalty to the crown and loyalty to her country are two very different things, Aurora knows she can only dream of happily ever after. Once the enchanted princess, savior of her people, she is now branded a traitor.


Aurora is determined to free her home from the king’s tyrannical rule, even if it means traveling across the sea to the kingdom of the handsome and devious Prince Finnegan—someone who seems to know far more about her magic than he should. However, Finnegan’s kingdom has perils of its own, and any help he gives Aurora will come at a price.


As Aurora and Finnegan work together to harness her power—something so fiery and dangerous that is as likely to destroy those close to Aurora as it is to save them—she begins to unravel the mysteries surrounding the curse that was placed on her over a century before…and uncover the truth about the destiny she was always meant to fulfill.


Brimming with captivating fantasy and life-threatening danger, the sequel to A Wicked Thing takes Sleeping Beauty on an adventure unlike any she’s ever had before.

Now on to the interview!

 Hi Rhiannon! First I want to say welcome back to Two Chicks on Books! I loved KINGDOM OF ASHES and I’m so happy that you could stop back by for a visit!

Thank you so much! I’m so happy to be here again :)

For the readers: can you tell us a little bit about the A WICKED THING series and the characters? 

A Wicked Thing is the story of what happens after Sleeping Beauty wakes up.

In our “previously on…”, Aurora was cursed by the witch Celestine to sleep for a hundred years, before being awoken by the kiss of the awkward but well-meaning Prince Rodric. While she slept, all the magic in her kingdom faded away. Legend says that once Aurora awakens, she’s going to marry the prince, return magic to the kingdom, and save them all.

Except, of course, that she has no idea how to do that. She wants to help, but everything she ever knew is gone, and she can’t know who she can trust and what she can believe. Rodric is nice enough, but she doesn’t love him, as everyone expects. His mother, Queen Iris, seems cruel and controlling, and Aurora’s attempts to explore on her own just get her tangled up in a group of rebels who also want to use her for their own ends. There’s a foreign prince at court too, Finnegan, but he’s a master manipulator, and she can’t figure out what the price of accepting his help might be.

When Aurora discovers that Celestine is very much alive and wants Aurora to join her, she begins to experiment with her own magical powers, to explore just what she’s capable of, and to find out what exactly her “destiny” is really supposed to be.

Is it really over now I could see the possibility for a book 3? And what are you currently working on?

There’s no plans for a third book right now, although I’d love to write one!

I’m currently finishing a different book, Long May She Reign, which is a fantasy YA novel about a socially-awkward scientist girl who ends up as queen when everyone ahead of her in line is murdered.

I know I asked this last time but things can change…Who was your favorite character to write? What about your least favorite?

I think my answer to both questions is the same – Celestine! It’s so interesting to write a villain character and try to see things from her perspective, to explore why she might think that she’s right and that all the other people in the story are the true villains. But her voice was also really challenging at times. I wanted her to have an ethereal brutality to her, and that’s not something that came easily.

What is your favorite passage/scene in KINGDOM OF ASHES?

Most of my favorites are too spoilerly to share, but one of my favorite moments is fairly early in the book, when Aurora sees a dragon for the first time;

She paused beside the entrance for a moment, her toes clinging to the earth, and then there was a sound like a roar, like a crowd bearing down, filling her ears, echoing through the ground.

A dragon emerged from the cave. Its head appeared first, gleaming with red scales. Its deep-set eyes were red too, like the necklace, full of hunger and vengeance and rage. Black lines ran from its eyes down to its crocodile-like nose. Each tooth was the size of Aurora’s hands. Before Aurora could react, the head snapped past her, revealing a long neck, and then a body that went on and on, red and terrible and burning with heat that would have made her flinch, if only she could move. The dragon unfurled its wings, so close that Aurora could see the webbing between the bones, delicate and strong as a spider’s web, so large that for a moment they were all she could see. Her world turned red.

It was the most terrifying and beautiful thing she had ever seen. Heat pulsed off its skin, heat that settled within her, surging with her blood. The tail flicked past her, covered in black spikes, ending in a narrow point, so thin that she could have caught it in one hand.

Nothing existed except the dragon. She could almost taste its fire. And she knew what Finnegan meant, why his careful smile turned into genuine excitement when he spoke of these creatures. They were magnificent, uncontainable, bursting from the earth itself and refusing to sleep again.

The dragon twisted. It snapped its jaws and looked at her for no longer than a heartbeat. She looked back, her mouth slightly open, unable to breathe. Then the dragon gave its wings one powerful sweep and shot off over the top of the ridge. Aurora turned to follow its progress. A trail of fire burst into the sky, and then the creature was gone.

What kind of research did you have to do for the story?

I did a lot of research of details that probably don’t really matter that much, in the end. I wanted Vanhelm to have a turn-of-the-century feel, and that meant checking things like, when were trams invented? How did they work before electricity? How tall could buildings be before the invention of concrete? How DO skyscrapers work? How quickly can messages travel over long distances?

I also researched dragon legends. Not really because I needed to, but because it was a fun way to procrastinate while pretending to work.

What are you reading right now? Or what do you have on your TBR that you’re dying to read?

I’m currently reading Into the Dim by Janet B Taylor. Time travelling adventure! And I can’t wait for Sharon Biggs Waller’s new book, The Forbidden Orchid, in March. I absolutely adored her debut, A Mad, Wicked Folly (artists! Suffragettes! What’s not to love?), and I’m dying to get my hands on this new story from her.

Who is your ultimate Book Boyfriend?

Ahh this is a hard question. Is it cheating to pick Bellamy, from The 100? He sort of exists in a book.

What inspired you to write YA?

Libba Bray. I was very unhappy during my first year of college, and then I stumbled across Libba Bray’s Gemma Doyle series. Her writing was so perfect. The characters and the themes and the imagery… it just spoke to me, so completely, and helped to make things make more sense. I wanted to be able to write a book like that one day.

And YA is so perfect for writing those sorts of stories. The whole genre really is about girls finding themselves, figuring out who they are, seeing the darkness in the world and still realizing how powerful they can be. Who wouldn’t want to play with that, as a writer, and as a feminist too?

Last time we did some lightening round questions so this time we’ll do some “would you rather’s”

Would you rather have a dragon or be a dragon?

THIS IS TOO HARD. I think I’d have a dragon, assuming it didn’t set me on fire. Maybe a cute shoulder dragon?

Would you rather get up early or stay up late?

Stay up late. Please don’t make me get up early.

Would you rather speak every language in the world or play every instrument?

Speak every language. You could watch EVERY TV show in the world, and read every book without having to rely on translations. And talk to people, although that’s a little scarier than the book and the TV thing. Maybe I’d wish for the ability to speak confidently to people in English first.

Would you rather always have the same song stuck in your head or always have the same dream at night?

Depends… is it a good dream or a bad dream? Do I like the song? I once had the Wombles theme song stuck in my head for about three weeks (thanks, supposed BFF, for causing that in the first place), and it was a nightmare, so I think I’ll pick the dream.

Would you rather live in space or under the sea?

Space! Have you seen anglerfish??

Would you rather take a vacation on an exotic island or in a romantic city?

Romantic city! Exotic island probably = big spiders, and I’m so not about that.

Would you rather live without a telephone or a television?

…am I allowed to watch TV on my laptop? If so, I don’t actually own a TV now. Otherwise, I’d do without the telephone. I hate phone calls, and I can’t miss the next episode of Jane the Virgin.

Would you rather live in the city or the country?

The city. I need to be able to get ridiculously flavored coffee at a moment’s notice.

Would you rather live by the ocean or by the mountains?

By the ocean.

Would you rather be stuck in a house with someone you hate or be stuck in a house alone?

For how long?? Can I bring my cat? I think I’d pick alone, though, as long as it wasn’t forever.

Thanks so much Rhiannon for answering my questions!

Thanks so much for having me!

About Rhiannon:

Rhiannon Thomas is a recent graduate from Princeton University, where she studied English and Japanese, and smuggled bubble tea into the library on a regular basis. She now lives in York, England. 


As well as reading and writing YA fiction, she runs the blog FeministFiction.com, where she discusses TV, books, and all kinds of fannish things from a feminist perspective. 

I don't hang out on Goodreads much, so if you want to contact me, please swing by my personal website or message me on Twitter.

Website | Twitter | Tumblr | Instagram | Goodreads

Giveaway Details:

Win (1) of (2) signed sets of A Wicked Thing and Kingdom of Ashes by Rhiannon Thomas (INT)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out the Tour Schedule HERE!

Blog Tour- A WICKED THING by Rhiannon Thomas and a Giveaway!

Hey y'all! I'm super excited to take part in the blog tour for A WICKED THING by Rhiannon Thomas! This was a pretty cool Sleeping Beauty retelling and I can't wait for the sequel! I have an interview for you today. So check it out and make sure to stick around for the giveaway!
Haven't heard of A WICKED THING? Check it out!

Title:A WICKED THING
Author: Rhiannon Thomas

Release Date: February 24, 2015

Hardcover: 448 pages

Publisher: Harper Teen

Find it:Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble 

Rhiannon Thomas's dazzling debut novel is a spellbinding reimagining of Sleeping Beauty and what happens after happily ever after.

One hundred years after falling asleep, Princess Aurora wakes up to the kiss of a handsome prince and a broken kingdom that has been dreaming of her return. All the books say that she should be living happily ever after. But as Aurora understands all too well, the truth is nothing like the fairy tale.

Her family is long dead. Her "true love" is a kind stranger. And her whole life has been planned out by political foes while she slept. 

As Aurora struggles to make sense of her new world, she begins to fear that the curse has left its mark on her, a fiery and dangerous thing that might be as wicked as the witch who once ensnared her. With her wedding day drawing near, Aurora must make the ultimate decision on how to save her kingdom: marry the prince or run.

Rhiannon Thomas weaves together vivid scenes of action, romance, and gorgeous gowns to reveal a richly imagined world … and Sleeping Beauty as she’s never been seen before.

 Advanced Praise for A Wicked Thing

“I never thought what happens after Sleeping Beauty wakes up would keep me at the edge of my seat, breathlessly turning pages.  But Rhiannon Thomas has taken the familiar and the cliched and turned it into a tense, fast-paced read full of plot twists and revelations, set in a world at once intriguing and perilous.”

Sherry Thomas, author of The Burning Sky

“The book is welcome twist on the classic helpless-princess-saved-by-dashing-prince one expects from a fairy tale…. Fairy tale and fantasy fans alike will breeze through this retelling and eagerly await her next chapter.”

School Library Journal

“One of the best fairytale retellings I’ve ever read. Thomas uses the well-known back story of Sleeping Beauty to craft an entirely new future for Aurora that is anything but happily-ever-after. Starting the story after the moment that usually signals the end of the fairytale gave this book an original spin and makes it stand out among of sea of simple retellings. Don’t miss this great debut!”

Boswell Book Company, Milwaukee, WI

Check out an excerpt from the book HERE!

Now on to the interview!

Hi Rhiannon! First I want to say welcome to Two Chicks on Books! A WICKED THING was awesome and I’m so happy that you could stop by for a visit!

For the readers: can you tell us a little bit about A WICKED THING and the characters?

Thanks so much for having me! 

A Wicked Thing is an after-the-end retelling of Sleeping Beauty, starting at the moment when the kiss wakes her up.

Aurora is my Sleeping Beauty – a girl who has spent her entire life locked in a tower in an attempt to stop the curse placed on her as a baby. As a result, she’s pretty sheltered and naïve, and has some rather idealistic views of how things should be. But those ideals get challenged pretty quickly when she’s faced with her new world post-curse.

I also have a couple of princes: the awkward, shy Prince Rodric, who Aurora is supposed to marry, and the overconfident Prince Finnegan, who seems determined to use Aurora for his own schemes.

Is there going to be a sequel? And if not what are you currently working on?

There is a sequel, coming early 2016. I actually just finished putting the finishing touches on it. I’ve now started working on my next next book, which is a YA fantasy called Long May She Reign, about a shy girl scientist who becomes queen when the entire court is assassinated.

       Were any of the characters in the book inspired by people from your real life?

I’ve never actually thought about this before. I probably stole things from people I know without realizing it. Aurora was based somewhat on me and some of my close friends – I wrote A Wicked Thing in my first year post-university, when I and everyone I knew were having serious “what do we do with our lives??” crises. So I think a lot of Aurora’s uncertainty and feelings of being overwhelmed come from that.

I wish I could say “oh, the hot male characters are based on guys I know,” but nope. Sorry.

Who was your favorite character to write? What about your least favorite?

I think my favorite character to write was Queen Iris, because it was really fun to take an initially unlikeable character and find the motivation and the humanity in her. I would fight to the death anyone who said she was “evil” now.

My least favorite character to write… I’m not sure, but I think the HARDEST character to write was Celestine, the witch. I struggled a lot to find her voice. In the end, I figured it out by mentally casting Natalie Dormer in the part. Once I had her in my head, everything fell into place.

What is your favorite passage/scene in A WICKED THING?

I have two! One is quite early on, when Aurora is sitting on a roof and looking over the new city with a boy she’s just met, Tristan. The other is much later and much more spoilery, but involves Aurora sitting in a garden with a storybook and a prince.

What kind of research did you have to do for the story?

A lot of random history stuff, mostly. A Wicked Thing is set in a fantasy world, but I wanted the details to feel authentic, so there was a lot of “when were clocks invented? When were mirrors invented? What card games did people play in the late 1700s?” type googling.

But I deliberately didn’t research Sleeping Beauty stories, beyond what I already knew. I wanted the princess and the setting to feel as familiar as possible – the elements that people think of when they think “Sleeping Beauty,” the princess you imagine when you think of Aurora – because I really wanted to play inside that familiar framework.

What are you reading right now? Or what do you have on your TBR that you’re dying to read?

Right now I’m reading The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss – it’s one of those books that’s been recommended to me endlessly for years, but always seemed too long to pick up. Now I’ve started it, I’m seeing that everyone was right. The writing is fantastic!

My most anticipated TBR book is Mechanica by Betsy Cornwell, because I loved her first novel, Tides, and I’m a sucker for feminist fairy tale retellings.

Who is your ultimate Book Boyfriend?

Omg, evil question! Just one? I’m kiiiind of in love with Nikolai from The Grisha Trilogy right now, and I love Will from The Infernal Devices. And then there’s half the guys from Harry Potter. Ron was my ultimate book boyfriend when I was a teenager, and now I reeeally love Neville and Sirius.

What inspired you to write YA?

I really love the overall feel of the genre – that central theme of self-discovery, characters figuring out who they are and who they want to be.

Lightening Round Questions

Twitter or Facebook?

Twitter

Favorite Superhero?

Thor. I love his Labrador-puppy feel.

Favorite TV show?

Too many! Probably The 100 right now.

Sweet or Salty?

Sweet

Any Phobias?

Moths

Song you can’t get enough of right now?

Taylor Swift’s cover of Riptide

Fall Movie you’re most looking forward to?

Mockingjay Part 2! Or the new Star Wars.

Thanks so much Rhiannon for answering my questions! 

About Rhiannon:

Rhiannon Thomas is a recent graduate from Princeton University, where she studied English and Japanese, and smuggled bubble tea into the library on a regular basis. She now lives in York, England.

As well as reading and writing YA fiction, she runs the blog FeministFiction.com, where she discusses TV, books, and all kinds of fannish things from a feminist perspective.

I don't hang out on Goodreads much, so if you want to contact me, please swing by my personal website or message me on Twitter.

Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Tumblr | Instagram |YouTube

GIVEAWAY

Details: There will be two prizes. Open to all US, UK and Canada Residents.

FIRST PRIZE: Win (1) signed copy of A Wicked Thing by Rhiannon Thomas plus a spinning wheel charm bracelet.

SECOND PRIZE: Win (1) of (2) signed copy of A Wicked Thing by Rhiannon Thomas.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out the Tour Schedule for more awesome posts!