Blog Tour (Excerpt & Giveaway): Prowl by Amber Garza

To visit the official website of YA Christian thrillers, the Prowl Trilogy, click this link.

PROWL (Prowl Trilogy #1)

          Seventeen-year-old Mackenzie Smith is sent away to spend a boring summer at her grandma’s. But then she meets Wesley. He tells her exactly what she wants to hear and has information about her past that no one else knows. It’s almost like he can read her mind.

        

           Only Wesley isn’t who he seems.

         By the time Mackenzie discovers his true identity it may be too late. She’s in too deep and he won’t let her go. Now Mackenzie must call on the strongest power of all in order to save her life.

Buy PROWL

Excerpt from Prowl

Reading Clean Giveaway Hop (INT)

Welcome to my stop on the Clean Reads Giveaway Hop hosted by the lovely Clean Teen Fiction, One Librarian's Book Reviews, and I Am A Reader, Not A Writer! I've chosen to feature a series of books that I have found to be both exciting and clean.

What You Can Win

Blog Tour (Guest Post): The Holden Age of Hollywood by Phil Brody

Welcome to my stop on The Holden Age of Hollywood blog tour! Today, I have a guest post for you from the author, Phil Brody. I hope you enjoy it!

Preface: I wrote the following blog entry a few years back. It’s about the day I finally decided to quit my job as an ad exec in Chicago and about the day I started to pursue my dreams of being a writer. I began to move in the left direction, which turned out to the right direction. I wound up in Los Angeles and started to write. Every day. Period.

I'm In Love With Something Else
by Phil Brody

Waiting on Wednesday (27)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Title: The Hallowed Ones
Author: Laura Bickle
Publisher: Graphia (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
Release Date: September 25, 2012

Katie is on the verge of her Rumspringa, the time in Amish life when teenagers can get a taste of the real world. But the real world comes to her in this dystopian tale with a philosophical bent. Rumors of massive unrest on the “Outside” abound. Something murderous is out there. Amish elders make a rule: No one goes outside, and no outsiders come in. But when Katie finds a gravely injured young man, she can’t leave him to die. She smuggles him into her family’s barn — at what cost to her community? The suspense of this vividly told, truly horrific thriller will keep the pages turning.

Since I loved Zombies vs. Mormons, why not try Vampires vs. Amish? And yes, I pre-ordered this months ago.

What are you waiting on this week?

Blog Tour (First Chapter): Loving Lady Marcia by Kieran Kramer

MARCIA GETS SCHOOLED…
Of the three Brady sisters, Lady Marcia has always seemed the girl most likely to lead a perfectly charmed life. But after a handsome cad breaks her heart, she swears off love and devotes her life to teaching girls at a private school. In spite of her family’s wish for a London debut, Marcia is happy where she is—until terrible news sends her back to the Brady clan…and into the arms of an unexpected suitor.

ON THE SUBJECT OF LOVE
A dark and dashing earl who knows Marcia’s past, Duncan Lattimore is surprised by what a fascinating and independent woman she’s become. Marcia, too, is surprised—by the fiery attraction she feels for Duncan. But why—why—must he be the brother of the scoundrel who broke her heart? Why must Marcia’s rival at school forbid her from seeing him? How can this lady possibly resist this fellow—when they know that it’s much more than a hunch…?

Chapter 1
1814

A girl knows when her life really begins, and for fifteen-year-old Lady Marcia Sherwood, daughter of the Marquess and Marchioness of Brady, it was the moment she met the two Lattimore brothers.

When the first one took his seat in the Brady carriage, she had to clamp her teeth together to keep her mouth from falling open. If her friends at school could only see him. They’d never believe he was this handsome.

“I’m Finn,” he said. “Pleased to meet you.” He gave a half-grin, his eyes gleaming with something.

He must guess. He must know she found him attractive. Or perhaps he found her attractive.

Oh, dear. Could that be so?

Review: The Selection by Kiera Cass

Title: The Selection
Author: Kiera Cass
Publisher: Harper Teen
Release Date: April 24, 2012
Acquired Via: Local Library
The Selection is the Big Six debut of young adult author, Kiera Cass. In a national lottery to choose the next queen of Illea in a post-apocalyptic United States, teenaged America Singer is chosen as one of the 35 contenders for Prince Maxon's heart and the crown.

One of the things I loved best about The Selection was the Writing. It is the literary equivalent of cotton candy - delicious, sweet, and gone in no time. (Cotton candy is NOT a bad thing in Kayla Land.) It is written in such a way that it is accessible to pre-teens all the way to older adults. Dystopias and post-apocalyptic books have saturated the YA [non]genre, so it is difficult to stand apart. However, Kiera Cass accomplished this by writing a clean book with characters who weren't that bad (except for jerk-face Aspen). I do have to say that I don't consider the book to be a truly dystopian novel because the government is not horribly corrupt from what I've seen so far, and the girls chosen in the lottery don't have to stay. Yes, the caste system sucked, too, but it's something American teens can relate to in the present economic situation. Not many people move out of their social class despite the (now lessening) opportunities to do so. I won't go too far into that because it would take away from the essence of the book. (I don't believe it was written to be much of a political statement.) We can discuss this in the comments if you like.

Random Acts of Kindness - September

RAK is a monthly meme hosted by Book Soulmates. You can join in on the fun HERE.
For those of you who don't know, a RAK is a Random Act of Kindness. People sign up with their wishlist and then can look at other people's wish-lists and send them a Random Act of Kindness. It is really simple, but here are the rules:

COMPLETE RULES RE-CAP:

• Please read carefully & follow all rules! Thank you!
• Please sign-up each month that you can participate (and by participate, we mean give as well as receive).
• Show off your participation by grabbing our RAK button (code is in the right sidebar of the Book Soulmates page).
• Create a wish list (on Amazon, Goodreads, or your blog, etc) and post it in the Google Doc located in each R.A.K post for the month.
• If you choose to do a R.A.K for someone, check out their wish list and contact that blogger directly for their information.
• Once you receive a RAK, send us an our new email to [rakbybooksoulmates @ gmail . com] so that we can update the Google Doc. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU SEND EMAILS TO THIS ADDRESS!
• E-book participation is limited to files being gifted directly to a person from the e-book store. Amazon's Kindle Store is set up to allow this, as well as the Kobo store and we believe Barnes & Noble with Nook as well.
• At the end of the month, SHOW US YOUR R.A.K by making a "RAK Wrap-Up" post. This post should include who you SENT gifts to as well who you RECEIVED gifts from.

OPEN TO EVERYONE including all of our International brethren!

Remember, there's always the Book Depository or Fishpond, and they offer FREE shipping!

If you're feeling the urge to splurge on me this month, I have two different bookish wishlists on Amazon: one for YA/MG Books and another for Adult Books. If you just want highlights, here are the top 5 that I really want (which haven't changed since August):

1. Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson
2. Changeling by Philippa Gregory
3. The Sorceress by Michael Scott
4. Graceling by Kristin Cashore
5. The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy

I can't wait to start sending things out to you guys!

Random Acts of Kindness - August Wrap-Up

RAK is a monthly meme hosted by Book Soulmates. You can find out more and join in on the fun HERE.

My August RAK - Sent



Wander Dust (The Seraphina Parrish Trilogy #1) to Laurie T at Reader Girls