Blog Tour- NAVIGATING THE STARS by Maria V. Snyder With An Interview & Giveaway!

I am thrilled to be hosting a stop on the blog tour for NAVIGATING THE STARS by Maria V. Snyder! I love Maria and all of her books!!! I have an interview with Maria to share with you today check it out and enter to win the giveaway below!

About The Book:

Title: NAVIGATING THE STARS (Sentinels of the Galaxy #1)

Author: Maria V. Snyder

Pub. Date: December 1, 2018 (US Publication Date)

Publisher: Maria V. Snyder

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Pages: 464

Find it: Goodreads, Kindle link, Amazon Paperback, B&N, iBooks

Navigating the Stars is the first book in a new science fiction series. 

Terra Cotta Warriors have been discovered on other planets in the Milky Way Galaxy. And Lyra Daniels' parents are the archaeological Experts (yes with a capital E) on the Warriors and have dragged her to the various planets to study them despite the time dilation causing havoc with her social life. 

When one of the many Warrior planets goes silent, and looters attack her research base, Lyra becomes involved in discovering why the Warriors were placed on these planets. And, more importantly, by who. 

Now on to the interview 

Hey Maria! First I want to say welcome back to Two Chicks on Books! It’s been a while since you’ve been here I’m so happy you could stop by for a chat! NAVIGATING THE STARS was absolutely fantastic and I can’t wait for everyone to read it!

So glad you enjoyed the book. Thanks so much for organizing my blog tour!

For the readers: can you give us a little info on NAVIGATING THE STARS and the characters?

MVS: Basically Terracotta Warriors have been discovered on various exoplanets throughout the Milky Way Galaxy. The main character’s parents are the archeological experts and have been dragging poor Lyra around the galaxy to do research on why these Warriors are there and, more importantly, who put them there. Each time they travel to a new planet, the time dilation kicks in. In NAVIGATING THE STARS, Lyra learns that they’re moving again and this time she’s going to jump 50 years into the future. Not the best thing for her social life 😊  When they arrive at her new home, they’re soon dealing with lots of problems that makes leaving her friends in the past a mere triviality.

So do we have a title for book 2 yet?

MVS: Yes, book 2 will be CHASING THE SHADOWS and book 3 will be DEFENDING THE GALAXY.

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

MVS: Lyra has some qualities that my daughter possesses. She’s practical, smart, and not one to keep her opinions to herself (shhh….don’t tell her!). Captain Harrison was loosely based on my daughter’s friend Harry. Harry wants to be president. He just has this charisma about him and he’s an obvious leader – not to mention his classic good looks. I’d vote for him! And if I’m being honest, I have to admit to channeling my inner mother for Ming, Lyra’s mother 😊

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

MVS: Captain Harrison ended up being lots of fun and Niall was fun in the beginning.

What is your favorite passage/scene in NAVIGATING THE STARS?

MVS: When Lyra and Niall are in her bedroom accessing Q-net files that they’re not supposed to read and they’re “caught” by Lyra’s parents. I still get a laugh when I read that scene!

What kind of research did you have to do for the story? What was it about the Terra Cotta Warriors that made you want to write about them in space?

MVS: I visited the Warriors when they were at the National Geographic Museum in DC about 8 years ago and then again last year when they came to Philadelphia. I’ve also read a ton of books about them and watched a few history channel shows! It’s just something about building a life-sized army to protect the Emperor in the afterlife that stirred my imagination. I wondered what happens if the Warriors in life are damaged – does the Emperor lose a Warrior in the afterlife? For this blog tour, I wrote a guest post about how I sparked on the idea and how it mutated into NAVIGATING THE STARS. You can read it here: http://jessica-agreatread.blogspot.com/

I also attended a week-long Astronomy Workshop for Writers at the University of Wyoming for research. It wan an intense program to teach us all about space, planets, and space exploration. So fun and exhausting!

Who is your ultimate book boyfriend? Mine will always be Valek btw 😉

MVS: Yay – Valek is great! Mine is Ilya Bakhtiian – he’s in the book Jaran by Kate Elliot – one of my favorites!

What inspired you to write YA?

MVS: I never really decided, “hey, I’m going to write YA!” I wrote POISON STUDY and considered it an adult fantasy novel – Yelena’s 19 in the story and Valek’s 33 so not really a YA. But I received so many emails from teens that loved the book. It also came out the same month as Twilight and Bella’s 17 and he’s 105 so…  😊 I think I liked writing about younger characters because there’s so many changes and conflict going on during that transition from teen to adult. It helps that my voice and style definitely has a younger more relaxed feel. Also it’s loads of fun!

Lightening Round Questions

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

MVS: I’m reading Crosstalk by Connie Willis. I love her stories – she has a great sense of humor and this is her first YA. Her Doomsday Book is another in my top 10. I also have a new book on the Terracotta Warriors on my pile that I need to read. It’s called The Terracotta Warriors: Exploring the Most Intriguing Puzzle in Chinese History, by Edward Burman, published in 2018 so it has all the recent discoveries.

What Hogwarts House would the Sorting Hat place you in?

MVS: I just did an online test because I had no idea. I answered 28 questions and it sorted me into….Gryffindor!

Twitter or Facebook?

MVS: Facebook

Favorite Superhero?

MVS: Wonder Woman!

Favorite TV show?

MVS: Sherlock – the first season is the best!

Sweet or Salty?

MVS: Salty!

Any Phobias?

MVS: I don’t like birds flying around my head! I love watching birds, but from a distance.

Song you can’t get enough of right now?

MVS: Say Amen, by Panic! At the Disco

2019 Movie you’re most looking forward to?

MVS: Er…I’m not caught up on movies from 2018 so I’ve no idea what’s coming out! My favorite movie in the last couple of years is Wonder Woman (of course!).

Thanks so much Maria for answering my questions! I can’t wait for everyone to read NAVIGATING THE STARS! Big hugs!!!!

Thanks for hosting me!!

Maria's Bio

Maria V. Snyder changed from being a meteorologist to a novelist in 1995, when she began writing to keep her sanity while raising two children. Since then, she has published numerous freelance articles in magazines and newspapers, and teaches fiction-writing classes at the local college and area libraries. The classes give her the wonderful opportunity to encourage fellow writers, and to keep improving her craft.

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Maria always had a fascination with big storms. Dreaming of chasing tornados, Maria earned a bachelors of science degree in meteorology at Penn State University. But she discovered, much to her chagrin, that forecasting the weather wasn't one of her skills. In order to chase tornados you had to predict where they might form. Creating fantasy worlds where she has complete control of the weather was more agreeable to her.

Maria's research on food-tasting methods with an expert chocolate taster, her husband, turned out to be a delicious bonus while writing Poison Study.

Maria has a brown belt in Isshinryu Karate, and enjoys playing volleyball and the cello. Traveling in general and via cruise ship in particular are her biggest distractions from writing. Maria has traveled to Belize, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Europe, Mexico, the Caribbean and through the Panama Canal.

Maria lives with her husband, son, daughter and yellow lab, Hazelnut, in Pennsylvania where she is at work on more LUNA novels. She is also pursuing a master's degree in writing popular fiction from Seton Hill University.

Readers are welcome to contact Maria at the following email address: maria@mariavsnyder.com.

Where you can find Maria:

Website | Blog | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

Giveaway Details:

3 Winners will receive finished copies of NAVIGATING THE STARS, US Only.

2 Winners will receive finished copies of NAVIGATING THE STARS International.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

12/3/2018- Moonlight Rendezvous- Review

12/4/2018- My Bookish Escapades- Review

12/5/2018- Debbie's World of Books- Review

12/6/2018- a GREAT read- Review

12/7/2018- Two Chicks on Books- Review

Week Two:

12/10/2018- Lisa Loves Literature- Review

12/11/2018- Wishful Endings- Review

12/12/2018- Good Choice Reading- Interview

12/13/2018- Dani Reviews Things- Review

12/14/2018- Feed Your Fiction Addiction- Review

Blog Tour- CAPTIVE DESIRE by Robin Lovett With An Excerpt & Giveaway!

I am happy to be hosting a stop on the blog tour for CAPTIVE DESIRE by Robin Lovett! I have an excerpt to share with you today check it out and enter to win the giveaway below!

About The Book:

Title: CAPTIVE DESIRE (Planet of Desire #2)

Author: Robin Lovett

Pub. Date: November 19, 2018

Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC (Scorched)

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Pages: 200

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, iBooks

Gahnin, a Ssedez general, hasn't had a woman since his first mate died a century ago. And since his kind can live for a thousand years, he's still bound by traditional mourning. If he breaks mourning, he could lose his position in the Ssedez military. His friends and family. Everything.

That means no falling in love. No lust. No sex. For another century.

Then he's ordered to guard Assura, a human woman and military special operative, on a planet whose atmosphere causes a sexual arousal so fierce, it drives people insane if it isn't satisfied.

Even though he tries to keep Assura at arm's length, he's hooked. Forbidden desire called to life by a human, the same species who killed his first mate. Assura needs his body if she is going to live. But if he gives in to his passion, it could destroy him.

Now on to the excerpt! 

Assura grasps my hand. “Gahnin, my relationship with my former lover was what we call casual.”

“Casual?” I have misunderstood and betrayed my  concern for her. I am not supposed to care about her—and I am failing.

My vulnerability grips at my anger and pulls at my chest. I do not understand this woman or these humans or any human. “What is casual about love? There is nothing more powerful in the universe.” I have lived with the grief of losing it for ten decades. I am both marked and scarred forever.

Assura leans her head on her knee, and her expression is full of sensitivity and patience. “I love her for the extraordinary woman she is. She is glorious to share a bed with. But I never had any desire to be exclusive with her or to have a commitment from her.”

This translates into nothing I have experienced before.

I have seen other unmated warriors engage in such relationships. But I have never succeeded. “So, you have not cheated or been unfaithful with me?”

“No. I’m free to sleep with whoever and whenever I like.”  She says it with lightness almost like it is a joke.

But there is nothing funny about it to me. “That means that what you and I have is also…”— I have to swallow before I can say it—“…casual.” The acid eating at my stomach, rather than lessening, gets worse. It starts to burn in my gut.

There is nothing casual about the mating bond that is still brewing inside me for her. It is a force of nature, one that I can try to deny or avoid. One that I must conquer.

She hesitates but eventually agrees. “Yes, this is casual.”

I stare off in the forest. “It is also chemically induced.”

“What do you mean?”

“We have been lovers only because of the toxin in the atmosphere which makes us want to have sex, the desidre.” I say this because  I need it to be true. That is the only reason I still crave her body like an addiction.

She stops breathing, so I have to look at her. “That… is…” She stutters with confusion, and her voice morphs to indignation. “Do you honestly believe that? You think the only reason we’re like this”—she gestures back and forth between us—“like a damn lit fuse waiting to go off, is because of the desidre?”

“Of course it is,” I assert but cannot stop from noticing how her breasts are propped up against her knees, from remembering what they felt like in my hands.

She tosses her head back and stares at the stars. “You know, they say it’s the desidre, but I haven’t felt like having sex with anyone but you, and the Fellamana told me the desidre should make us want to have it with anyone who

breathes. Why is that?”

My breath stops, and I do not want to answer. “I do not know. I have never indulged in casual sex.” It would have been disrespectful to my first mate's memory. Still is.

Assura drags her gaze down to mine, and there’s a mischievous glint to her eye, like she knows something. “You are what we call a serial monogamist, Gahnin. You need to wrap your logic around sex as recreation, not only something to indulge in when one is mated or committed or whatever.”

I try; I do. But it’s as though my brain is a computer and the entry code is wrong.

About Robin:

ROBIN LOVETT enjoys trips to alien worlds to avoid earthly things, like day jobs and housework. When not reading romance with her cat, she’s busy writing sexy books, which may or may not involve anti-heroes, aliens, or both, but almost always enemies-to-lovers. She’s a big fan of her husband who regards writing romance as far more important than practical things, like paychecks. Her favorite surprise in the world, or the universe, was finding out by some miracle other people want to read the same kind stories she loves to write.

In a past life, Robin worked as a professional opera singer who grew tired of playing dying heroines and took up writing Happily-Ever-After instead.

Her ultra hot sci-fi erotic series  releases through Entangled Publishing’s Scorched line in 2018. Her first contemporary dark thriller series released summer 2017 through St. Martin’s Press Swerve, Stranger: A Dark Stalker Romance, Deceiver: A Dark Revenge Romance and Keeper: A Dark Captive Romance.

She can be happily reached on Twitter @LovettRomance and on Facebook. You can also follow her on Pinterest or Instagram or at her author pages on Amazon, Goodreads, or BookBub.

Or join her Facebook group, the Romance Lovers.

For the writers, check out her weekly posts on #RWChat, a Twitter chat for romance writers every Sunday evening. She also writes a monthly romance writing column on diyMFA.com and was a contributor to the former Heroes & Heartbreakers blog. She is represented by Rachel Brooks of BookEnds Literary Agency.

Website | Twitter | Facebook |Instagram | Pinterest | Amazon Author Page | BookBub |  Goodreads

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a $15 Amazon Gift Card, International.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

11/19/2018- bookriot- Review

11/19/2018- BookHounds- Excerpt

11/20/2018- Reese's Reviews- Review

11/20/2018- Parajunkee- Excerpt

11/21/2018- Good Choice Reading- Excerpt

11/21/2018- Two Chicks on Books- Excerpt

11/22/2018- Aisha E Reads- Review

11/22/2018- A Dream Within A Dream- Excerpt

11/23/2018- Angel's Guilty Pleasures- Excerpt

11/23/2018- Dena Garson-Real... Hot... Romance- Excerpt

Exclusive Cover Reveal- NAVIGATING THE STARS by Maria V. Snyder With A Giveaway!

Hey everyone! I am sooooo freaking excited about this!!! I am helping Maria V. Snyder reveal the cover for her new YA Sci-Fi Book NAVIGATING THE STARS today! It's absolutely gorgeous and I adore her and her books! Check it out and make sure to enter to win a copy of NAVIGATING THE STARS when it comes out in December!

Now on to the reveal!

Title: NAVIGATING THE STARS
Author: Maria V. Snyder
Publication Date: December 1, 2018
Publisher: NAVIGATING THE STARS
Pages: 464
Find it: Goodreads

Navigating the Stars is the first book in a new science fiction series. 

Terra Cotta Warriors have been discovered on other planets in the Milky Way Galaxy. And Lyra Daniels' parents are the archaeological Experts (yes with a capital E) on the Warriors and have dragged her to the various planets to study them despite the time dilation causing havoc with her social life. 

When one of the many Warrior planets goes silent, and looters attack her research base, Lyra becomes involved in discovering why the Warriors were placed on these planets. And, more importantly, by who.

About Maria:

Maria V. Snyder changed from being a meteorologist to a novelist in 1995, when she began writing to keep her sanity while raising two children. Since then, she has published numerous freelance articles in magazines and newspapers, and teaches fiction-writing classes at the local college and area libraries. The classes give her the wonderful opportunity to encourage fellow writers, and to keep improving her craft.

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Maria always had a fascination with big storms. Dreaming of chasing tornados, Maria earned a bachelors of science degree in meteorology at Penn State University. But she discovered, much to her chagrin, that forecasting the weather wasn't one of her skills. In order to chase tornados you had to predict where they might form. Creating fantasy worlds where she has complete control of the weather was more agreeable to her.

Maria's research on food-tasting methods with an expert chocolate taster, her husband, turned out to be a delicious bonus while writing Poison Study.

Maria has a brown belt in Isshinryu Karate, and enjoys playing volleyball and the cello. Traveling in general and via cruise ship in particular are her biggest distractions from writing. Maria has traveled to Belize, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Europe, Mexico, the Caribbean and through the Panama Canal.

Maria lives with her husband, son, daughter and yellow lab, Hazelnut, in Pennsylvania where she is at work on more LUNA novels. She is also pursuing a master's degree in writing popular fiction from Seton Hill University.

Where you can find Maria:

Website/Blog/Facebook/Goodreads

1 winner will receive a paperback of NAVIGATING THE STARS(will be shipped in late December), US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cover Reveal- BLASTAWAY by Melissa Landers With An Excerpt

Today Melissa Landers and Rockstar Book Tours are revealing the cover and an exclusive content for BLASTAWAY, her new Middle Grade Sci-Fi which releases Summer 2019! Check out the awesome cover and the excerpt!

On to the reveal! 

Title: BLASTAWAY

Author: Melissa Landers

Pub. Date: Summer 2019

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Pages: ?

Find it: Goodreads

Pitched as "Home Alone in space," a young science prodigy who runs away in his family spaceship must team up with a plucky mutant to save the Earth from destruction.

Scheduled for publication Summer 2019.

Exclusive Excerpt!

At some point, I must have fallen asleep.

I say that for two reasons. First, my chin was wet with drool, and I hardly ever slobber on myself when I’m awake. And second, I was no longer on Earth.

I sat bolt upright and stared out the window as distant stars whizzed past in a blur. There were no planets in sight, and judging by the swirling purple nebula ahead of me, this wasn’t the way to Nana’s house. I checked the navigation screen and felt my mouth drop open. The flashing beacon that represented my ship was halfway between Earth and Fasti.

(So you see, it is totally possible to steal a spaceship on accident.)

I guess my hand hit the EXECUTE button when I fell asleep. And because it would take just as long for me to turn around and go home as it would to finish my journey, it made sense to keep going, right? Either way, my parents would ground me into the afterlife, so I might as well earn the sentence, right?

Right.

An electric thrill rushed through my veins when I thought about the possibilities that lay ahead of me. Anything could happen on this trip. Literally anything. I could discover a brand-new element. Or meet a secret race of aliens. Or invent a new energy source. Or eat so much chocolate that I puked. Either way, I had complete freedom to make this journey into whatever I wanted, and once I realized that, there was no freaking way I could turn back. It was like the universe had dropped a gift in my lap, a gift I had no intention of returning.    

I wiped the drool off my chin and smiled.

“Hold onto your stars, Fasti. Here I come.”

About Melissa:

Melissa Landers is a former teacher who left the classroom to pursue other worlds. A proud sci-fi geek, she isn’t afraid to wear her Princess Leia costume in public—just ask her kids. She lives just outside Cincinnati in the town of Loveland, “Sweetheart of Ohio.”

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Goodreads

Blog Tour- SHADOW CALL by AdriAnne Strickland & Michael Miller An Except & Giveaway!

Hey everyone! I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the blog tour for SHADOW CALL by AdriAnne Strickland & Michael Miller! I adore Adri and Michael and this book is just as amazing as the first one!

I have an excerpt to share with you today! And make sure to enter the giveaway below!

Haven't heard of SHADOW CALL? Check it out!

Title: SHADOW CALL (Kaitan Chronicles #2)

Author: AdriAnne Strickland & Michael Miller

Pub. Date: April 17, 2018

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Pages: 432

Find it: Amazon, B&N, iBooks, TBD, Goodreads

His throne. Her rebellion. Their war.


Qole is the youngest starship captain in living memory on her homeworld of Alaxak and has spent her life hunting a dangerous energy source called Shadow. Alaxans distrust and evade the galaxy’s royalty as a rule, but Qole is now harboring the exiled Prince Nevarian Dracorte, along with some very conflicting feelings about it—and him.


Nev’s feelings are just as complicated, but not towards her. When it comes to Qole, he knows one thing: he’d do anything to stay with her. But when Alaxak is attacked and Nev finds himself framed for murder, he realizes the only way to help Qole and her people is to fight for the throne that should be his. To become the royal she might hate.


As for Qole, she would never have imagined herself as the leader of a rebellion. Despite that, she soon realizes that hiding from her power is no longer an option. It’s time to answer the call, even if it kills her.

Now on to the excerpt!

“It’s about your Rendering, and your Flight,” he said. “You need to complete these important rites of passage for anyone to truly take you seriously as heiress.”

That was almost enough to make both my feet and my smile slip. I hadn’t expected him to want me to pass the test of the Rendering at all, or complete a Flight—a solo mission to bring something of value back to the family—quite so quickly. “I had some thoughts on where I could go on my Flight to improve diplomatic ties with our family, but—”

“That wouldn’t be to Embra, would it?” Father said flatly, with a sardonic lift of one brow.

Embra was the Belarius homeworld. Heathran’s. Father thought I wanted to use an honored family tradition in order to go flirt. He was taking me as seriously as Marsius was.

I carried on, ignoring both him and my white-hot flash of rage. “But surely you don’t expect me to complete the Render­ing. Nev did that when he was eight!”

He spun me in a circle. “All the more reason you should be able to admirably undergo it at age eighteen.”

I laughed as I came back to him, though I wished I could scream. “You expect me, in these heels, to stand around with weights on my shoulders for an entire night in front of an au­dience just to prove I can?”

“It’s to prove your dedication to—”

“I know the symbolism,” I snapped, my cheerful façade breaking for just a moment. 

“And I know my dedication to my family and my subjects can be demonstrated in other ways.” I couldn’t help a smirk. “Have Marsius stand in for me. He’s young and resilient.”

No one else would have noticed, but Father missed a beat. “You can’t be serious. You would allow your little brother to accept your burden?”

 “It’s called a joke, Father dear,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Must every moment be serious unto death?”

Father’s face was a perfect mask for the dancers around us. “I’m disheartened to see that being made heiress has done nothing for your sense of responsibility or decorum.”

My hand clenched sharply in his. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do more, tear away or crush his fingers. Would that I could do either without causing a scene.

Father shot me a disapproving look at what he probably perceived as a childish show of emotion. “However, I can’t say as I’m surprised. Which is why I’ve just come from speaking with Gavros.”

Whatever they’d spoken of, then, it couldn’t be good. “Gavros . . .” I acted as though I couldn’t quite place the name. “Gavros Dracorte? The general? Some second cousin or an­other of yours?”

“He’s a royal of the finest breeding, and of the highest military distinction. Qualities which will make him an excel­lent match.”

Match. The word was like a punch to the stomach. “For whom?” I asked, even though I knew.

“For you, of course. Don’t be obtuse.”

It took everything I had not to come to a halt, to let him lead me in a few more steps. 

To follow like an animal to the slaughter. “But he’s old.” Gavros was younger than Father by a score of years, but he was still over twice my age.

“He is hale and in his prime, with an unparalleled grasp of strategy. You’ll find his intellectual prowess stimulating,” Fa­ther insisted in that tone of his, as if he could direct gravity to weigh more heavily upon me. “Anyway, you knew long ago that your eventual royal partner wouldn’t be someone you’ve flirted with at a party.” His eyes flicked in Heathran’s direction.

 “And you can never pollute the Dracorte name with another royal line. Not even one that some may see as superior to ours.”

I didn’t bother telling him that I agreed. I took a deep breath and murmured quietly, 

“That’s why I never intend to marry.”

Father paused for less than a beat this time, as if he was ready for combat. “You will put the stability of the entire sys­tem at risk for a childish whim?” Weighty or not, his voice was still calm. Rather, it was my hand that twitched in his again. Childish whim? Hadn’t Nev been the one to give up the throne over an infatuation, putting us all in this position in the first place? “Solara, we are talking about the fate of our family, not a game.”

True. The game was up.

“Perhaps you’re right.” My vision glossed in tears, and I lifted my lids enough so that only Father might see them, looking entirely vulnerable despite how he might hate it. I kept my voice low. “I’m not ready for this, especially not mar­riage. Nev had his whole life to prepare for rule, to accept the responsibility. I thought I would have more time to adjust.”

But Father hadn’t given me any time.

“We’re not talking about him,” Father growled under his breath, sending me into another spin that was a little too fast.

“Why aren’t we?” I’d promised Marsius, after all. It was just happening sooner than I’d expected. “Everyone thinks Nev should be here instead of me, only no one is saying it aloud.” I held Father’s eyes as he led me in a complex series of steps, and he blinked first. I’d watched him stare down my brothers more times than I could count, but he’d never managed the same with me. “If you believe I’m not cut out for ruling, then just say so.”

“Nevarian”—he had a difficult time saying the name—“is a traitor to the throne. Your throne, someday, even though you seem not to care much about it. I don’t want to hear his name again.” This lapse in Nev’s duty was a failure to be taken so seriously it couldn’t even be discussed, not childishness, as he saw my own shortcomings. Even as a disappointment, Nev had done better than I, in Father’s eyes. “He is no longer our concern.”

Father sounded like he meant it, but my older brother still had worth to many here, not the least of whom were Mother and Marsius. Many people still looked to him, idolized him, even in his absence, even after all the damage he’d done to our capital, 

Dracorva.

No one would take me seriously as his replacement. I cast a glance at the farthest planet in the model of our system, its sun a faint spark at the distant edge of the ceiling, nearly lost in darkness, where Nev was spending his exile with his com­mon girl.

“Erratic, irresponsible notions such as these are all the more reason for you to make haste in marrying,” Father continued. “Gavros will be able to support you, guide you in decisions—”

Rule for you, make you into a figurehead.

“I refuse to marry him, or anyone.” My voice turned to steel, slicing through the lecture and making Father blink and miss another step. “And you can’t make me.”

He stared for a long moment. I could see the flash of des­peration, as brief as the twitch of my hand, in his eyes. Our family was in peril, and yet he viewed me, a young woman as­suming the throne alone, as its greatest danger. In that moment, if there was a way he could have forced me to marry, I knew he would have.

And I hated him for it.

“You yourself just conceded that you aren’t ready for this responsibility,” Father said slowly, “and yet you refuse my solu­tion. What exactly are you proposing?”

“If I need help, there is one person who has trained for this from birth—if no longer to rule, then to advise me as I rule, from behind the throne. His failures will be hidden in my shadow, and his strengths will become mine. We need to go to Alaxak.” My voice didn’t waver now. “That will be my Flight. And”—I swallowed—“I promise I’ll complete the Rendering afterward.”

Father only had to see Nev again and he would understand. No doubt he believed Nev to be an unforgivable traitor. But perhaps not before he would at least try to treat with him. Try to see him differently, despite his past behavior—the same courtesy he refused to extend to me.

When he met Mother’s eyes across the ballroom, I knew then that he would do it. Mother missed Nev. Underneath all her layers of prim and proper, she was completely sentimental at heart. Father missed him too, but the difference was that she’d admit it.

The music swelled. Despite losing Heathran for the mo­ment, the night was indeed mine.

Want more? Go to Bookhounds YA on 4/18 for the next part!

About Adrianne & Michael:

ADRIANNE STRICKLAND and MICHAEL MILLER met in their hometown of Palmer, Alaska, where they agreed on 99% of book taste and thus decided to write together. Adri spends her summers as a commercial fisherwoman in Bristol Bay, Alaska, and the rest of the year writing. Michael grew up off the grid in a homestead in Alaska and now works in IT and tech. This is their second book together.

Find AdriAnne:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Find Michael:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Giveaway Details:

3 winners will receive a finished copy of SHADOW CALL, US Only.

Ends on May 4th at Midnight EST!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

4/2/2018- Here's to Happy Endings- Review

4/3/2018- Wonder Struck- Review

4/4/2018- Rhythmicbooktrovert - Review

4/5/2018- Jena Brown Writes- Review

4/6/2018- YA Obsessed- Review

Week Two:

4/9/2018- Emily Reads Everything- Review

4/10/2018- laura's bookish corner- Review

4/11/2018- Literary Meanderings- Excerpt

4/12/2018- Two Chicks on Books- Excerpt

4/13/2018- Good Choice Reading- Review

Week Three:

4/16/2018- Rachel's Book Reviews- Review

4/17/2018- Skye's Scribblings- Review

4/18/2018- BookHounds YA- Excerpt

4/19/2018- The Desert Bibliophile- Review

4/20/2018- Seeing Double in Neverland- Excerpt

Week Four:

4/23/2018- Book-Keeping- Review

4/24/2018- lori's little house of reviews- Review

4/25/2018- Books at Dawn- Excerpt

4/26/2018- Read. Eat. Love.- Review

4/27/2018- MNBernard Books- Excerpt

Week Five:

4/30/2018- Smada's Book Smack- Review

Grab book 1 now!