Release Day Celebration- WALK ON EARTH A STRANGER by Rae Carson An Excerpt and A Giveaway!

I am so excited that WALK ON EARTH A STRANGER by Rae Carson releases today and that I get to share the news, along with an awesome giveaway!

If you haven’t yet heard about this wonderful new series by Rae Carson, be sure to check out all the details below.

This blitz also includes a giveaway for a set of the GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS series (in paperback format). US only. So if you’d like a chance to win, enter in the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post.

About The Book:

Title: WALK ON EARTH A STRANGER

Author: Rae Carson

Pub. Date: September 22, 2015

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Pages: 448

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

The first book in a new trilogy from acclaimed New York Times bestselling author Rae Carson. A young woman with the magical ability to sense the presence of gold must flee her home, taking her on a sweeping and dangerous journey across Gold Rush–era America.

Lee Westfall has a secret. She can sense the presence of gold in the world around her. Veins deep beneath the earth, pebbles in the river, nuggets dug up from the forest floor. The buzz of gold means warmth and life and home—until everything is ripped away by a man who wants to control her. Left with nothing, Lee disguises herself as a boy and takes to the trail across the country. Gold was discovered in California, and where else could such a magical girl find herself, find safety? Rae Carson, author of the acclaimed Girl of Fire and Thorns trilogy, dazzles with this new fantasy that subverts both our own history and familiar fantasy tropes.

Walk on Earth a Stranger, the first book in this new trilogy, introduces—as only Rae Carson can—a strong heroine, a perilous road, a fantastical twist, and a slow-burning romance. Includes a map and author’s note on historical research. 

Read chapter 1 of WALK ON EARTH A STRANGER annotated by Rae Carson HERE!

About Rae:

Rae Carson is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the acclaimed Girl of Fire and Thorns trilogy. Her next book, Walk On Earth A Stranger, will be available September 22, 2015. She lives in Arizona with her husband.

Connect with the Author Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a set of the 3 GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS series (in paperback format). US Only.

Ends on September 30th at Midnight EST!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour- THE BITTER KINGDOM by Rae Carson and a Giveaway!

Hey y'all! Today is an awesome day! Not only do I get to help my dear friend Rae and her wonderful book THE BITTER KINGDOM; she has an awesome guest post about the love of my life Hector! I am so excited to share this with you! Also there is an amazing giveaway!

Title: The Bitter Kingdom (Girl of Fire and Thorns #3)

Author: Rae Carson

Pub. Date: August 27, 2013

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Pages:448

Find it: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads

The epic conclusion to Rae Carson's Fire and Thorns trilogy. The seventeen-year-old sorcerer-queen will travel into the unknown realm of the enemy to win back her true love, save her country, and uncover the final secrets of her destiny.

Elisa is a fugitive in her own country. Her enemies have stolen the man she loves in order to lure her to the gate of darkness. As she and her daring companions take one last quest into unknown enemy territory to save Hector, Elisa will face hardships she's never imagined. And she will discover secrets about herself and her world that could change the course of history. She must rise up as champion-a champion to those who have hated her most.

Now on to the awesome post! 

If Hector Lived on Earth in 2013

Hector has been magically transported from Joya d'Arena to modern day Earth. (Hey, it could happen…) So, what does he think of our world and his new life?

Hector's celebrity crush:

Adele. He has a thing for gorgeous, powerful, full-figured women. (Runner-up: Beyoncé)

Top Destination Vacation:

Sonoma County, California. He loves to go wine-tasting. The rolling vineyards and rugged, tidepool-ridden coastline remind him of his childhood home.

Favorite book:

Architecture: Form, Space, and Order by Francis D.K. Ching. He's a nerd, okay?

Favorite movie:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2. Hector is quite moved by the themes of friendship and self-sacrifice in this last HP installment.

Hobbies:

Basketball, rock-climbing, AutoCAD design, reading (especially nonfiction).

Favorite TV Show:

He tried to watch Game of Thrones, but he had a bit of a PTSD reaction to some of the memory-inciting violence. So he prefers The Walking Dead, which is still action-adventure but more escapist for him. He thinks zombies are hilarious.

The thing he loves most about our world:

Guns. Even better than the bow and arrow for long-distance defense! He took his first gun (a used Winchester Model 1895 rifle) completely apart and put it back together again, just to see how it worked. He NEVER keeps it loaded.

The thing he hates most about our world:

Corrupt politicians.

Hector's favorite songs:

-When thinking of the events of The Crown of Embers: Too Close by Alex Clare

-When thinking of the events of The Bitter Kingdom: (Everything I Do) I Do It For You by Bryan Adams. Why yes, this IS the cheesiest song ever written. But can you blame a guy who is *that much* in love?

So there you have it. Hector in our world. Hmmm, maybe this would make a good sit-com. We could call it New Boy. Or Modern Guard. The Hector Diaries? Okay, you're right, that's a really bad idea. :)

NO IT'S NOT!!!! I WANT TO BE IN THE SITCOM TOO LOL!

Thanks so much for stopping by today Rae!

Rae Carson is the award-winning author of The Girl of Fire and Thorns Trilogy. She was named a Publishers Weekly Flying Start author for Fall 2011 and was a finalist for the Morris, Cybils, and Andre Norton Awards. Her first novel was named to ALA's Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults list.

Rae lives in Ohio with her husband, novelist C.C. Finlay, two stepsons, and two very naughty kitties. She is hard at work on her next trilogy.

Website /Twitter/Facebook/Goodreads

Giveaway Details:

A signed set of the complete trilogy. US Only

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Make sure to check out the rest of the Tour Schedule for more amazing posts!

8/19/2013- Ivy Book Bindings- Guest Post

8/20/2013- Magical Urban Fantasy Reads- Interview

8/21/2013- Refracted Light Reviews- Review

8/22/2013- A Backwards Story- Review

8/23/2013- The Starry-Eyed Revue- Interview

8/26/2013- Candace's Book Blog- Review

8/27/2013- Two Chicks on Books- Guest Post

8/28/2013- Citrus Reads- Review

8/29/2013- Hobbitsies- Interview

8/30/2013- Fiktshun- Guest Post

Giveaway- Spreading the love The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson

Ok so today I had some awesomeness dropped into my mailbox! Only thing is I  already have a copy of this awesome book and I've already read it! THE BITTER KINGDOM is the perfect ending to Rae Carson’s The Girl of Fire and Thorns series! So I want to give this copy away to a fan of this series. 

And the coolest part? 

Rae has offered to sign it so I will be shipping this lovely off to her and she will send you your book! So fill out the Rafflecopter form the only requirement is that you have to have read the first 2 books and to prove it we’re asking a trivia question! The giveaway is US/Canada Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Swoon Thursday (3)- The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson

Ok so you said you’d like me to keep doing Swoon Thursdays and I am here to please! Thanks to the lovely ladies at YA Bound for this awesome meme! I love being able to share swoon-worthy snippet with you!

So this week I’ve decided to share swoon-worthy scenes from one of the books I’ve read over the past week! This book was the perfect finale and I know you all will be dying to get your hands on it after this passage!

THE BITTER KINGDOM by Rae Carson

This series is one of my absolute favorites and the ending was perfect but bittersweet. I will miss all of these characters and this world! One of my top 5 book boyfriends comes from this series and that’s why I needed to share a little bit of Hector and Elisa with you!

He lifts his head and considers me thoughtfully. Then he tips up my chin with his thumb and kisses me again—a sweeter, gentler kiss that feels like sun breaking through the clouds.

The pit of my stomach buzzes as I press my forehead into his chest, saying, “I told you that you would kiss me again.”

He laughs. “It’s the ‘and more’ part I remember most vividly.” He gently pushes me away, putting a safe cushion of distance between us. He grabs my hands and lifts them to his lips. “When we reach Bassajuan, maybe I can get you to myself for a while.”

The earth tilts a little.

“In the meantime,” he adds. “I really should teach you how to care for tack. I find myself in need of a distraction.”

I grin. “Good idea.”

So what did you think? Does this make you want to add it to you TBR? I’d love to hear what you think!

Dying to Read (19)- The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson

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!

This week the book I’m dying to read is The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson!!!!! I’m seriously in need of this book I am super in love with this series and after the end of The Crown of Embers I was about ready to kill Rae! Hector is my number #1 book boyfriend and I love Elisa too J

The Bitter Kingdom (Fire and Thorns #3)

Rae Carson

Release Date: August 27, 2013

Hardcover: 400 pages

Publisher: Greenwillow Books (Harper)

ISBN: 0062026542

Goodreads

Amazon/Barnes& Noble/The Book Depository

There’s not a blurb yet but Rae said this over on her website….

“I’m so excited to share the final chapter of Elisa’s story. Things get CrAzY in book 3. Notice the ICE and SNOW and PINE TREES? Those are not-subtle hints about what happens.”

And I say I NEEDS MOAR HECTOR!!! *Sighs*

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

Jaime's Review of The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson

The Crown of Embers (Fire and Thorns #2)

Rae Carson

Hardcover: 400 pages

Release Date: September 18, 2012

Publisher: Greenwillow Books (Harper Teen)

ISBN: 0062026518

Source: ARC from the San Francisco/Sacramento Book Review

Rating: Obsessed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

From Goodreads.

In the sequel to the acclaimed The Girl of Fire and Thorns, a seventeen-year-old princess turned war queen faces sorcery, adventure, untold power, and romance as she fulfills her epic destiny. Elisa is the hero of her country. She led her people to victory against a terrifying enemy, and now she is their queen. But she is only seventeen years old. Her rivals may have simply retreated, choosing stealth over battle. And no one within her court trusts her-except Hector, the commander of the royal guard, and her companions. As the country begins to crumble beneath her and her enemies emerge from the shadows, Elisa will take another journey. With a one-eyed warrior, a loyal friend, an enemy defector, and the man she is falling in love with, Elisa crosses the ocean in search of the perilous, uncharted, and mythical source of the Godstone's power. That is not all she finds. A breathtaking, romantic, and dangerous second volume in the Fire and Thorns trilogy.

I have never in my life finished a book and picked it back up to re-read it. Not until now! The Crown of Embers was an amazing book! Rae Carson took what she did in The Girl of Fire and Thorns and kicked its ass!  Rae Carson has become one of my favorite authors of High Fantasy right up there with Maria V. Snyder (my favorite of all time!).

I loved TGoFaT don’t get me wrong but, TCoE was a gazillion times better  one of the main reasons I think so is Hector. I fell in love with him in book 1 and there just wasn’t enough of him. Book 2 there’s plenty! I did many happy dances and swooned a lot lol J

Oh and yeah the story? Amazeballs! Within the first 90 pages there’s an assassination attempt, treachery, a death, back stabbing, and Elisa has to start meeting suitors to marry. I mean it was pure craziness! And it went on being amazing from there I could not put this book down! Not even the second time!

Most of the characters from the first book are back the only ones we don’t see are Cosme and Elisa’s sister and dad. But Ximena (who annoyed the hell out of me), Mara, Alentin, Belen, Hector (of course swoons), and some of the Conde’s we met are back. Also there’s the introduction of new characters Felix, Tristan, and Storm whom I absolutely loved! They all had a different part to play and they made the story even better! Oh and I’ll just say one more thing before I get to the passage I decided to share. The ending and I don’t mean just the last few pages I mean the last 1/3 of the book made my heart soar, ripped it to shreds, pieced it back together, and then tore it apart again. And if that wasn’t enough it also gutted me for good measure!

Ok so another really hard choice of passages I had like 20 or so marked lol ;) but of course I chose one between 

Hector and Elisa! It’s a little mean but it’ll make you want more *evil grins*.

“And please stop calling meYour Majesty in private. It makes me grit my teeth.”

He nods with exaggerated solemnity. “I’d hate for you to ruin your teeth on my behalf.”

“If that happened, I’d have no choice but to follow the general’s lead and order your execution.” I make a vague gesture and say, “Off with his head!” And then my face burns with my own crass inappropriateness.

But Hector chuckles deep in his throat, and I feel it all the way down to my toes. Softly he says, “My life has ever been yours, Elisa.”

My limbs tingle and heat fills my cheeks as we stare at each other.

I snap back to myself. He’s talking about his duty. Of course his life is mine. He is Queen’s Guard, after all, sworn to jump in front of a crossbow bolt if that’s what it takes to save me.

Carefully I say, “You’re a good friend, Hector. And I’m grateful to have you at my side.”

His gaze drops to the ground, and his chest rises and falls with a breath. “Always.”

Add The Crown of Embers to your Goodreads shelves!

Pre-order your copy now!!!!