Secret Truthwitch Blog Tour

I want to give a million thank yous to the wonderful Liran at Empress of Books, for developing the brilliant idea to honor the truly amazing Susan Dennard for all of Susan's hard work and dedication to the Truthwitch Street Team.  It is an absolute honor to not only be a part of the Secret Blog Tour, but to be rounding out the tour is even better. I am fortunate enough to be a member of the Air Clan in Susan's Truthwitch Street Team and I could not be happier being with any other clan. 

My journey with Susan began back in late February of this year at ApollyCon. One of my close friends, who is obsessed with zombies, had just turned 16 and I could not think of a better present than a signed copy of Susan Dennard's Something Strange and Deadly. From the minute I stepped up to the table where Susan was signing, I knew there was something different about her. I have had nothing but great experiences with authors, but they usually sign your books with a standard tag-line, take a picture with you and off you go. However, Susan wrote a really personal message to my friend and she was genuinely sweet, to the extent that I wanted to tell her everything about me, she automatically makes you feel comfortable and as if you have known each other for years.

Susan Dennard Signing at ApollyCon

When I had the opportunity to attend Comic-Con International in San Diego this summer, I contacted a few authors for interviews and Susan was one of them. Read my interview with Susan here. I introduced myself to Susan on Thursday at one of her signings so she could see my face and to get one of her gorgeous Truthwitch posters. I instantly felt like an old friend once I began talking to her and I might have held up the line. On Saturday, I wondered aimlessly around the show floor and eventually got in-line for a chapter sampler signing of Alexandra Bracken's Passenger after noticing Susan talking to Alex. When Susan was done chatting with Alex she passed me waiting in-line and I waved and nodded a hello. I assumed she was going to do the same and continue walking, but instead she stopped and started talking to me. I do not understand why, but the fact that Susan stopped and talked to me still leaves me shocked. 

(Sarah J. Maas, Susan Dennard and Me)
Photo Taken at Comic-Con

Most people would have continued walking, but she did not. Later that day, I waited in a stressful and chaotic signing line to get one of the fifty ARC copies of Truthwitch. Then on Sunday I interviewed Susan and it was such a fantastic time. At that point, I had never read a single word Susan wrote, but I felt a strong connection to her and had an amazing time interviewing her. Following the interview I got to chill with Susan and Sarah J. Maas for a half an hour before their panel, even though I had to battle rigorously the day before to even get into their signing.

(Me and Susan Dennard)
Photo Taken at Comic-Con

Susan Dennard is one of my absolute favorite authors to meet, she a genuinely sweet person and automatically makes you feel welcome. It has been an absolute honor to be a part of her Street Team and hype her upcoming book Truthwitch. I am hoping we will manage to get Truthwitch and Susan on the New York Times Bestsellers List.

Other Tour Stops:

November 1st

Liran at Empress of Books

Alexandra at Literary Legionnaire

November 2nd

Kit at Let The Pages Reign

November 3rd

Hedvig at Sunroadreads

November 4th

Em at Piplup's Shadowy Bookshelf

Angel at Avid Reader

November 5th

Stacey at Write All About It

November 6th

Jaimie at Jaimiesam

November 7th

Casey Marie at Little Red's Reviews

Release Day Launch: Leveled (Saints of Denver # #0.5) by Jay Crownover

We are so excited to bring you the Release Day Launch for LEVELED by Jay Crownover! LEVELED is a Contemporary Romance novella in The Saints of Denver Series being published by HarperCollins. This amazing novella releases TODAY, so be sure to grab your copy now!

 

About LEVELED: We all need a hero...let the Saints of Denver begin. Orlando Frederick knows what it is to be leveled by pain. Instead of focusing on his own, he’s made it his mission to help others: sports stars, wounded war vets, survivors of all kinds. But when Dom, a rugged, damaged, sinfully attractive cop makes his way into Lando’s physical therapy practice, he might be the biggest challenge yet. Lando loved one stubborn man before and barely survived the fallout. He’s not sure if he can do it again. Dominic 

Voss is a protector. The police badge he wears is not only his job, it’s his identity, so when he’s sidelined because of an injury, the only thing he cares about is getting back on the force. He expects Lando to mend his body, he just doesn’t realize the trainer will also have him working towards a hell of a lot more. As attraction simmers and flares, Dom sees that Lando needs repair of his own...if only the man will let him close enough to mend what's broken.  

Amazon I Barnes & Noble I iBooks I Kobo I Other

  EXCERPT: 

           He reached out and shut the medical file in front of him and leaned back in his chair. His eyebrows arched up, and he laced his fingers together and put his index fingers under his chin.

“What exactly are you after, Mr. Voss?” His voice was smooth and modulated. I was a disaster, a bundle of nerves and anxiety, and this dude was acting like we were talking about the weather, not my entire life and everything I had ever worked my ass off for.

Defiantly I spread my legs apart and slumped back in the chair across from him, making it a point to affect a posture that was as casual as his was professional. I had on a faded DPD T-shirt and a pair of jeans with a hole in the knee, and both were a little baggy since I’d lost some of my bulk being laid up in the hospital after the accident. If the guy across from me was a cherry-red Ferrari, then I was a rusted-out and battered John Deere tractor in comparison.

“I want my life back, Mr. Frederick. I want to be able to move the way I used to. I want to pass the department physical so I can go back on patrol. I want to be able to walk without needing a crutch or a cane. I want to be the way I was before I got hurt.” I was asking for the impossible and I knew it. “And please call me Dom.”

He dipped his chin down a little, and the edge of his mouth tilted up in a slight grin. Damn the man was good-looking. I blew out a breath and lifted up my hands to run them over the top of my shorn hair. I was hanging on to my sanity by a thread and my unexpected reaction to the guy that I was hanging every hope I had left on wasn’t helping matters.

“All right, Dom. You can call me Lando. That’s what my friends call me.”

I felt one of my eyebrows shoot up. “Are we going to be friends?”  

Don’t miss a Sneak Peek of BUILT, the first full-length novel in the Saints of Denver Series, in the back of LEVELED!

     
Jay Crownover is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Marked Men and The Point series. Like her characters, she is a big fan of tattoos. She loves music and wishes she could be a rock star, but since she has no aptitude for singing or instrument playing, she'll settle for writing stories with interesting characters that make the reader feel something. She lives in Colorado with her three dogs.

Website I Blog I Facebook I Twitter

LEVELED Goodreads I  Jay Crownover Goodreads

     

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Trailer Reveal: Oblivion (Lux #1.5) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

We are beyond thrilled to bring you all the Trailer Reveal for Jennifer L. Armentrout's OBLIVION! OBLIVION is a Young Adult Paranormal Romance being published by Entangled Teen, and is a part of Jennifer L. Armentrout’s New York Times and USA Today bestselling LUX Series. It is being released on December 1^st, 2015!! Watch the trailer then pre-order your copy today!

OBLIVION Synopsis: Experience the epic love story of OBSIDIAN as told by its hero, Daemon Black… I knew the moment Katy Swartz moved in next door, there was going to be trouble. Lots of it. And trouble’s the last thing I need, since I’m not exactly from around here. My people arrived on Earth from Lux, a planet thirteen billion light years away. Plus, if there’s one thing I know, it’s that humans can’t be trusted. We scare them. We can do things they only dream about, and honestly, we make them look weak as hell. ‘Cuz they are. But Kat is getting to me in ways no one else has, and I can't stop myself from wanting her—or wanting to use my powers to protect her. She makes me weak, and I’m the strongest of our kind, tasked with protecting us all. So this one simple girl…she can mean the end for us. Because the Luxen have an even bigger enemy—the Arum, and I need to stay on my game.  Falling for Katy—a human—won't just place her in danger.It could get us all killed, and that’s one thing I’ll never let happen...

Add it to your Goodreads Now!

OBLIVION Pre-Order

Amazon ** Kobo ** BAM ** Barnes and Noble ** iBooks

   

   

And don’t miss the first books in the LUX Series!

 

LUX: Beginnings

Amazon ** Barnes and Noble

LUX: Consequences

Amazon ** Barnes and Noble

OPPOSITION

Amazon ** Barnes and Noble

   

Jennifer L. Armentrout: # 1 New York Times and # 1 International Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing, she spends her time reading, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki. Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her book Obsidian has been optioned for a major motion picture and her Covenant Series has been optioned for TV. Her young adult romantic suspense novel DON’T LOOK BACK was a 2014 nominated Best in Young Adult Fiction by YALSA. She also writes Adult and New Adult contemporary and paranormal romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.  

Website ** Facebook ** Twitter ** Novel Goodreads ** Author Goodreads

 

(Me, Jennifer L. Armentrout)
Photo Taken at BookCon 2015

Release Week Blitz: Surviving Ice (Burying Water #4) by K.A. Tucker

We are so excited to bring you the Release Week Blitz for K.A. Tucker's SURVIVING ICE! SURVIVING ICE is a standalone romantic suspense novel and is the fourth book in K.A. Tucker's Burying Water Series, published by Atria, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. Grab your copy today!

SURVIVING ICE: The USA TODAY bestselling author of the Ten Tiny Breaths series and Burying Water—which Kirkus Reviews called “a sexy, romantic, gangster-tinged page-turner”—returns with a new novel packed with romance, plot twists, and psychological suspense. Ivy Lee, a talented tattoo artist who spent the early part of her twenties on the move, is looking for a place to call home. She thinks she might have finally found it working in her uncle’s tattoo shop in San Francisco. But all that changes when a robbery turns deadly, compelling her to pack up her things yet again. When they need the best, they call him. That’s why Sebastian Riker is back in California, cleaning up the mess made after a tattoo shop owner with a penchant for blackmail got himself shot. But it’s impossible to get the answers he needs from a dead body, leaving him to look elsewhere. Namely, to the twenty-something-year-old niece who believes this was a random attack. Who needs to keep believing that until Sebastian finds what he’s searching for. Ivy has one foot out of San Francisco when a chance encounter with a stranger stalls her departure. She’s always been drawn to intense men, so it’s no wonder that she now finds a reason to stay after all, quickly intoxicated by his dark smile, his intimidating strength, and his quiet control. That is, until Ivy discovers that their encounter was no accident—and that their attraction could be her undoing.

Amazon ** Barnes and Noble ** iBooks ** Kobo ** IndieBound

SURVIVING ICE Excerpt:

It’s just a regular ringtone. For me, though, it’s the wail of a war siren, and I’m immediately alert. There is only one person who has this number, and I didn’t expect him to use it again so soon.

The tile is cool against my bare feet as I roll out of bed. I collect the phone from the nightstand with one fluid movement, unhindered by sheets or the morning sluggishness that an average person might face. Stepping through the propped-open patio doors and onto the balcony, I answer with a low, curt “Yeah.” The sky is just beginning to lighten over the quiet bay. Dozens of boats sit moored below, their passengers lulled into deep sleep by the ocean air and rhythmic waves. I’m high enough up that I’m not likely to offend anyone with my lack of clothing, especially at this hour. Not that I’m truly concerned by it.

“Ice.”

The code name is a sharp contrast to the warm breeze skating across my bare skin. My adrenaline begins to spike, all the same. Hearing it means that I will be forced to leave this haven soon. Sooner than I had hoped.

“How is recovery going?”

I instinctively peer down at the angry red scar on the outside of my thigh, where a bullet drilled into my flesh and muscle just three weeks ago, outside of Kabul. I nearly bled out before I made it to the doc. He patched me up on a makeshift operating table, buried deep in a maze of rooms, and charged me a hefty price.

“Like new,” I lie.

“Good.” Bentley’s voice is rich and smooth, a welcome sound in a sea of strangers. “Where are you now?”

I peer out over the beautiful vista of crystal blue water and whitewashed stone buildings, the volcanic rock cliffs in the distance, reluctant to divulge my location. I sank a good chunk of my last payout on renting this one-bedroom villa for the month. It’s my private sanctuary, where I can revel in anonymity and peace for a while, before finding somewhere else to drift to.

Bentley has never asked before.

But he also has the technical capabilities to trace this call. If he really wants to find out, then he will. In fact, the second I picked up, he probably already had his answer. “Where do I need to be?” I say instead.

“San Francisco.”

And don’t miss the previous titles in the Burying Water Series!

BURYING WATER

Amazon ** Barnes & Noble ** iBooks ** Kobo ** IndieBound

BECOMING RAIN

Amazon ** Barnes & Noble ** iBooks ** Kobo ** IndieBound

 

CHASING RIVER

Amazon ** Barnes & Noble ** iBooks ** Kobo ** IndieBound

K.A. Tucker: Born in small-town Ontario, K.A. Tucker published her first book at the age of six with the help of her elementary school librarian and a box of crayons. She currently resides in a quaint town outside of Toronto with her husband, two beautiful girls, and an exhausting brood of four-legged creatures.         

Website ** Twitter ** Facebook ** Novel Goodreads ** Author Goodreads **

YouTube ** Pinterest ** Instagram

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour: Sweet Temptation (Sweet Evil #4) by Wendy Higgins

Summary: Bad boy Kaidan Rowe has never wanted for anything—money, popularity, musical talent…hot girls—but seducing them is part of his duty as a Nephilim, slave to the demon Dukes. As the son of the Duke of Lust, Kaidan has learned his father’s ways, becoming a master of passion, a manipulator of chemistry. Disobeying his father would mean certain death. Thankfully for Kaidan, he’s good at his job. And he enjoys it. 

Until he meets Anna Whitt—sweet, smart, feisty, and inexplicably good—the one girl seemingly immune to his charms. The daughter of a guardian angel and a fallen one, she has a certain power over him, one that makes him wish for more than he could ever deserve. 

Determined to save all the Neph from their dark lives as the influencers of sin, Anna joins forces with Kaidan to overcome the demons’ oppressive ways. In the light of her affections, Kaidan must undergo his toughest test of all, a battle of the heart.

Sensual and swoon worthy, this companion volume to the acclaimed Sweet Evil series from New York Times bestselling author Wendy Higgins, told from the perspective of the irresistibly sexy and mysterious Kaidan Rowe, gives readers revealing insights into his struggle, his intense connection to Anna, and most of all, the true emotions that drive him.

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBook | The Book Depository

(Me balancing the Sweet Series on my head)

It is an absolute honor for me to be a part of this blog tour with seven other bloggers that I highly admire. It is also an honor to be a part of this blog tour because I am officially saying goodbye to one of my absolute favorite series. It is still unimaginable to me that my journey with the Sweet series will be officially two years old next month. 

The question, "What does ____ mean to you?" reminds me of something a teacher would ask you to write a long-winded paper on that no one else actually cares about. However, being in a book community, people usually care when someone else rambles on and on about a book series, which is what I will be doing today. I want to properly thank Wendy Higgins for not only creating one of my favorite series, but others as well. 

(Kayla, Me)

My journey with the Sweet series started almost two years ago on a five hour bus ride to Philadelphia with the rest of my eighth grade class. My partner for the entire trip was my best bookish friend, Kayla, who decided we should have a read-a-long for Sweet Evil together on the trip since I was going to meet Wendy Higgins the following day at the book event, Celebrate the Book. We had both planned to read Sweet Evil and what better timing. We managed to get a little bit more than half way through the book by the time I had to part ways with Kayla in Harrisburg so I could be in the area for Celebrate the Book.

(Me and Wendy Higgins)
Photo Taken at Celebrate the Book

If Wendy ever comes to your region, I highly recommend meeting her. Wendy is such a genuinely sweet person and is absolutely adorable. She signed my copy of Sweet Evil and I purchased a copy of the next book, Sweet Peril, at the event and she signed that as well. I am almost positive that by the end of the weekend I managed to finish both Sweet Evil and Sweet Peril, which is almost unheard of for me. They were both such quick and captivating reads that have you addicted before you get a page in. 

By the end of our eighth grade year, Kayla managed to fill the outside and some of the inside of both of our science binders with tons of book quotes, book-boyfriend battles and bookish inside jokes. A lot of the writing has faded, especially the pencil, to the point where it is hard to tell in photos, so I am unable to take a picture of it, but my favorite thing Kayla wrote was, "Kaidan is mine. . .*insert evil laugh here* " As we have grown up over the last two years, reading has remained a constant for both of us, but I have dived deeper into the Book Blogging world while she has read a bit less. 

(Me, Wendy Higgins)
Photo Taken at ApollyCon 2015

I was fortunate enough to meet Wendy again at ApollyCon earlier on this year and I will be meeting her next month at YA Fest as well. 

I have been able to talk to Wendy at least two times at both of the book events I met her, but I have never been able to properly thank her for creating a series that bonded me with my best bookish friend and for creating characters that have stuck with me for two years and will continue to into the future. 

"Life is often so cruel, so ugly. 

And then, in the midst of all the madness, a precious gift would be placed in your lap.

Because life could also be so sweet (Sweet Reckoning, 379)."

About Wendy: After earning a Creative Writing degree from George Mason University and a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction from Radford, I taught high school English until becoming a mommy. I've always had a heart for teens, and writing YA stories gives me the opportunity to delve into the ambiguities of those pivotal years before adulthood.

I live in Virginia with my husband, daughter, son and doggie Rue.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

Two winners will each receive a complete Sweet series set! All 4 Books!

(US/Canada Only)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week 1:

9/7 - Stuck In Books 

9/8 - Reads All the Books

9/9 - Curling Up With A Good Book

9/10 - Reading W/ABC 

9/11 - Jenuine Cupcakes 

Week 2

9/14 - Little Red's Reviews 

9/15 - Supernatural Snark 

9/16 - A Reader Under the Sea

9/17 - Krista's Dust Jacket

9/18 - The Irish Banana Review 

• Sweet Evil (Sweet Evil #1) & Sweet Peril (Sweet Evil #2) by Wendy Higgins
• Sweet Reckoning (Sweet Evil #3) by Wendy Higgins
• ARC Review: Sweet Temptation (Sweet Evil #4) by Wendy Higgins

ARC Review: Sweet Temptation (Sweet Evil #4) by Wendy Higgins

Summary: Bad boy Kaidan Rowe has never wanted for anything—money, popularity, musical talent…hot girls—but seducing them is part of his duty as a Nephilim, slave to the demon Dukes. As the son of the Duke of Lust, Kaidan has learned his father’s ways, becoming a master of passion, a manipulator of chemistry. Disobeying his father would mean certain death. Thankfully for Kaidan, he’s good at his job. And he enjoys it. 

Until he meets Anna Whitt—sweet, smart, feisty, and inexplicably good—the one girl seemingly immune to his charms. The daughter of a guardian angel and a fallen one, she has a certain power over him, one that makes him wish for more than he could ever deserve.

Determined to save all the Neph from their dark lives as the influencers of sin, Anna joins forces with Kaidan to overcome the demons’ oppressive ways. In the light of her affections, Kaidan must undergo his toughest test of all, a battle of the heart.

Sensual and swoon worthy, this companion volume to the acclaimed Sweet Evil series from New York Times bestselling author Wendy Higgins, told from the perspective of the irresistibly sexy and mysterious Kaidan Rowe, gives readers revealing insights into his struggle, his intense connection to Anna, and most of all, the true emotions that drive him.

Author Note:
Sweet Temptation will encompass the entire trilogy in a condensed version, beginning with Kai's life before he met Anna, and taking readers through the epilogue of Sweet Reckoning. Sweet Temptation is a companion novel, not meant to be a stand alone story. It will definitely be a richer experience for those who have read the original trilogy. (Via Goodreads.com)

Pages: 483

Release Date: September 8th, 2015

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Review:

I had been craving Sweet Temptation ever since the announcement of it's release earlier this year. When ARCs started to appear this summer I began trying whatever I could to get my hands on an early copy. My hopes started to disappear as time went on without any progress, but luckily I manged to get a copy where I least expected, San Diego Comic-Con. 

I began the Sweet Evil trilogy in October of 2013 when I had the opportunity to met author Wendy Higgins at Celebrate the Book. My best bookish friend, Kayla, and I had a read-a-long for Sweet Evil on the five hour bus ride to Philadelphia for our field trip the day before Celebrate the Book. Kayla and I both fell in love with the story and characters. The Sweet Evil trilogy was one of the first book series that really bonded us together. I can't even tell you how many Sweet Evil related jokes and arguments of which one of us could have Kai as our book boyfriend were written on my science binder by the end of our eighth grade year. We were obsessed.   

I absolutely loved Sweet Temptation from the very first page to the last. I had not realized how much I missed these characters and their story until I began Sweet Temptation; I felt like I was re-reading the story for the first time and I never wanted it to end. I read most of Sweet Temptation in Las Vegas, which is rather fitting, and I remember starting it the night before the book event Love N' Vegas (review yet to come). I would have stayed up all night to finish it, but I was staying in the same hotel room as my parents and my mom eventually told me to turn the light off and go to bed because she could not sleep with the lamp on. 

One of my favorite things from Sweet Temptation were the chapter tiles, I have never laughed so much in my life over chapter titles before. The chapter titles were so Kai and I loved that. My favorite out of all of them was the title of Chapter Five, "Road Trip With A Nun," can we please take a moment to appreciate that. 

From both the Sweet Evil trilogy itself and Sweet Temptation, my favorite scene is the epilogue. I love both of the epilogues equally, I prefer neither perspective more, they are both phenomenal and the best conclusions I could ask for. I love the characters of the Sweet Evil world and, as much as it pains me to finally say goodbye to them, I know I have to. Back in June, Wendy posted a really great Facebook post that I currently am unable to find a link to, but she explained that she never plans to return to the world again because the characters have been through so much and they do not deserve to be in danger once more. I fully agree with Wendy, as much as I love these characters, I love them too much to put them in danger yet again. 

I know at this point I am just a rambling mess, but I can't recommend this series enough. I highly recommend reading the entire Sweet Evil trilogy before starting Sweet Temptation, but if you must, Sweet Temptation can be read as a standalone. Just be warned that there will be holes and Sweet Temptation is more enjoyable for those who have read the entire trilogy. I enjoyed every second of Sweet Temptation and I cannot wait to read Wendy Higgins' upcoming book, The Great Hunt, which is expected to be released in March of 2016, too far away if you ask me. 

• Sweet Evil (Sweet Evil #1) & Sweet Peril (Sweet Evil #2) by Wendy Higgins
• Sweet Reckoning (Sweet Evil #3) by Wendy Higgins
• Cover Reveal: Sweet Temptation (Sweet Evil #4) by Wendy Higgins
• Event Review: Apollycon 2015

(Me, Wendy Higgins)
Photo Taken at ApollyCon 2015