Blog Tour- RECREATED by Colleen Houck An Excerpt & A Giveaway

Hey y’all I'm so stoked to be on this blog tour!!! I freaking love this series Colleen has taken my love for Egyptian history and myth and turned it into an amazing series with mummies, magic, and of course swoon worthy romance! I have an excerpt to share with you all today so make sure to check it out & also enter the giveaway below!

Haven't heard of RECREATED? Check it out!

Title: RECREATED

Author: Colleen Houck

Release Date: August 2, 2016

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Pages: 416

Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook

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

From Colleen Houck, New York Times bestselling author of The Tiger’s Curse, comes Recreated, the second book in the epic Egyptian-inspired Reawakened series, in which a seventeen-year-old must literally go to hell to save the love of her life. 

Lily Young thought traveling across the globe with a reawakened sun prince was a grand adventure. Now she’s about to embark on the journey of a lifetime. 

When Amon and Lily part tragically, he transports himself to the Netherworld—what mortals call hell. Tormented by the loss of his one true love, he’d rather suffer in agony during Lily’s mortal years than fulfill his duty to protect humanity. 

Heartbroken, Lily seeks refuge on her grandmother’s farm. Yet she can feel Amon’s pain, and she has been having dreams—dreams of Amon continually suffering. 

For before he departed, Amon gave Lily something very special, an item that connects them even though they are worlds apart. Now Lily must use this object to free him, and to free their realms from darkness and utter chaos. She will do whatever it takes.

Grab book 1 REAWAKENED now!

Check out the book trailer!


And now on to the excerpt!

“Lily?” I heard his familiar voice and squelched a sob.

“Amon? Can you hear me?” I asked the ethereal darkness.

“Yes. I can hear you, Nehabet.”

“Is this real?”

He didn’t answer right away but then eventually said, “I wish it were not.”

“What’s happening to you?” I asked desperately. “Why are you suffering?” I thought you were in the Afterlife. I thought you were at peace. Why are you tormented night after night?”

“I am no longer under the protection of the gods. I have relinquished my station.”

“I don’t understand. What does that mean?”

“It means that I would rather suffer than continue to do their bidding.”

“But, if you don’t save the world, who will?”

“They will find another to replace me.”

“I still don’t understand. Are they punishing you?”

I felt his sigh as much as I heard it. “They did not choose this for me. I am the one who decided to walk this path.”

“It’s a pretty difficult path, Amon. Can’t your brothers help you?”

“We are separated. There is nothing they can do for me now.”

“I hate seeing you like this.”

“I know. I am sorry for causing you pain. I didn’t think our connection would be this strong.” He paused for a moment before adding. “You are in pain too, Young Lily.”

Bitterly, I said in a shaky voice, “Not like you.”

“No. Not like me. But you are hurting nonetheless. It is my fault. My loneliness has caused this.”

“Your desire for human connection didn’t cause this. The gods did. They don’t understand. Everyone needs to be loved. It’s completely natural.”

He laughed sardonically. “I was human, Lily, once. But I am something altogether different now. I gave my humanity up for the greater good.”

Thunder boomed in the sky above Amon’s still form, roiling clouds shifting like a churning ocean. Lightning struck and his body jerked awake. I felt the loss of his presence, as if a warm blanket had been ripped away from me. As the ground shook, he staggered tiredly to his feet and summoned his armor made of sand to strap onto his form. Amon lifted his face to the wind, closed his eyes, and said, “I love you, Lily. But it is time for you to wake up.”

About Colleen:

New York Times Bestselling author Colleen Houck is a lifelong reader whose literary interests include action, adventure, paranormal, science fiction, and romance. When she’s not busy writing, she likes to spend time chatting on the phone with one of her six siblings, watching plays, and shopping online. Colleen has lived in Arizona, Idaho, Utah, California, and North Carolina and is now permanently settled in Salem, Oregon with her husband and a huge assortment of plush tigers.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Goodreads | YouTube | Instagram 

Giveaway Details:

Colleen Houck will be giving away FIVE REAWAKENED & RECREATED BOOK SETS!

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Check out the tour schedule!

July 19- Dark Faerie Tales- Top Ten Things You’ll See in Recreated

July 20- A Great Read- This or That Questions

July 21- Two Chicks on Books- Sneak Peek #1

July 22- Happy Indulgence Books- Would you Rather Questions

July 23- A Dream Within A Dream- Interview with the Egyptian Prince, Amon

July 24- Tales of A Ravenous Reader- Sneak Peek #2

July 25- Mundie Moms- Five Things You Don’t Know about Me

July 26- Me My Shelf And I- Up Close and Personal Interview

July 27- Sassy Book Lovers- Top Five Playlist Picks

July 28- Neverending Books- Sneak Peek #3

July 29- A.L. Davroe- Recreated Dream Cast

July 30- Please Feed The Bookworm- Sneak Peek #4

July 31- Twenty Three Pages-  Egyptian Gods and Godesses

Aug 1- YA Books Central- Sneak Peek #5

Aug 1- Roses Book Corner-  Discover Your Egyptian Name

Aug 2- YA Books Central- Author to Author Interview

Aug 2- Bookiemoji- New Creatures You’ll See in Recreated

Aug 3- YA Books Central- Poetry and Spells

Aug 3- Owl Always Be Reading- The Number Three

Aug 4- YA Books Central- Featured Review

Aug 5- Blame It On The Books- The Netherworld

Aug 6- Stuck In Books- The Afterlife

Aug 7- Good Choice Reading- Five random things about me

Aug 8- Beneath The Cover- Ten Books I recommend to my fans

Aug 9- Ya-aholic- Ten books I can’t believe I haven’t read

Aug 10- Books And Stars- Never have I ever

Aug 11- YA Book Addicts- Five things that make a good villain

Blog Tour- EMPIRE OF DUST by Eleanor Herman An Interview & Giveaway!

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on blog tour for EMPIRE OF DUST by Eleanor Herman! I freaking LOVED this book so hard!! I have an interview with Eleanor to share with you today! And make sure to enter the awesome giveaway for a set of the series! 

Haven't heard of THE KING SLAYER? Check it out!

Title: EMPIRE OF DUST (Blood of Gods and Royals #2)

Author: Eleanor Herman

Pub. Date: June 26, 2016

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Pages: 432

Format: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook

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

In Macedon, war rises like smoke, forbidden romance blooms and ancient magic tempered with rage threatens to turn an empire to dust 

After winning his first battle, Prince Alexander fights to become the ruler his kingdom demands—but the line between leader and tyrant blurs with each new threat. 

Meanwhile, Hephaestion, cast aside by Alexander for killing the wrong man, must conceal the devastating secret of a divine prophecy from Katerina even as the two of them are thrust together on a dangerous mission to Egypt. 

The warrior, Jacob, determined to forget his first love, vows to eradicate the ancient Blood Magics and believes that royal prisoner Cynane holds the key to Macedon's undoing. 

And in chains, the Persian princess Zofia still longs to find the Spirit Eaters, but first must grapple with the secrets of her handsome—and deadly—captor. 

New York Times bestselling author Eleanor Herman entwines the real scandals of history with epic fantasy to reimagine the world's most brilliant ruler, Alexander the Great, in the second book of the Blood of Gods and Royals series.

Grab the FREE novella VOICE OF GODS Now!

Amazon | B&N | iBooks

&

The novella QUEEN OF ASHES for $2.99!

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Now on to the interview!

Hi Eleanor! First I want to say welcome back to Two Chicks on Books! I loved LEGACY OF KINGS and EMPIRE OF DUST and can’t wait to read what’s next! I am so happy that you could stop by for a visit!

For the readers: can you give us a little recap of LEGACY OF KINGS and the characters? Do you have any actors that come to mind? (For each of the actors Eleanor has for her dream cast I will link to their IMDB page)

Alexander: Macedon’s sixteen-year-old heir needs to prove himself worthy of the Crown. In his first major battle, he will face the best warriors in the world. He finds himself strangely attracted to a peasant girl, Katerina, who helps him quite unexpectedly in the battle, shifting the tides of war. Actor: Daniel Sharman.

Katerina: Comes to Alexander’s palace with a secret mission: kill the queen who killed Kat’s mother. She can’t marry Jacob, the boy she loves, until she has wreaked her revenge. Kat’s plans take a strange twist, and in the kingdom of Halicarnassus she learns about the powerful magic that has always been percolating in her blood. Actress: Emma Watson.

Hephaestion: Alexander’s best friend, Heph is fiercely loyal but finds that his pride and passion often stand in his way. Will the prince forgive him for his betrayal on the battlefield? Actor: Jack Falahee.

Jacob: Wants to make Kat proud of him so she will become his wife. But the path he chooses to do this makes him an enemy of Macedon, rendering his one goal in life impossible. Actor: Matt Lanter.

Cynane: Alexander’s warrior half-sister will do anything to rule and lead armies. Anything. Actress: Caitlin Stasey.

Zofia: Alexander’s Persian fiancée, the runaway princess makes a long journey east to find the Spirit Eaters and change her fate. Actress: Shay Mitchell.

Queen Olympias: Alexander’s manipulative mother wants one thing only: for her lover, trapped in snake form, to come back to her as a man. Actress: Charlize Theron.

What about book 3? Do we have a title yet?

Yes! Book 3 is called Reign of Serpents, and on the last page of Empire of Dust you will understand why.

Who was your favorite character to write (mine was Heph lol)? What about your least favorite?

I love writing all of them. They are, of course, different aspects of myself in concentrated form. It was hard developing each one as a different person at first, but much easier for Book 2. Now I’m halfway through Book 3 and I’ve completely got them down! I like how Alex’s mind works—sort of like an ancient Greek computer, searching for the logical answers. He lives very much in his head. Heph is more human, living in his heart and consequently making mistakes as we all do. I adore Kat’s bravery and spunk, and Jacob’s loyalty and cleverness. I love Zo’s journey because it’s not just the miles she puts in on the Royal Road, it’s a journey of learning who she really is and what she can be. And I adore writing the bad girls—Cynane, so fiercely ambitious for power in a man’s world, and Olympias, especially now that karma is catching up to her.

What is your favorite passage/scene in EMPIRE OF DUST?

I love writing battle scenes so the fight in the tunnel was a load of fun. For this battle I read several ancient books written on warfare and borrowed some of their strategies. I also love the Egyptian scenes where Kat and Heph are sliding down the Nile, amazed at what they are seeing. I enjoyed creating the accursed city of Sharuna and the creepy Ushabti warriors.

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

I read several books about Egypt in this time period. It wasn’t the heyday of the pharaohs; they had built the Pyramids two thousand years earlier and by the time of Empire of Dust the Persians had conquered Egypt. But it was a timeless land still steeped in ancient traditions. I really want the reader to feel a marked contrast between the vastly different cultures of Macedon, Persia, and Egypt.

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

I just finished read Amy Lukavic’s Daughters Unto Devils, a story, as one reviewer wrote, that blends Stephen King with Little House on the Prairie. I was on the treadmill and couldn’t put it down and when I finished after two hours I could hardly step down from the treadmill my legs were so sore. Before that, I read Cait Reynold’s Angel Hands, a historical romance about what happens to the Phantom of the Opera after the opera burns. I fell in love with the phantom, despite whatever was going on under that mask. Next on my list is Julie Kagawa’s Talon series.

Who is your ultimate Book Boyfriend?

I so loved Augustus Waters from The Fault in Our Stars.  He was supportive, funny, smart and amazing, even though he had lost a leg to cancer, even when the cancer came back. I was so sad thinking about the man he would have become, a great husband, father, employee, boss, community activist, etc. There was this hole in the world for me when he died. What a loss. What a waste. I know he was a fictional character but I still think I will never get over him dying. My eyes are stinging just typing this.

If you were to write another YA series from a different time in history what would you write and why?

I think ancient Egypt now that I have done so much research about it, and not just for Empire of Dust, but for Queen of Ashes, the novella of the immortal Princess Laila of Sharuna, whom Kat and Heph travel down the Nile to meet. Queen of Ashes is available to download free on August 1.

Thanks so much Eleanor for answering my questions! I can’t wait to read book 3!

About Eleanor: 

Before the Game of Thrones craze swept the nation, Eleanor Herman was hard at work entertaining readers with her extensive research on courtly intrigue and romance. She is the New York Times bestselling author of Sex with Kings, as well as three other works of nonfiction: Sex with the Queen, Mistress of the Vatican, and King Peggy.

Obsessed by all things royal and historical, she lives in McLean, Virginia with her husband and four extremely dignified cats. Legacy of Kings is her first novel.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest

Giveaway Details:

2 winners will receive a paperback of LEGACY OF KINGS & a hardcover of EMPIRE OF DUST, US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

6/20/2016- The Cover Contessa- Interview

6/21/2016- Zach's YA Reviews- Review

6/22/2016- Fiction Fare- Guest Post

6/23/2016- My So-Called Book Reviews- Review

6/24/2016- Two Chicks on Books- Interview

Week Two:

6/27/2016- Lisa Loves Literature- Review

6/28/2016- A Dream Within A Dream- Guest Post

6/29/2016- Mundie Moms- Review

6/30/2016- Once Upon A Twilight- Review

7/1/2016- Curling Up With A Good Book- Interview

Grab book 1 now!

Top Ten Tuesday (56)- My Top Ten Historical Settings I Love/ Ten Historical Settings I'd Love To See.

Hi thanks for stopping by!!! And welcome to my Top 10 Tuesday post! 

Thanks to the lovely ladies at The Broke And The Bookish for creating this weekly meme!

Here's this week's topic.

February 2: Top Ten Historical Settings You Love/ Ten Historical Settings You'd Love To See.

I went with historical. Some of these may have been done before but I would like to see them again. Especially in YA these are all ideas for YA books.

1. The Roaring 20's it's been done before but not really in YA. I'd love to see more of this.

2. Ancient Egypt. Yes it's been done but not enough IMO.


3. The 1940's especially WWII.

4. The 1980's yes this actually counts as historical now. Wow I feel old.

5. I need MOAR Imperial Russia! This one is starting to become popular but I need more!

6. Late 1400's especially in Italy and France. Maybe some Borgia stories!

7. Ancient Greece and Rome. Lets get some YA stories about Athens or Sparta or Spartacus or Julius Caesar stories! Or the peloponnesian wars!

8. 1400's Romania, Transylvania, & Wallachia. Yes I want more Vlad the Impaler inspired stories like Kiersten White's!

9. California Gold Rush. We're barely scratching the surface on this one and I see so much potential. 

10. The Great Depression.

So what about you? What would be some historical genres you'd like to see done? And check back next week for my Top Ten Valentine's day books I will be doing swoon worthy reads!

Hugs,

Jaime

Dying to Read (120)- RETURN ONCE MORE by Trisha Leigh

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!

I' normally don't feature eBook only books because I don't read eBook but I think I may make an exception for this because I love time travel and ancient Egypt!

Title: RETURN ONCE MORE

Author: Trisha Leigh

Release Date: October 27, 2015

Publisher: Bloomsbury Spark 

Pages: 250
Formats: eBook

Find it: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N  

If you could learn the identity of your one true love—even though you will never meet— would you?

Years have passed since refugees from a ruined earth took to space, eventually settling a new system of planets. Science has not only made the leaps necessary to allow time travel, but the process engineered a strange side effect—predicting your one true love.

If you could save your one true love from an untimely death, would you be able to resist?

Sixteen-year-old Kaia Vespasian is an apprentice to the Historians—a group charged with using time travel to document the triumphs and failures of the past—and she can’t resist a peek at her long-dead soul mate in Ancient Egypt. Before she knows it, she’s broken every rule in the book, and the consequences of getting caught could destroy more than just her new romance.

Or would you have the strength to watch him die?

But when Kaia notices a fellow classmate snooping around in a time where he doesn’t belong, she suspects he has a secret of his own—and the conspiracy she uncovers could threaten the entire universe. If her experience has taught her anything, to changing history means facing the consequences. The Historians trained her to observe and record the past, but Kaia never guessed she might have to protect it— in a race across time to save her only chance at a future.

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