Tour & Giveaway: Rise of the Wolf (Mark of the Thief #2) by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Rise of the Wolf (Mark of the Thief #2)
by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Release Date: January 26th 2016

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Historical, Fiction, Mythology, Magic, Adventure, Action, Juvenile

Synopsis:
Nic may have escaped enslavement in the mines outside of Rome, but his troubles are far from over. The Praetor War--the battle to destroy Rome from within--is in full force, and Nic is caught in the crossfire. The secretive Praetors are determined to unlock a powerful amulet--one sure to bring the empire to its knees. Worse, the Praetors believe Nic holds the key to finding this amulet, and they will stop at nothing to steal it, even if that means harming the people Nic holds most dear.

When the Praetors capture Nic's mother, Nic knows he must do anything to save her. He challenges the Praetors to a chariot race. If he wins, they will release his mother. But if he loses, he must hand over a magic that will certainly destroy Rome and end his own life. Can Nic once again harness his magic and gather the strength to defeat his enemies? Or will he lose his mother and bear witness to Rome's destruction?

Follow the Rise of the Wolf by Jennifer Nielsen Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

Jennifer lives at the base of a very tall mountain in Northern Utah with her husband, three children, and a naughty puppy. She loves the smell of rainy days, hot chocolate, and old books, preferably all at once. She is a former speech teacher, theater director, and enjoyed a brief but disastrous career as a door-to-door pollster. In her spare time, Jennifer tends to panic, wondering what she has forgotten to do that has allowed her any spare time.

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Promo: Kingdom of Ashes (A Wicked Thing #2) by Rhiannon Thomas

Kingdom of Ashes (A Wicked Thing #2)
by Rhiannon Thomas
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: February 23rd 2016

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Retellings, Fairy Tales, Romance, Magic, Fiction, Teen

Synopsis:
Asleep for a hundred years, awoken by a kiss, Aurora’s life was supposed to be a fairytale. But since discovering that loyalty to the crown and loyalty to her country are two very different things, Aurora knows she can only dream of happily ever after. Once the enchanted princess, savior of her people, she is now branded a traitor.

Aurora is determined to free her home from the king’s tyrannical rule, even if it means traveling across the sea to the kingdom of the handsome and devious Prince Finnegan—someone who seems to know far more about her magic than he should. However, Finnegan’s kingdom has perils of its own, and any help he gives Aurora will come at a price.

As Aurora and Finnegan work together to harness her power—something so fiery and dangerous that is as likely to destroy those close to Aurora as it is to save them—she begins to unravel the mysteries surrounding the curse that was placed on her over a century before…and uncover the truth about the destiny she was always meant to fulfill.

Brimming with captivating fantasy and life-threatening danger, the sequel to A Wicked Thing takes Sleeping Beauty on an adventure unlike any she’s ever had before.

Follow the Kingdom of Ashes by Rhiannon Thomas Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

Rhiannon Thomas is a recent graduate from Princeton University, where she studied English and Japanese, and smuggled bubble tea into the library on a regular basis. She now lives in York, England.

As well as reading and writing YA fiction, she runs the blog FeministFiction.com, where she discusses TV, books, and all kinds of fannish things from a feminist perspective.


I don't hang out on Goodreads much, so if you want to contact me, please swing by my personal website or message me on Twitter.

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Book Trailer Blast & Giveaway: Arrows by Melissa Gorzelanczyk

ABOUT THE BOOK

ARROWS
Author: Melissa Gorzelanczyk
Release Date: January 26, 2016
Publisher: Delacorte Press/Penguin Random House

SYNOPSIS:
A modern cupid story set in present-day Wisconsin combining the fantastical elements of Greek mythology with the contemporary drama of MTV's Teen Mom.

People don’t understand love. If they did, they’d get why dance prodigy Karma Clark just can’t say goodbye to her boyfriend, Danny. No matter what he says or does or how he hurts her, she can’t stay angry with him . . . and can’t stop loving him. But there’s a reason why Karma is helpless to break things off: she’s been shot with a love arrow.

Aaryn, son of Cupid, was supposed to shoot both Karma and Danny but found out too late that the other arrow in his pack was useless. And with that, Karma’s life changed forever. One pregnancy confirmed. One ballet scholarship lost. And dream after dream tossed to the wind. 

A clueless Karma doesn’t know that her toxic relationship is Aaryn’s fault . . . but he’s going to get a chance to make things right. He’s here to convince Danny to man up and be there for Karma. But what if this god from Mount Olympus finds himself falling in love with a beautiful dancer from Wisconsin who can never love him in return?

BOOK LINKS
Goodreads | Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Penguin Random House

 PRAISE

“This tale of Cupid meets teen mom is unique . . . for fans of fantasy fiction and mythology, such as Aimee Carter’s ‘The Goddess Test’ series or Rick Riordan.”—SLJ

“A sweet high-school twist on Greek mythology with added substance about teen parenting and breaking out of a bad relationship."—Booklist

"A great mythological take on love, heartache, and teen pregnancy."—VOYA

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Melissa Gorzelanczyk is a former magazine editor and columnist who believes love is everything. She is a proud member of the SCBWI, The Sweet Sixteens and the Class of 2k16. She lives in Green Bay, Wisconsin, with her husband and family. 
Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

GIVEAWAY

Must be 13+ To Enter | Ships in US only. 

Please see terms and conditions for full contest rules. Some restrictions apply.

1 Winner will get an amazing Arrows Valentine includes:

- Signed hardcover of the book

- Stella & Dot arrow wishing bracelet - "Adventure awaits. This Arrow bracelet is the perfect reminder to fulfill your dreams."

- The official Arrows makeup bag by Gracie Designs

- A Valentine from the author

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Release Promo: Glass Sword (Red Queen #2) by Victoria Aveyard

GLASS SWORD (Red Queen #2) by Victoria Aveyard

Release Day Celebration Blast February 9, 2016

ABOUT THE BOOK
Glass Sword
Red Queen #2
Author: Victoria Aveyard
Pages: 448
Release Date: February 9th, 2016
Publisher: HarperTeen


SYNOPSIS:
Mare Barrow’s blood is red—the color of common folk—but her Silver ability, the power to control lightning, has turned her into a weapon that the royal court tries to control.

The crown calls her an impossibility, a fake, but as she makes her escape from Maven, the prince—the friend—who betrayed her, Mare uncovers something startling: she is not the only one of her kind.

Pursued by Maven, now a vindictive king, Mare sets out to find and recruit other Red-and-Silver fighters to join in the struggle against her oppressors.

But Mare finds herself on a deadly path, at risk of becoming exactly the kind of monster she is trying to defeat.

Will she shatter under the weight of the lives that are the cost of rebellion? Or have treachery and betrayal hardened her forever?

Book Links: Amazon | BN | Goodreads

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Victoria Aveyard is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Red Queen. Victoria was born and raised in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, a small town known only for the worst traffic rotary in the continental United States. She moved to Los Angeles to earn a BFA in screenwriting at the University of Southern California. She currently splits her time between the East and West coasts. As an author and screenwriter, she uses her career as an excuse to read too many books and watch too many movies. She has sold several television pilots and feature-length screenplays. You can visit her online at www.victoriaaveyard.com or on Twitter at @VictoriaAveyard.

GIVEAWAY

One winner will get a RED QUEEN Prize pack from HarperTeen, which includes:

- 1 Physical Copy of CRUEL CROWN (0.1 & 0.2 Red Queen)

- 1 Red Queen foam sword that reads “Kneel or Bleed”

- 1 Scarlet Guard scarf

Must be 13+ To Enter | Ships in US only | 

See Terms & Conditions for full contest rules before entering some restrictions apply

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Spotlight & Giveaway:The Truth by Jeffry W. Johnston

Title: The Truth
Author: Jeffry W. Johnston
Release Date: February 2, 2016
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Summary:
“I tied you up because I need you to listen,” Derek says. “Focus.”

“Please…  W-what do you want from me?”

“The truth,” he says.  “About what happened the night my brother died.” He reaches for my left hand. “If I think you’re lying…” With his other hand, he flourishes a pair of flower cutters. Curved. Sharp.

And he smiles.

When Chris wakes up in a dark basement tied to a chair, he knows that he’s trapped—and why. Eight nights ago a burglar broke into Chris’ home. Eight nights ago Chris did what he had to do to protect his family. And eight nights ago a 13-year-old runaway bled to death on his kitchen floor.

Now Derek wants the truth about what happened that night. He wants proof his little brother didn’t deserve to die. For every lie Chris tells, he will lose a finger. But telling the truth is far more dangerous…

A riveting, edge-of-your-seat thriller from Edgar Award-nominated author Jeffry W. Johnston that explores the gray area between what is right and what we’ll do to protect the people we love.

Goodreads

Buy Links: Amazon | Apple | BN | BooksAMillion | !ndigo | IndieBound


Excerpt from The Truth:
I wake up to find I can’t move, my arms and legs duct-taped tight to a wooden chair.  Duct tape is also wrapped around my chest and the chair’s hard, unyielding back.
The only thing not bound is my head, but I can only turn it left and right.  I can’t look behind me because of the chair’s high back.
Christ, what is this!
            My head hurts.  I feel nauseous, dizzy.  Can’t focus.  What happened?  How did I get here?  My memory’s a blur.
            “Hey!” I shout.  “Hey!  Anybody here?”
            I wait a few seconds.  Nothing.
            I see unfinished walls, but I could be in a room anywhere.  The only furniture I can see is a metal folding chair leaning against the wall opposite.
            Wait a minute!  What about Devon!  The last thing I remember was calling on my cell phone to make sure he got to the field OK.  What time is it?  Is he in the middle of his game, wondering where I am?  Is Mom there, wondering the same thing?
I can tell my cell is not in my pocket, not that I’d be able to reach it anyway. Where is it?  How long have I been out?  A couple hours?  A whole day?  Is it still … what, Saturday?  Are people looking for me?  The police?
            “Hey!” I shout again.  “Heeeyyyy!”  I try harder to break free.  “Is somebody here?  Can somebody help me?  Please!  Please…!”
            Who could have done this to me?  Why?
            “Help!  Help me!  Heeelllp…”
            This isn’t working.  I need to calm down and try to think.  Come on; breathe.  That’s it.  Again.  OK, now another breath.  My heart is starting to slow a bit.  That’s good.  Maybe closing my eyes will help.
            Two more deep breaths.  Okay.  Now, think.
I remember dialing my cell.  But before that. I had knocked on Rita’s front door.  We were going to go to Devon’s game together.  I was waiting for her to open the door.  Wait, the door did start to open.  Then … nothing.  Or … something.  Something made me pass out.  Something with a sweet smell.  Held against my face.  Making me gag.  Feel sick.  I couldn’t push it away.  Something very strong was holding it in place.
Not some thing.  Some one.
            I hear movement.  Behind me.  A door opening.  I try to look back; can’t.
The door closes.  A quiet click.
            Then footsteps.  Steady, determined.
            I recognize the guy who appears in front of me.  Derek Brannick. Only a year older than me, which makes him seventeen, but with the broken front teeth and scar on his throat he looks much older.
            He’s holding something in his hand, which he slips into his pants pocket before I can see it.  Then he picks up the metal chair from against the wall and opens it before straddling it and leaning over the back, facing me.  He lowers his head.  Does nothing for a couple minutes.  My heart slams against my chest.  I wait.  So scared I can’t think straight.
Finally, he raises his head and looks at me.  His eyes… It’s as if there’s no light in them.  Nothing.  Dead eyes.
            “You want some water?”  His voice is raspy.  He stands and moves out of my field of vision.  I hear a faucet turning on and off.  Then he’s back with a paper cup.  “Tilt your head back,” he says.  I do the best I can.  Some of the water runs down my chin but enough makes it into my mouth.  The water’s lukewarm, but I welcome it.
            “Feel better?  Can you talk?  ’Cause you’re gonna need to be able to talk. ” He crumples the cup and throws it on the floor.
            “Yes,” I croak.  “Th … thank you.”  My voice is trembling.  I can’t help it.
            Derek nods, lets out another long breath as if he has the weight of the world on his shoulders, and sit back down in his chair, pulling it closer to me.
“I’m … I’m sorry,” I try.  “I’m really—”
“Shh,” he says sharply, pointing a finger at me.  “I told you before, Chris… I’m not looking for that.”
“I should have showed up at the—”
“Shhh!”
He begins to cough.  It sounds painful.  He starts to talk again, then stops. Maybe it’s painful to talk too.  The way his voice is all rough and raspy, it wouldn’t surprise me.
Derek tries again.  “I tied you up because I need you to listen,” he says. “Focus.  Think you can do that?”
“Please…  Wh … what do you want from me?”
“The truth,” he says.  “That’s all.”
            He reaches for my left hand.  Tied the way I am, I can’t resist.  “I don’t want to hurt you if I don’t have to,” Derek says.  “But you need to know that I’m serious.  If I think you’re lying…” With his other hand, he pulls out what he had shoved into his pants pocket and shows it to me.
A pair of flower cutters.  Curved.  Sharp.
Slowly, even gently, he opens them and slides the little finger of my left hand in between the razor edges.
“One finger for each lie,” he says again, “Do you understand?”
            Oh God!  Oh Jesus!  All at once, I’m sweating, my eyes stinging.
            “Do you understand?” he asks again, voice unchanging, low key.
            “Yes,” I croak.  My eyes remain riveted to the cutters, expecting them to move, to squeeze.
            “Chris.  Look at me.”
            I look up into those dead eyes.
            “I meant what I said.”  He stops to cough again; continues.  “I need to understand everything.  This,” he says, indicating the cutters lightly caressing my finger, “will help you to tell the truth.  That’s all I want.  Don’t tell me what you think I want to hear.  There’s no right or wrong answer.  There’s only the truth.  Do you understand?”
            But I can’t tell him the truth.  Not the whole truth.
My eyes dart back to the cutters.
Abruptly, he squeezes them.  “Do you understand?”


Praise for The Truth
"Such a fast-paced read!  What really happened that night? The truth will leave you gasping.” - April Henry, New York Times bestselling author of Girl, Stolen and The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die

About the Author:
Jeffry W. Johnston has published about thirty-five short stories and more than two hundred articles. His first young adult novel, Fragments, was an Edgar Award nominee for Best Young Adult Mystery and a Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers selection by YALSA.  He lives in the Philadelphia area with his wife and their teenage son.  Visit him at jeffrywjohnston.com.

Social Networking Links:
Website | Twitter | Facebook

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Spotlight & Giveaway: Breaking Sky by Cori McCarthy

Book Info:
Title: Breaking Sky
Author: Cori McCarthy
Paperback Release Date: February 2, 2016
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

About the Book
She lives for speed. She’ll die for love.

Chase Harcourt, call sign “Nyx”, isn’t one to play it safe. America is locked in a cold war – and the country’s best hope is the elite teen fighter pilots of the United Star Academy. Chase is one of only two daredevil pilots chosen to fly an experimental “Streaker” jet. But few know the pain and loneliness of her past. All anyone cares about is that Chase aces the upcoming Streaker trials, proving the prototype jet can knock the enemy out of the sky.

But as the world tilts toward war, Chase cracks open a military secret. There’s a third Streaker, whose young hotshot pilot, Tristan, can match her on the ground and in the clouds. Chase doesn’t play well with others. But to save her country, she may just have to put her life in the hands of the competition.

Breaking Sky is a gritty coming of age tale with tons of action, a fascinating dystopian society, humor, friendship, romance and heart-stopping, high-stakes flying that will leave you on the edge of your seat. Breaking Sky has also been optioned for film by Sony Pictures.

Buy Links: Amazon | Apple | BN | BAM | !ndigo| Indiebound | Goodreads

Excerpt from Breaking Sky:
Speed turned her on.
The other cadets talked about the thrill of flying, but Chase didn’t relate. Her love was more specific. She flew for the high-g press of ten times the weight of gravity. For the throttle thrust forward, the roar-rev of the engines, and then, the mach rush.
Chase was in the atmosphere—flying so fast she felt like solid muscle. Her thoughts were a dance of impulse as she backed off the speed and looked through the tempered glass canopy. The earth knelt before her like she was holding court over the whole damn planet.
She smiled.
“I don’t suppose you see a gas station.” Pippin sat a few feet behind her, but his voice was closer, a direct link from his mask to her helmet’s headphones. “Nearing bingo fuel, Nyx.”
“Give me two minutes.” Chase smelled a challenge. Or she imagined one. Anything to prolong the hop and do something fun.
She pulled back on the stick, pointing the nose of her jet straight at the midday sun.
Brilliance charged the crystal dome.
“Tower to Nyx. Come in, Nyx,” Pippin mocked. “My sense of mortality insists I ask if we’re coming down anytime soon. As much as I wanted to be an astronaut when I was five, Dragon isn’t a star- ship. Where are we going exactly?”
“Somewhere. Anywhere.” The sun blinded through her smoky visor, but she kept her eyes ahead. “Up.”
“Yes, I was going to point out that somewhere feels like up today. Sylph is already halfway home.”
“Good.” Chase gripped the throttle, and the leather of her gloves gripped back. “We don’t need Sylph sniffing around for this.”
Moments scratched by, and Pippin cleared his throat. Twice. “We got to get high, Pip. Real high. Otherwise, we’ll smash into the ground before we can break the sound barrier in a down- ward spiral.”
“WHAT? WHY?”
Her reasons stacked. Because the training runs were tedious. Because Sylph, the pilot of the other experimental Streaker jet, had never and would never try such a stunt. And because Chase was Nyx, and with that title came certain wild expectations.
And the cherry on top? Because Chase needed to prove she could do it.
When they were nearly thirty miles up, about to leave the strato- sphere, she turned the jet toward the curve of the earth’s surface and let them freefall. Gravity took hold, and she steeled herself to punch through it.
“Wait, Nyx. I’m all for fun, but this is—”
The engine howl took over. They blazed at the blue-on-blue planet, the green smatterings coming into focus. She felt the mach tuck, the air trying to slow her down, just as the sound barrier broke.
The sonic boom was lost behind them, but a pearly halo erupted in their wake.



Praise for Breaking Sky
“Breaking Sky is an action-packed thrill ride that smashes through all kinds of barriers at a Mach 5 pace.” -- Carrie Jones, New York Times bestselling author of the Need series

“Breaking Sky had me in its grip from take off to landing. Chase is kick-butt female and the swoon-worthy flyboys kept me up way past my bedtime.” --Joy N. Hensley, author of Rites of Passage

“Breaking Sky ticks all the boxes: Love, war, friendship, action and danger - I was left wanting more, more, more!” --Jessica Shirvington, author of One Past Midnight

“Strong characterizations, action, adventure, and emotion combine to produce a sci-fi novel that is more than just the sum of its parts.” -- School Library Journal, starred review

“This taut, well-crafted novel should have broad appeal, for fans of everything from Roth’s Divergent to Wein’s Code Name Verity.” –-Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, starred review

“McCarthy deploys breath-stopping depictions of high-stakes piloting with enviable ease, and the in-your-face personal confrontations are nearly as taut.” –- Publishers Weekly

“Smart, exciting, confident—and quite possibly the next Big Thing.” –Kirkus


About the Author:
Cori McCarthy studied poetry and screenwriting before falling in love with writing for teens at Vermont College of Fine Arts. From a military family, Cori was born on Guam and lived a little bit of everywhere before she landed in Michigan. Learn more about her books at CoriMcCarthy.com

Social Networking Links: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Tumblr

Also by Cori McCarthy:
You Were Here
(ON SALE; March 1, 2016)
Hardcover, ISBN 9781492617044

Summary:
Jaycee is about to accomplish what her older brother Jake couldn’t: live past graduation.

Jaycee is dealing with her brother’s death the only way she can – by re-creating Jake’s daredevil stunts. The ones that got him killed. She’s not crazy, okay? She just doesn’t have a whole lot of respect for staying alive.

Jaycee doesn’t expect to have help on her insane quest to remember Jake. But she’s joined by a group of unlikely friends – all with their own reasons for completing the dares and their own brand of dysfunction: the uptight, ex-best friend, the heartbroken poet, the slacker with Peter Pan syndrome, and… Mik. He doesn’t talk, but somehow still challenges Jayce to do the unthinkable—reveal the parts of herself that she buried with her brother.

Cori McCarthy’s gripping narrative defies expectation, moving seamlessly from prose to graphic novel panels and word art poetry, perfect for fans of E. Lockhart, Jennier Niven, and Jandy Nelson.  From the petrifying ruins of an insane asylum to the skeletal remains of the world’s largest amusement park, You Were Here takes you on an unforgettable journey of friendship, heartbreak and inevitable change.

“You Were Here is wrenchingly beautiful in its honest and achingly accurate portrayal of grief and how it breaks us—and the way unconditional friendship puts us back together.”—Jo Knowles, award-winning author of See You At Harry’s and Read Between the Lines

"The urban explorers of You Were Here dive deep into the forgotten man-made spaces all around them--and their own feelings of loss, love, and fear. McCarthy deftly intertwines the characters' stories, filling them with authentic pain and heartache as well as soaring moments of grace and humor. I dare you to read it!" --Maggie Lehrman, author of The Cost of All Things

Pre-Order Links: 

Amazon- http://ow.ly/WhdGD

Apple- http://ow.ly/WhdNA

Barnes&Noble- http://ow.ly/WhdTs

BooksAMillion- http://ow.ly/WhdXE

!ndigo- http://ow.ly/Whe42

IndieBound- http://ow.ly/Whe8J

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