Dying to Read (62)-DEATH MARKED by Leah Cypess

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 loved DEATH SWORN and I can't wait to read the conclusion to Ileni's story!And look at that gorgeous cover!!

DEATH MARKED

Release Date: March 3, 2015

Hardcover: 400 pages

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

ISBN: 978-0062221247

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

At seventeen, Ileni lost her magical power and was exiled to the hidden caves of the assassins. She never thought she would survive long. But she discovered she was always meant to end up, powerless, in the caves as part of an elder sorcerer’s plan to destroy the evil Empire they'd battled so long. Except that Ileni is not an assassin, and she doesn't want to be a weapon. And, after everything, she’s not even sure she knows the truth. Now, at the very heart of the Empire—its academy for sorcerers—the truth is what she seeks. What she finds challenges every belief she holds dear—and it threatens her fledgling romance with the young master of assassins.

Leah Cypess spins an intricate and beautiful conclusion to Ileni's story. In the end, it may not be the epic decisions that bring down an empire, but the small ones that pierce the heart.

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

Blog Tour- MIRROR X by Karri Thompson and a Giveaway!

I adore Karri Thompson and MIRROR X I've been with her since the beginning of this story and I love what it has become and I'm so happy that she wrote a scene from Michael's POV for this post! I loveeeeee Michael! Ooh and we have awesome giveaway too!
Haven't heard of MIRROR X? Check it out!

Title: MIRROR X

Author: Karri Thompson

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Pub. Date: June 23, 2014

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

In this timeless new trilogy about love and sacrifice, a princess must find her place in a reborn world.

In a society steeped in tradition, Princess Lia’s life follows a preordained course. As First Daughter, she is expected to have the revered gift of sight—but she doesn’t—and she knows her parents are perpetrating a sham when they arrange her marriage to secure an alliance with a neighboring kingdom—to a prince she has never met.

On the morning of her wedding, Lia flees to a distant village. She settles into a new life, hopeful when two mysterious and handsome strangers arrive—and unaware that one is the jilted prince and the other an assasin sent to kill her. Deception abounds, and Lia finds herself on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets—even as she finds herself falling in love.

Now on to the post!

A note from Karri: Yes! This was too fun to write. I love Michael! Yeah, he has his issues, but he’s still my book boyfriend.

        

  I stood and took a seat on the edge of Cassie’s bed, my weight upon the mattress rocking her toward me. When her thigh hit my knee, I held my breath, and my heart jolted in my chest. Dead or alive, she was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.

          “Before you were awakened,” I said, “I spent hours at your bedside imaging what you were like, how your voice would sound, how you looked when you smiled. When your red lips pulsed, when your chest heaved, and you took your first breath, I kept my emotions in check. But now that you’ve ‘awakened,’ everything is different. I’m jealous and angry. I can’t sleep. I can’t stop thinking about you.”

          She tilted closer to me, and a strand of her dark hair fell over her shoulder. She parted her soft, pink lips, and I studied the curve of her jaw and neck. Being just tight enough to reveal the contours of what lie beneath it, even in a plain, white tunic, she was sexy.

“I feel the same way, too,” she said rocking closer and closing her eyes. The dim light of the room cast blue shadows across her cheeks. She took a breath, and in the next moment, my lips were against hers, kissing hard as the hot urge to meet her skin with my tongue brought my mouth to her neck.

“Not yet,” she said, drawing away.

But the room was free. No one would know. My forehead hot and wet with sweat, my palms sticky, I inhaled deeply, but it wasn’t enough to calm my heart and quell my longing for her.

She was right, though at that moment, I didn’t want to believe it. “I know,” I said, rising from the bed. Running the sleeve of my uniform across my head, I backed away, and dropped into the chair. She diverted her eyes to the floor and brought a trembling hand to her lips. “I can’t . . . we can’t. We can never . . .” I said quickly. “It’s against protocol. I should go.”

Brushing the wrinkles from my uniform, I rose stiffly from the chair and hurried to the door, hoping that once I entered the hall, my eyes wouldn’t hold the story of what just happened. With the sweep of my foot, I enabled the obscuras, and left her room. 

What I needed now was a cold shower.

This is awesome! Thanks Karri!!!!

About Karri:

Karri’s debut YA novel, Amateur Angel, was released May 1, 2012. The next book in that series, Hollywood Angels, came out September 1, 2013. The first book in her upcoming dystopian trilogy, The Van Winkle Chronicles, will be released by Entangled Publishing Summer 2014.

Website/Blog/Twitter/Facebook/Goodreads

Giveaway Details:

5 Prize Packs of  back straps for cell phones (phone in photo not included), romance trading cards, mini-book charms, and bottle-cap charms. US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

7/7/2014- Pieces of Whimsy- Excerpt

7/8/2014- The Cover Contessa- Guest Post

7/9/2014- K-Books- Excerpt

7/10/2014- Reading and Writing Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, and Romance- Interview

7/11/2014- Two Chicks on Books- Guest Post

Week Two:

7/14/2014- Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf- Interview

7/15/2014- A Book and a Latte- Excerpt

7/16/2014- Step Into Fiction- Interview

7/17/2014- Addicted Readers- Excerpt

7/18/2014- Mom With A Kindle- Interview

Blog Tour- THE KISS OF DECEPTION by Mary E Pearson and a Giveaway!

I think by now everyone knows my love of high fantasy so I am stoked to be on this blog tour! This is one of my favorite books of 2014. I have Mary E. Pearson here with an awesome guest post about the map in the book! In my opinion it's not a proper high fantasy unless there's a map so I had to get the dish. And if you love high fantasy as much as I do stick around to win a copy of the book!
Haven't heard of THE KISS OF DECEPTION? Check it out!

THE KISS OF DECEPTION (The Morrighan Chronicles book #1)

Mary E. Pearson

Release Date: July 7, 2014

Hardcover: 496pages

Publisher: Henry Holt (Macmillan) 

ISBN: 978-0805099232

Goodreads/Amazon/Barnes& Noble

Read an excerpt of Kiss of Deception now!

In this timeless new trilogy about love and sacrifice, a princess must find her place in a reborn world.

In a society steeped in tradition, Princess Lia’s life follows a preordained course. As First Daughter, she is expected to have the revered gift of sight—but she doesn’t—and she knows her parents are perpetrating a sham when they arrange her marriage to secure an alliance with a neighboring kingdom—to a prince she has never met.

On the morning of her wedding, Lia flees to a distant village. She settles into a new life, hopeful when two mysterious and handsome strangers arrive—and unaware that one is the jilted prince and the other an assasin sent to kill her. Deception abounds, and Lia finds herself on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets—even as she finds herself falling in love.

Now on to the post!

Click on the map to enlarge

The Map

The Kingdom of Morrighan came first.  Originally, in my mind’s eye it was just a tiny little kingdom on a vast continent, with some very specific features, like forests and rolling hills, all nestled up against a great ocean. But as the other kingdoms came into play, it grew.  

Venda and Dalbreck came next, and then the many lesser kingdoms and all the places in between. I tend to be a very visual person, and with numerous kingdoms to juggle, I almost immediately began drawing maps.  I needed to understand the kingdoms my characters spoke about, exactly what their borders were, just how long it would take to travel between them, and what physical features would be passed along the way.  By having a map, no matter where I was in the book, I could look at it and be consistent in my descriptions. 

I actually drew simple maps of Terravin, and the Vagabond camp too—very basic ones but enough for me to visualize how things were laid out—but the whole world of The Remnant Chronicles was much more specific because of distances and several other reasons.  I revised my map over and over again as I wrote the story and changed details. 

The map that I drew was only for me to keep things straight in my head, but then my publisher decided to put one in the book.  I was thrilled to say the least, and practically doing backflips when I found out Keith Thompson was going to be drawing it! So I gave the Macmillan design department detailed descriptions of the kingdoms, important physical features in the Remnant world, and of course my very roughly drawn map.

I was pretty much blown away when I got the initial sketch. Keith Thompson turned my descriptions into pictures and added surprise elements that were simply gorgeous—details like shields, books, and veiled figures at the bottom. I swooned. There were just a couple of changes I requested in the final so the map would be in sync with the story.  When it came back, more swooning ensued, and Anna Booth in the Macmillan art department  got to work laying in the type which was no small task trying to balance all the labels with the artwork and she did an incredible job.

I was so excited just to have a map inside the book, but then my publisher made a poster of it too! Can I use the word gorgeous again?  I can’t wait to frame it and hang it in my office.

Of course, the map isn’t just about beautiful artwork but it also serves  a very practical purpose.  I think with a book that is so long and spans so many places, it’s very helpful for the reader to have their own map, just as I had one to refer to as I was writing the book.

I hope this answered your questions. Thanks so much for having me at your blog, Jaime!

This is awesome! Thanks Mary!!!!

About Mary:

Mary E. Pearson is the award-winning author of The Jenna Fox Chronicles, The Miles Between, A Room on Lorelei, and Scribbler of Dreams.  She writes full-time from her home office in California where she lives with her husband and two golden retrievers.

Website/Twitter/Goodreads

Giveaway Details:

1 finished copy of THE KISS OF DECEPTION. US/Canada Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Kiss of Deception Blog Tour Schedule

Monday July 7

Icey Books (Review)

The Starry-Eyed Revue (Guest Post)

Tuesday July 8

Adventures of a Book Junkie (Review)

Cuddlebuggery (Guest Post)

Wednesday July 9

FicFare (Review)

Two Chicks on Books (Guest Post)

Thursday July 10

Winterhaven Books (Review)

Tales of a Ravenous Reader (Guest Post)

Friday July 11

MundieMoms (Review)

Alice Marvels (Guest Post)

Monday July 14

YA Bibliophile (Review)

Bewitched Bookworms (Guest Post)

Tuesday July 15

That Artsy Reader Girl (Review)

Jenna Does Books (Guest Post)

Wednesday July 16

ExLibris (Review)

My Friends are Fiction (Guest Post)

Thursday July 17

Birth of a New Witch (Review)

Good Books and Good Wine (Guest Post)

Friday July 18

Google Hangout with Mary Pearson hosted by Belle of the Literati (More info to come)

COMPULSION by Martina Boone July Giveaway Tour

Today is awesome! I get to help Martina Boone spread the word about her upcoming book COMPULSION! I've already read it and loved it! And I have an extra special swoon worthy excerpt to share with you too! Oh and make sure to stick around because there's an awesome giveaway included!
Haven't heard of COMPULSION? Check it out!

Compulsion, Heirs of Watson Island Book 1
by Martina Boone
Simon & Schuster/Simon Pulse 
October 28, 2014

Pub. Date: October 28, 2014

Pages: 304

Find it: Amazon, Barnes& Noble, Goodreads

Three plantations. Two wishes. One ancient curse.

All her life, Barrie Watson has been a virtual prisoner in the house where she lived with her shut-in mother. When her mother dies, Barrie promises to put some mileage on her stiletto heels. But she finds a new kind of prison at her aunt’s South Carolina plantation instead--a prison guarded by an ancient spirit who long ago cursed one of the three founding families of Watson Island and gave the others magical gifts that became compulsions.

Stuck with the ghosts of a generations-old feud and hunted by forces she cannot see, Barrie must find a way to break free of the family legacy. With the help of sun-kissed Eight Beaufort, who knows what Barrie wants before she knows herself, the last Watson heir starts to unravel her family's twisted secrets. What she finds is dangerous: a love she never expected, a river that turns to fire at midnight, a gorgeous cousin who isn’t what she seems, and very real enemies who want both Eight and Barrie dead.

“Darkly romantic and steeped in Southern Gothic charm, you’ll be compelled to get lost in the Heirs of Watson Island series.” — #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Jennifer L. Armentrout 

"Compulsion is a stunningly magical debut with a delicious slow burn to be savored. I want to live in this story world!” — Wendy Higgins, USA Today and NYT bestselling author of the Sweet Evil Trilogy from HarperTeen 

"Beautifully written, with vivid characters, a generations-old feud, and romance that leaps off the page, this Southern ghost story left me lingering over every word, and yet wanting to race to the compelling finish. Martina Boone’s COMPULSION is not to be missed." — Megan Shepherd, Author of THE MADMAN’S DAUGHTER 

"A star-crossed romance, lush gothic plantations, and an island full of intrigue--COMPULSION was a heart-pounding race to the finish! A thrilling debut!" — Kimberly Derting, author of The Body Finder series

"Martina Boone's COMPULSION is the perfect southern family saga, charming and steamy on the surface, with cold-blooded secrets buried down deep. What more do you want? More time to read it, that's what.” — Kendare Blake, author of ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD and ANTIGODESS 


Now on to the excerpt!

Drained by the aftereffects of anger and adrenaline, Barrie found herself breathing in Eight’s recklessness, swept up in it, and suddenly it didn’t matter where they were going or what he planned to do. His moods were contagious, dangerous to her equilibrium. 

He stopped at the beach, the same beach where they’d seen the turtle nest. Neither of them said a word while Eight retrieved a musty-smelling towel from his trunk and caught Barrie’s hand, lacing their fingers like they were made to fit.  

They ran barefoot over the dunes and through a break in the pickets that held back the sea oats. The moon turned the white sand to diamond dust, and Eight laid the towel down above the hide-tide marker of shells and seaweed and damp, dark sand. He sat down and drew her against him, her back against his chest. His arms wrapped around her, and she leaned into the solidness of him. His heartbeat washed through her like the waves, until she didn’t know whether the pounding of it was hers or his. 

When she sighed and relaxed, he eased her down and leaned over and finally kissed her until she felt like she was going to fall. She reached for him, kissing him more deeply. His lips were scalding on hers, leaving her tingling and whole instead of so, so alone. She wanted the feeling, the moment, to never stop. 

Only when she came up for air did the word “love” enter her thoughts. She pushed it away, but maybe by the time any girl thought about protecting herself, keeping herself from falling for a guy who was going to leave her brokenhearted, it was already too late. Maybe it had been like that for Lula with Wade, and instead of being Prince Charming, Wade had turned out to be like Wyatt.

“Why do you suppose my mother was afraid of Wyatt?” Barrie rolled and rested on one elbow to look at Eight.

“Apart from what we saw tonight, you mean?”

“I assumed it was about the feud. Because she was a Watson and she’d run off with Wyatt’s brother. But it felt more personal.”

“Feuds are always personal. That’s what makes it hard to break the cycle. Everyone lives locked inside their own anger until someone is finally brave enough to step outside themselves to see the view from the other side. It’s why I need to get away from this place.”

“But you’re not stepping out for a different view.” Barrie tipped her face up to the stars so she wouldn’t have to look at him. “You’re stepping out to run away.”

He was silent, and she was suddenly afraid. Afraid that she had said too much, presumed too much, hoped too much. She rolled her capris as high as they would go, then ran toward the water. She didn’t look back until she was knee deep, which was as far as she dared. He was right behind her, his face gleaming in the kind of light that turned beautiful boys into gods. He caught her, and held her, his skin so warm and alive, she couldn’t help but melt.

“Why did you run?” he asked.

“To see if you’d come after me.” 

“It scares me how willing I am to run after you. We’re both doing too much running.”

“So kiss me again.”

Her hands crept around his neck, tangling in his hair to keep him closer, even though she knew that beautiful boys with expiration dates couldn’t be held, only borrowed for a time

Loved this! Thanks Martina!!!

About Martina:

Martina Boone writes contemporary fantasy set in the kinds of magical places she would love to visit. She is the founder of YASeriesInsiders.com and AdventuresinYAPublishing.com, a two-time Writer’s Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers blog. If you like romance steeped in mystery, mayhem, Spanish moss, and a bit of magic, she hopes you'll look forward to meeting Barrie, Eight, Cassie, Pru, Seven and the other characters of Watson Island.

Website | AdventuresInYAPublishing.com | First Five Pages Workshop | YASeriesInsiders.com | Tumblr | Twitter.

Giveaway Details:

Both giveaways US and Canada only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule

Fantasy Ink
Two Chicks on Books (Here)
Reading Teen
OneFour KidLit
Writers for Misfits

Exclusive Cover Reveal- TRANSCENDENT by Lesley Livingston and aGiveaway!!

I am sooooooo excited!!!! Today I get the EXCLUSIVE cover reveal for TRANSCENDENT, book 3 in The Starling Series, by Lesley Livingston releasing in August 2014 in Canada and December 2014 in the US! I adore this series and Fennrys and am dying to get my hands on this one myself! Check out the gorgeous cover, synopsis, and enter to win an ARC!

About the book: (Spoilers for book 1 and 2 so don't read if you haven't read STARLING and DESCENDENT)

TRANSCENDENT by Lesley Livingston (STARLING #3)

Publisher: Harper Teen

Publication date: US December 23, 2014 and Canada August, 2014

LOVE CONQUERS

On a storm-swept terrace high above the streets of Manhattan, Mason Starling holds the fate of the world in her hands as her beloved Fennrys lies bleeding at her feet, his life hanging in the balance. The ancient Norse prophecy of Ragnarok stands poised on the knife edge of fulfillment. Mason’s transformation into a Valkyrie—a chooser of the slain and the one who will ultimately bring about the end of the world—is complete. Still, she remains determined to thwart her father’s apocalyptic desires. Whatever is to come, it won’t happen because of what the prophecy foretold, or what Gunnar Starling has planned, or what the fates have already decided. What happens next will be up to Mason and the Fennrys Wolf. The world had better hope they haven’t reached the limits of what their souls and swords can survive.


Perfect for fans of Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series, and set in the same universe as Lesley Livingston’s much-loved WONDROUS STRANGE trilogy, with roots in Greek, Roman, Norse, Egyptian, and Celtic myths and legends, this thrilling conclusion to the acclaimed Starling trilogy is filled to the hilt with sweeping adventure and soaring romance.

Praise for the Starling series:

“Thrilling and intense; pulls you along like the inevitable rush toward Ragnarok.”
Julie Kagawa, New York Times Bestselling author of The Iron Fey series.

“Memorable characters and a plot replete with some staggering acts of loyalty and betrayal will have fans eagerly awaiting the next installment.”
Quill & Quire

“Livingston’s intense novel will satisfy eager readers.”
VOYA

Find TRANSCENDENT Online:

Amazon | Amazon Canada |Barnes & Noble | Goodreads 

 

About Lesley:

Lesley Livingston is a writer and actress living in Toronto. She has a master's degree in English from the University of Toronto, where she specialized in Arthurian Literature and Shakespeare. She frequently performs with the Tempest Theatre Group, of which she is a co-founder. She is also the author of WONDROUS STRANGE and DARKLIGHT.

You can visit Lesley online at www.lesleylivingston.com

Website/Blog/Twitter/Facebook/Goodreads

Giveaway

 Want to win your very own ARC of TRANSCENDENT?  Enter the Rafflecopter. Good luck everyone! US and Canada Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway